The Rockers
Encyclopedia
The Rockers were a professional wrestling
tag team
consisting of Shawn Michaels
and Marty Jannetty
that teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for Central States Wrestling
, the American Wrestling Association
, Continental Wrestling Federation
, Continental Wrestling Association
and the World Wrestling Federation
. In 1992, the team had a violent kayfabe
breakup that helped propel Michaels into the singles ranks with the "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick that he used until his retirement in 2010. After the breakup Michaels and Jannetty had an on again, off again feud due to Jannetty leaving the WWF on more than one occasion. In 1996, Jannetty teamed up with Leif Cassidy
(later to be known as Al Snow) to form The New Rockers but the team never achieved much success in the WWF and ended later that same year.
In 2005, the Rockers reunited for one night but nothing more came of it because Jannety was released by WWE. In 2006, Jannetty was slated to return and work an extended angle, teaming with Michaels against Vince
and Shane McMahon
but only made two televised appearances before being released from his contract.
and Shawn Michaels
first met and struck up a friendship when they both competed for the Central States Wrestling
territory in Kansas City
in 1985. Initially they would only travel together (along with Dave "D.J." Peterson) since Jannetty was either teaming with Tommy Rogers
(better known as Tommy Lane of the Rock 'n' Roll RPMs
) or he was teaming with Central States booker ”Bulldog” Bob Brown
. After the team of Jannetty and Brown broke up Michaels and Jannetty started teaming up, although they were not given a team name. On May 15, 1985 Michaels and Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins (Brad & Bart) to win the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
. Their first title reign was short-lived as the Batten Twins regained the title only seven days later on May 22, 1985. Shortly after the team lost the CSW tag team title, Michaels left Kansas City and returned to his homestate of Texas to work for Texas All-Star Wrestling
. In TASW Shawn began teaming with Paul Diamond as ”American Breed” and the team of Jannetty and Michaels seemed like it was never meant to be a permanent thing.
(AWA) as they needed young talent to replace the wrestlers that had switched to the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF) as it was expanding towards becoming a national company. The two were paired up by the AWA bookers, Greg Gagne
(son of the owner and one of the bookers) suggested the name ”The Country Rockers”, another idea for a name was the "U.S. Express" (as told by Marty during an interview on AWA television that aired in 1986) not keen on the idea the two of them came up with the name The Midnight Rockers inspired by Judas Priest
’s ”Living after Midnight”. AWA owner Verne Gagne
did not seem to understand the idea, (in fact he is quoted as wondering if fans might confuse the name with rocking chairs) but let the team go ahead and use the name.
The two started wearing identical outfits and develop the ”Fun loving pretty boy” gimmick they would be known for throughout their time together. After wrestling on the lower end of the card to get the fans familiar with the team the Midnight Rockers soon moved onto a feud with the team of Doug Somers
and Buddy Rose
who at the time were one of the top teams in the promotion. Their initial outing with Somers and Rose at the WrestleRock
stadium show on April 20, 1986 did not go well for Jannetty and Michaels who lost in front of 22,000 fans. When Somers and Rose beat Scott Hall
and Curt Hennig
for the AWA World Tag Team Championship
the Midnight Rockers suddenly found themselves chasing the main tag team title of the promotion. The Midnight Rockers teamed up with Curt Hennig
to defeat Somer, Rose and Alexis Smirnoff at ”Battle by the Bay” on June 28, 1986 to prove that they were indeed capable of beating the champions. The Midnight Rockers would repeatedly challenge Somers throughout the rest of 1986 but never quite be able to get the win when the title was on the line. Finally near the end of that year, Jannetty and Michaels defeated the champions in a ”non-title” Steel cage match on December 25, 1986 on the AWA’s ”Brawl in St. Paul” show. Finally on January 27, 1987 the Midnight Rockers defeated Rose and Somers for the AWA Tag Team title. Jannetty and Michaels realized that the AWA was a promotion in decline, in fact it would shut down completely by 1990, and they decided that their best bet was to work for the WWF. The Midnight Rockers got an offer from Vince McMahon
while holding the AWA Tag Title. The Midnight Rockers even signed with the WWF while still holding the gold, necessitating the quick title change to the unproven duo of Boris Zhukov
and Soldat Ustinov on May 25, 1987.
in St. Paul, Minnesota where they challenged the then WWF World Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation
for a title match. Four days later the Midnight Rockers wrestled at their first TV taping for the show WWF Wrestling Challenge
defeating the team of Jose Estrada, Sr.
and Jimmy Jack Funk. This match was their one and only taped appearance for the WWF as they were fired after only a few short weeks with the federation. The team was fired because of excessive partying and not enough focusing on their in ring work.
After being fired by the WWF, they went down to Continental Wrestling around Alabama and Pensacola, Florida. According to the Heartbreak and Triumph DVD, Michaels was unhappy there. When Bob Armstrong
took over the booking, they gave them two weeks notice that they were no longer needed and he was bringing in another tag team.
After the way they had left the AWA Michaels and Jannetty could not just return like nothing had happened, instead the Midnight Rockers started working for the AWA affiliated Continental Wrestling Association
(CWA) in Memphis, Tennessee
. The team had made a couple of appearances in the CWA in the past as part of their working agreement with the AWA but now they were in Memphis full time. Their first feud in Memphis was against a recently formed team known as The Nasty Boys
(Jerry Sags
and Brian Knobbs
) whom they faced in several brutal matches all over the CWA territory. After the Nasty Boys the Rockers got involved in a feud with “The Nightmares” (Danny Davis and Ken Wayne). During their time in the CWA Shawn and Marty turned heel
(bad guys) for the first time in both of their careers as they attacked the team of Rock 'n' Roll RPMs (Tommy Lane and Mike Davis
.) Their heel personas were that of self obsessed, glory seeking ”superstars”, the same persona Michaels would later adopt as ”The Hearbreak Kid”. Their feud with the RPMs saw the Midnight Rockers defeat Lane and Davis to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
on October 26, 1987. Jannetty and Michaels lost then regained the Southern Tag Team title as the Midnight Rockers / RPMs feud raged on.
With their success in Memphis, the AWA started to book them as well, having the Midnight Rockers split their time between Memphis and the AWA territory – in Memphis the Midnight Rockers were heels but in the AWA they were faces
(good guys), something which was possible before the advent of national television deals and easy internet access. On December 27, 1987 The Midnight Rockers defeated The Original Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey
and Randy Rose
) for the AWA World Tag Team title. Since they had won the AWA World Tag Team titles, Jannetty and Michaels were forced to vacate the AWA Southern Tag Team titles in January 1988. While in the CWA, they had a brief feud with The Rock 'n' Roll Express over the AWA World Tag Team titles. After a short while in the AWA Jannetty and Michaels began asking for more money and a guaranteed contract from owner Verne Gagne. When this request was denied the Midnight Rockers quit the AWA without having found another promotion for which to work. Before they left the promotion, they lost the AWA Tag Team Championship on March 19 to Badd Company
(Pat Tanaka
and Paul Diamond).
(PPV) debut at Survivor Series
in 1988 as part of the 10 team tag match. They eliminated The Bolsheviks
from the match before being eliminated by a double-disqualification in a brawl with the Brain Busters
. The brawl between the Rockers and the Brain Busters led to a match taped for WWF Superstars of Wrestling where both teams were disqualified once again, this time before the match could really start. This led to a series of house show
matches between the two teams, a series of matches that drew rave reviews from the fans. One match in particular on January 23, 1989 was rated as one of the 50 greatest matches in the PWI 10th year anniversary issue. The match saw the Brain Busters narrowly defeat the Rockers as Anderson held down Marty Jannetty's leg as Blanchard pinned him. The feud continued to rage on as they clashed at Saturday's Night Main Event in a match that saw both teams counted out for brawling on the floor.
They competed against the Twin Towers, Akeem and the Big Boss Man, at WrestleMania V
. According to Michaels in his autobiography, he was nursing a severe hangover in the hours before this match. In the spring of 1989, the Rockers started a storyline with The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers that kicked off with an underhanded attack on Michaels during a match. The Rougeaus assaulted Michaels with manager Jimmy Hart
’s megaphone and drew blood. This storyline put the Rockers' issues with the Brain Busters on the back burners while the Rockers and the Rougeaus fought. The issue between the Rockers and Rougeaus was the storyline reason for introducing the “Iron Man match
” to the WWF. Despite wrestling 5 Iron Man matches against each other none of the matches were ever televised or released on a commercial tape. On August 28, 1989 the Rockers/Rougeau feud made it to PPV as the Rougeaus teamed with Rick Martel
to defeat the Rockers and Tito Santana
at SummerSlam
.
In late 1989, the Rockers and the Brain Busters resumed their feud after the Brain Busters lost the WWF Tag Team Championship to Demolition
. On November 23, 1989 the Rockers faced off one half of the Brain Busters’ (Arn Anderson
as part of the 4 on 4 elimination matches at Survivor Series
. Prior to the match, Anderson’s tag team partner Tully Blanchard
had failed a drug test and was fired, forcing manager Bobby Heenan
to wrestle in his place. The Rockers and the Brain Busters had one last match at Saturday Night's Main Event where they defeated the Brain Busters 2 falls to 1. After the match, Bobby Heenan fired the team in a backstage segment to explain why the team disappeared from the WWF.
In December 1989, The Rockers feuded with The Powers of Pain
until February 1990.
In April 1990, the Rockers faced new competition in the form of Pat Tanaka
and Akio Sato, the newly signed team known as The Orient Express
. The two teams kicked off a prolonged feud that started at WrestleMania VI
and continued off and on for well over a year. When Sato decided leave the American wrestling scene in December 1990, the WWF decided team Tanaka up with his former partner Paul Diamond under a mask. Tanaka and Diamond had previously teamed as Badd Company
and won the AWA Tag Team Championship from the Rockers. The Rockers and the Orient Express had a high profile, high flying match at the Royal Rumble
.
in a two out of three falls match in Fort Wayne, Indiana
to seemingly win the title. The WWE (WWF) has never officially recognized The Rockers' champion status. During the match the top rope broke by accident making the match a disjointed affair that would require serious clean up before it could be shown on TV. The Rockers defended the WWF Tag Team title against Power and Glory
(Paul Roma
and Hercules
) on November 3, 1990. Shortly after November 3 it was decided to not air the title change and that the title would revert to the Hart Foundation. In his book Michaels claims that the Hart Foundation had politicked to keep the title. Michaels claim is contradicted by other claims that the WWF had actually fired Jim Neidhart
forcing the title change but after the match the two sides came to an agreement and Neidhart was brought back. Whatever the reason the Rockers were never officially credited with a title win but footage from the match was shown prior to Jannetty’s WWF return in 1995. The match can be seen in its entirety on the DVD The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak & Triumph. Because it never aired, the match was not clipped and thus is shown in full with no commentary; the only edit being after the second fall when a ring crew arrived to reattach the broken rope.
were willing to give them a very high guaranteed contract but when Michaels inquired about it turned out to be an exaggeration. Jannetty disputes this saying that Michaels was the driving force suggesting to quit the WWF, but had Jannetty do the phone call to ask for a release from their contract. When Vince McMahon actually agreed to let them go Michaels appeared shocked according to him, and later went to McMahon unbeknownst to him to explain this was Jannetty´s idea only and that he had no intention of leaving the WWF himself. After cooler heads prevailed it was decided that the Rockers should split with Michaels turning heel
to feud with Jannetty. Jannetty was not happy about the team splitting, while Michaels could not wait to work as a singles wrestler.
On screen there was no mention of what went on backstage, instead Michaels and Jannetty started to show signs of dissension. During a singles match between Michaels and Ric Flair
, Jannetty rolled Shawn into the ring to get pinned. Michaels took this as Jannetty costing him the match instead of helping out (though this was a storyline
). At the 1991 Survivor Series
Jannetty caused Michaels to be eliminated by accidentally slamming one of the Nasty Boys into him after which the Rockers argued. After the build up, the Rockers wrestled one last match on television, a title shot at The Legion of Doom
which the Rockers lost after which Jannetty and Michaels argued over who was to blame.
A DVD extra on Heartbreak And Triumph titled The Rockers "Fight" reveals that they got into a legit fight on an unknown date that was instigated by Roddy Piper
. The story, told by Jannetty, reveals that police were called to the scene and arrested Jannetty. As they were arresting him though, Randy Savage
stepped in and prevented him from going to jail by telling the police that it was all part of a storyline even though in reality he did not know the cause of the fight in the first place. Michaels almost quit the WWF over the incident, and Jannetty believes that this incident was one of the factors in the WWF's decision to break up the Rockers.
The final split came on Brutus Beefcake’s "Barbershop" (taped on December 2, 1991, and shown on January 12, 1992) where Beefcake interviewed the Rockers about their recent problems. After seemingly working their problems out Michaels suddenly blasted Jannetty with a Super kick and then threw him through the glass window on the set. Michaels also proceeded to rip a full page picture of the group in half, signifying the separation. The turn had the desired effect of making Michaels a hated heel especially since the WWF agreed to let Jannetty "blade" (make himself bleed) after being thrown through the window, something which was not very prevalent in 1991. It also prevented Jannetty from entering the Royal Rumble in 1992.
as his manager. Michaels also won the WWF Intercontinental Championship
from The British Bulldog
. On the October 31, 1992 edition of WWF Superstars, Michaels was in the ring posing before a match, admiring himself in a mirror that Sherri brought to the ring. To everyone’s surprise, Jannetty came down through the crowd and entered the ring. Jannetty attacked Michaels, grabbed the mirror and tried to hit Michaels with it. But instead Michaels pulled Sherri in front of himself so that she got hit with the mirror instead. This led to Sherri being hospitalized from the glass shards (only in storyline terms) when Sherri returned from her “recovery” she turned on Michaels and actually backed Jannetty in his unsuccessful attempt to take the Intercontinental title away from Michaels at the 1993 Royal Rumble
. After the loss, Jannetty once again left the WWF.
During an episode of Monday Night Raw
on May 17, 1993, Jannetty returned to the WWF during an impromptu challenge. Jannetty defeated Shawn Michaels to win the title (with the help of Mr. Perfect
). Three weeks later Jannetty lost the title back to Michaels in an untelevised house show thanks to the interference of Michaels’ new bodyguard Diesel
. After losing the title the Michaels/Jannetty feud petered out with Michaels focusing on other title challengers while Jannetty wrestled on the mid-card.
and told that he would be his new partner as the New Rockers. The idea was initially going to be a more or less straight up return to the Rockers gimmick, but the decision was soon made to turn them more "silly" and become comedy heels according to Marty Jannetty in the book The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. They were told that the idea was for them to be like watching the 1960s television show The Monkees
, complete with Snow being named "Leif Cassidy" as a play off 1970s idols David Cassidy
and Leif Garrett
. Going against his better judgment, Jannetty agreed to it, if nothing else than to help Snow out, who was trying to find a bankable gimmick. Jannetty was later informed that former partner Shawn Michaels had been the one to suggest the change in the gimmick. The team was never seriously pushed in the WWF making only a couple of low card PPV appearances before Jannetty decided to leave the WWF in December 1996.
announced that as part of his preparation for his WrestleMania 21
against Michaels he would face Michaels old partner Jannetty on the following SmackDown. The following Monday (March 14, 2005) Jannetty made a surprise appearance on WWE Raw
and for one night the Rockers reunited to take on La Résistance (Sylvain Grenier
and Rob Conway). Jannetty got the win with the "Rocker Dropper" after Michaels hit ”Sweet Chin Music” on Grenier. Three days later on SmackDown Angle had promised to make Jannetty ”tap out”, just like he was going to make Michaels tap out at WrestleMania 21. On the night Angle made good on his promise and forced Jannetty to submit to his ankle lock submission hold, but only after a nearly twenty minute match and an impressive showing for Jannetty which saw him nearly pin the Olympic champion. After two good showings on Raw and SmackDown to convince WWE that he was still a very talented performer, they signed him to a contract. Due to a domestic incident, Jannetty was arrested and thus unable to meet the commitments of his WWE contract, which lead to him being released from his contract by July 6, 2005.
On the February 20, 2006 edition of Raw, Michaels was pitted against four of the five members of the Spirit Squad
in their in-ring debut. After he had connected with "Sweet Chin Music", Michaels was attacked by all five members until an unknown man came storming in to the ring to defend Michaels. During the melee, it was revealed that it was Jannetty coming to defend his former tag team partner. Later on Raw, Vince McMahon came out to mention that he would offer Jannetty a full-time contract. However, Mr. McMahon added a stipulation - Jannetty had to join Mr. McMahon's "Kiss My Ass Club" the following week on Raw. On Raw Jannetty refused to kiss Mr. McMahon’s ass. McMahon instead offered Jannetty the possibility of breaking Chris Masters' signature submission hold, the Master Lock. Jannetty appeared to almost break the hold, but Mr. McMahon (who was officiating) delivered a low blow, and Jannetty was never able to break it, only being released when Michaels ran in to save him. Shortly after Michaels had saved Jannetty, Shane McMahon
ran in the ring with a steel chair and knocked out Michaels. The former Rockers were supposed to continue a program with the McMahons, but Jannetty was absent from the next edition of Raw which meant that they had to rewrite the angle leaving Jannetty out of it.
In December 2007, Michaels began feuding with Mr. Kennedy
. Kennedy was set to face off against Jannetty at the Raw 15th Anniversary Spectacular. Kennedy won the match, but continued beating down Jannetty. Michaels then came out to save his former partner from a beating. Before Michaels had a chance to get in the first punch, Kennedy quickly recognized Michaels and started an assault on him. Until Triple H Shawn's D-X Partner Came Out And Kennedy Escaped.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
consisting of Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
and Marty Jannetty
Marty Jannetty
Frederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion and a one time...
that teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for Central States Wrestling
Heart of America Sports Attractions
Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...
, the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
, Continental Wrestling Federation
Continental Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
, Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
and the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
. In 1992, the team had a violent kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
breakup that helped propel Michaels into the singles ranks with the "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick that he used until his retirement in 2010. After the breakup Michaels and Jannetty had an on again, off again feud due to Jannetty leaving the WWF on more than one occasion. In 1996, Jannetty teamed up with Leif Cassidy
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
(later to be known as Al Snow) to form The New Rockers but the team never achieved much success in the WWF and ended later that same year.
In 2005, the Rockers reunited for one night but nothing more came of it because Jannety was released by WWE. In 2006, Jannetty was slated to return and work an extended angle, teaming with Michaels against Vince
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
and Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon is an American executive, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of YOU On Demand. A former executive and professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment , he is the son of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and former US Senate candidate Linda...
but only made two televised appearances before being released from his contract.
Central States Wrestling
Marty JannettyMarty Jannetty
Frederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion and a one time...
and Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
first met and struck up a friendship when they both competed for the Central States Wrestling
Heart of America Sports Attractions
Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...
territory in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
in 1985. Initially they would only travel together (along with Dave "D.J." Peterson) since Jannetty was either teaming with Tommy Rogers
Tommy Lee Jones (wrestler)
Tommy Lee Jones was a professional wrestler. He was best known for wrestling in southern United States wrestling promotions as Tommy Lane, one-half of the "Rock 'n' Roll RPMs" with Mike Davis.-Early career:...
(better known as Tommy Lane of the Rock 'n' Roll RPMs
Rock 'n' Roll RPMs
The Rock 'n' Roll RPMs were a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Tommy Lane and Mike Davis, that competed in several professional wrestling promotions throughout the Southern United States. They were known for their bright colored tights and hanging bandanas. Allen Martin was later...
) or he was teaming with Central States booker ”Bulldog” Bob Brown
Bob Brown (wrestler)
Robert Harold Brown was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Bulldog" Bob Brown.- Early life :...
. After the team of Jannetty and Brown broke up Michaels and Jannetty started teaming up, although they were not given a team name. On May 15, 1985 Michaels and Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins (Brad & Bart) to win the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
The NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988...
. Their first title reign was short-lived as the Batten Twins regained the title only seven days later on May 22, 1985. Shortly after the team lost the CSW tag team title, Michaels left Kansas City and returned to his homestate of Texas to work for Texas All-Star Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joseph Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company.-Venues:...
. In TASW Shawn began teaming with Paul Diamond as ”American Breed” and the team of Jannetty and Michaels seemed like it was never meant to be a permanent thing.
American Wrestling Association
In early 1986, both Jannetty and Michaels were signed by the American Wrestling AssociationAmerican Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
(AWA) as they needed young talent to replace the wrestlers that had switched to the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF) as it was expanding towards becoming a national company. The two were paired up by the AWA bookers, Greg Gagne
Greg Gagne (wrestler)
Gregory Alan "Greg" Gagne is a former professional wrestler and the son of Verne Gagne. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he achieved his biggest success as one half of the tag team The High Flyers with Jim Brunzell...
(son of the owner and one of the bookers) suggested the name ”The Country Rockers”, another idea for a name was the "U.S. Express" (as told by Marty during an interview on AWA television that aired in 1986) not keen on the idea the two of them came up with the name The Midnight Rockers inspired by Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
’s ”Living after Midnight”. AWA owner Verne Gagne
Verne Gagne
Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne , is a retired American professional wrestler, football player, and professional wrestling trainer and promoter. He was the former owner/promoter of the American Wrestling Association , based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was the predominant promotion throughout...
did not seem to understand the idea, (in fact he is quoted as wondering if fans might confuse the name with rocking chairs) but let the team go ahead and use the name.
The two started wearing identical outfits and develop the ”Fun loving pretty boy” gimmick they would be known for throughout their time together. After wrestling on the lower end of the card to get the fans familiar with the team the Midnight Rockers soon moved onto a feud with the team of Doug Somers
Doug Somers
Doug Somers is an American retired professional wrestler known by his ring name "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers...
and Buddy Rose
Buddy Rose
Paul Perschmann was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Playboy" Buddy Rose.-Career:Paul Perschmann was trained by Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in the early 1970s...
who at the time were one of the top teams in the promotion. Their initial outing with Somers and Rose at the WrestleRock
WrestleRock 86
-WrestleRock:The event was held at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 20, 1986. The card was heavily promoted for months during weekly television programming...
stadium show on April 20, 1986 did not go well for Jannetty and Michaels who lost in front of 22,000 fans. When Somers and Rose beat Scott Hall
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...
and Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
for the AWA World Tag Team Championship
AWA World Tag Team Championship
The American Wrestling Association World Tag Team Championship was professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991.-History :...
the Midnight Rockers suddenly found themselves chasing the main tag team title of the promotion. The Midnight Rockers teamed up with Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
to defeat Somer, Rose and Alexis Smirnoff at ”Battle by the Bay” on June 28, 1986 to prove that they were indeed capable of beating the champions. The Midnight Rockers would repeatedly challenge Somers throughout the rest of 1986 but never quite be able to get the win when the title was on the line. Finally near the end of that year, Jannetty and Michaels defeated the champions in a ”non-title” Steel cage match on December 25, 1986 on the AWA’s ”Brawl in St. Paul” show. Finally on January 27, 1987 the Midnight Rockers defeated Rose and Somers for the AWA Tag Team title. Jannetty and Michaels realized that the AWA was a promotion in decline, in fact it would shut down completely by 1990, and they decided that their best bet was to work for the WWF. The Midnight Rockers got an offer from Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
while holding the AWA Tag Title. The Midnight Rockers even signed with the WWF while still holding the gold, necessitating the quick title change to the unproven duo of Boris Zhukov
Jim Barrell
James Kirk Harrell is an American professional wrestler best known as Boris Zhukov in his time with the World Wrestling Federation.-Professional wrestling career:...
and Soldat Ustinov on May 25, 1987.
Various promotions (1987–1988)
The team made their first WWF appearance only five days after dropping the AWA Tag Team titles at a house showHouse show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
in St. Paul, Minnesota where they challenged the then WWF World Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada....
for a title match. Four days later the Midnight Rockers wrestled at their first TV taping for the show WWF Wrestling Challenge
WWF Wrestling Challenge
WWF Challenge is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1996. The show premiered as WWF Wrestling Challenge and became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match...
defeating the team of Jose Estrada, Sr.
Jose Estrada, Sr.
Jose Estrada, Sr. is a semi-retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler who was a longtime mainstay of the World Wrestling Council as well as having stints in North American promotions including International World Class Championship Wrestling and the World Wide Wrestling Federation holding the now...
and Jimmy Jack Funk. This match was their one and only taped appearance for the WWF as they were fired after only a few short weeks with the federation. The team was fired because of excessive partying and not enough focusing on their in ring work.
After being fired by the WWF, they went down to Continental Wrestling around Alabama and Pensacola, Florida. According to the Heartbreak and Triumph DVD, Michaels was unhappy there. When Bob Armstrong
Bob Armstrong
Joseph Melton James is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Bullet" Bob Armstrong. In the course of his career, which spanned five decades, Armstrong held numerous championships throughout the Southeastern United States...
took over the booking, they gave them two weeks notice that they were no longer needed and he was bringing in another tag team.
After the way they had left the AWA Michaels and Jannetty could not just return like nothing had happened, instead the Midnight Rockers started working for the AWA affiliated Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
(CWA) in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. The team had made a couple of appearances in the CWA in the past as part of their working agreement with the AWA but now they were in Memphis full time. Their first feud in Memphis was against a recently formed team known as The Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, active from the mid to late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawling...
(Jerry Sags
Jerry Sags
Jerome Saganovich is an American professional wrestler best known as Jerry Sags. He is one half of the tag team The Nasty Boys along with Brian Knobbs.-Career:...
and Brian Knobbs
Brian Knobbs
Brian Yandrisovitz , better known as Brian Knobbs, is an American professional wrestler, best known as one half of the tag team The Nasty Boys along with Jerry Sags.-The Nasty Boys:...
) whom they faced in several brutal matches all over the CWA territory. After the Nasty Boys the Rockers got involved in a feud with “The Nightmares” (Danny Davis and Ken Wayne). During their time in the CWA Shawn and Marty turned heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
(bad guys) for the first time in both of their careers as they attacked the team of Rock 'n' Roll RPMs (Tommy Lane and Mike Davis
Mike Davis (wrestler)
Michael Davis was an American professional wrestler best known as one half of the tag team Rock 'n' Roll RPMs with Tommy Lane which lasted several years. The RPM's were one of the most well-known heel tag teams throughout the southern United States in promotions such as World Class Championship...
.) Their heel personas were that of self obsessed, glory seeking ”superstars”, the same persona Michaels would later adopt as ”The Hearbreak Kid”. Their feud with the RPMs saw the Midnight Rockers defeat Lane and Davis to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
on October 26, 1987. Jannetty and Michaels lost then regained the Southern Tag Team title as the Midnight Rockers / RPMs feud raged on.
With their success in Memphis, the AWA started to book them as well, having the Midnight Rockers split their time between Memphis and the AWA territory – in Memphis the Midnight Rockers were heels but in the AWA they were faces
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
(good guys), something which was possible before the advent of national television deals and easy internet access. On December 27, 1987 The Midnight Rockers defeated The Original Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey
Dennis Condrey
Dennis Condrey is an American professional wrestler, best known as being one half of the tag team Midnight Express....
and Randy Rose
Randy Rose
"Ravishing" Randy Rose is a professional wrestler.-Career:Randy Rose competed in 1981 in Alabama's Southeast Championship Wrestling and formed The Midnight Express with Dennis Condrey and Norvell Austin. They dominated the tag team scene there until Condrey signed with Mid-South Wrestling in 1984...
) for the AWA World Tag Team title. Since they had won the AWA World Tag Team titles, Jannetty and Michaels were forced to vacate the AWA Southern Tag Team titles in January 1988. While in the CWA, they had a brief feud with The Rock 'n' Roll Express over the AWA World Tag Team titles. After a short while in the AWA Jannetty and Michaels began asking for more money and a guaranteed contract from owner Verne Gagne. When this request was denied the Midnight Rockers quit the AWA without having found another promotion for which to work. Before they left the promotion, they lost the AWA Tag Team Championship on March 19 to Badd Company
Badd Company
Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. It is rumored that the team name was derived from the rock band Bad Company...
(Pat Tanaka
Pat Tanaka
Patrick "Pat" Tanaka is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express...
and Paul Diamond).
The Rockers
Shortly after leaving the AWA, Jannetty and Michaels were contacted by WWF owner Vince McMahon informing them that he was willing to bring them back if they were able to be more professional this time round. By the end of May the team was working for the WWF under the shortened name The Rockers. They officially made their television debut on the June 18, 1988 edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling in a squash match. The Rockers made their pay-per-viewPay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) debut at Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1988)
Survivor Series was the second annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
in 1988 as part of the 10 team tag match. They eliminated The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from late 1987 until the spring of 1990.The team was composed of Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov portraying a pair of Russian Communist bad guys. Volkoff was born Josip Peruzovic on October 14, 1947. Although...
from the match before being eliminated by a double-disqualification in a brawl with the Brain Busters
Brain Busters
The Brain Busters was the World Wrestling Federation name for the professional wrestling tag team of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Anderson and Blanchard adopted this name after joining the WWF in 1988 from Jim Crockett Promotions, where the two men had wrestled as part of the Four Horsemen...
. The brawl between the Rockers and the Brain Busters led to a match taped for WWF Superstars of Wrestling where both teams were disqualified once again, this time before the match could really start. This led to a series of house show
House show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
matches between the two teams, a series of matches that drew rave reviews from the fans. One match in particular on January 23, 1989 was rated as one of the 50 greatest matches in the PWI 10th year anniversary issue. The match saw the Brain Busters narrowly defeat the Rockers as Anderson held down Marty Jannetty's leg as Blanchard pinned him. The feud continued to rage on as they clashed at Saturday's Night Main Event in a match that saw both teams counted out for brawling on the floor.
They competed against the Twin Towers, Akeem and the Big Boss Man, at WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V
WrestleMania V was the fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 2, 1989 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey...
. According to Michaels in his autobiography, he was nursing a severe hangover in the hours before this match. In the spring of 1989, the Rockers started a storyline with The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers that kicked off with an underhanded attack on Michaels during a match. The Rougeaus assaulted Michaels with manager Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
’s megaphone and drew blood. This storyline put the Rockers' issues with the Brain Busters on the back burners while the Rockers and the Rougeaus fought. The issue between the Rockers and Rougeaus was the storyline reason for introducing the “Iron Man match
Iron Man match
An Iron Man match is a professional wrestling match type that is set to go a specific amount of time, usually 30 or 60 minutes, with the competitor with the most falls at the end of that time named the victor...
” to the WWF. Despite wrestling 5 Iron Man matches against each other none of the matches were ever televised or released on a commercial tape. On August 28, 1989 the Rockers/Rougeau feud made it to PPV as the Rougeaus teamed with Rick Martel
Rick Martel
Richard Vigneault is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1980 and 1995 under the ring name Rick Martel...
to defeat the Rockers and Tito Santana
Tito Santana
Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation...
at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1989)
SummerSlam was the second annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 28, 1989 in the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey....
.
In late 1989, the Rockers and the Brain Busters resumed their feud after the Brain Busters lost the WWF Tag Team Championship to Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...
. On November 23, 1989 the Rockers faced off one half of the Brain Busters’ (Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler and author. His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen, in the NWA/WCW...
as part of the 4 on 4 elimination matches at Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1989)
Survivor Series was the third annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1989 at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois. This was the first Survivor Series event to feature team...
. Prior to the match, Anderson’s tag team partner Tully Blanchard
Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen....
had failed a drug test and was fired, forcing manager Bobby Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
to wrestle in his place. The Rockers and the Brain Busters had one last match at Saturday Night's Main Event where they defeated the Brain Busters 2 falls to 1. After the match, Bobby Heenan fired the team in a backstage segment to explain why the team disappeared from the WWF.
In December 1989, The Rockers feuded with The Powers of Pain
Powers of Pain
The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:...
until February 1990.
In April 1990, the Rockers faced new competition in the form of Pat Tanaka
Pat Tanaka
Patrick "Pat" Tanaka is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express...
and Akio Sato, the newly signed team known as The Orient Express
The Orient Express
For the full article on Badd Company see Badd CompanyThe Orient Express was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s composed of Pat Tanaka and Akio Sato, who was later replaced by Kato....
. The two teams kicked off a prolonged feud that started at WrestleMania VI
WrestleMania VI
WrestleMania VI was the World Wrestling Federation's sixth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event and the first to be held outside of the U.S...
and continued off and on for well over a year. When Sato decided leave the American wrestling scene in December 1990, the WWF decided team Tanaka up with his former partner Paul Diamond under a mask. Tanaka and Diamond had previously teamed as Badd Company
Badd Company
Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. It is rumored that the team name was derived from the rock band Bad Company...
and won the AWA Tag Team Championship from the Rockers. The Rockers and the Orient Express had a high profile, high flying match at the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1991)
Royal Rumble was the fourth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 19, 1991 at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida....
.
Tag team title controversy
By current WWE records, The Rockers never officially held the WWF Tag Team Championship but on October 30, 1990 Jannetty and Michaels did actually defeat the reigning champions The Hart FoundationThe Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation referred to several teams or stables in the World Wrestling Federation , usually consisted of members or close friends of the Hart wrestling family from Canada....
in a two out of three falls match in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
to seemingly win the title. The WWE (WWF) has never officially recognized The Rockers' champion status. During the match the top rope broke by accident making the match a disjointed affair that would require serious clean up before it could be shown on TV. The Rockers defended the WWF Tag Team title against Power and Glory
Power and Glory
Power and Glory was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from 1990 to 1991. The team consisted of Hercules and Paul "Romeo" Roma...
(Paul Roma
Paul Roma
Paul Roma is a professional wrestler who is known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling primarily as a tag-team wrestler alongside such partners as Jim Powers, Hercules, Arn Anderson and Paul Orndorff.-World Wrestling Federation :Paul Roma entered...
and Hercules
Ray Fernandez
Raymond Fernandez was a professional wrestler who primarily wrestled in Florida and Texas before joining the World Wrestling Federation. He was best known by the ring name Hercules Hernandez or simply Hercules...
) on November 3, 1990. Shortly after November 3 it was decided to not air the title change and that the title would revert to the Hart Foundation. In his book Michaels claims that the Hart Foundation had politicked to keep the title. Michaels claim is contradicted by other claims that the WWF had actually fired Jim Neidhart
Jim Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
forcing the title change but after the match the two sides came to an agreement and Neidhart was brought back. Whatever the reason the Rockers were never officially credited with a title win but footage from the match was shown prior to Jannetty’s WWF return in 1995. The match can be seen in its entirety on the DVD The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak & Triumph. Because it never aired, the match was not clipped and thus is shown in full with no commentary; the only edit being after the second fall when a ring crew arrived to reattach the broken rope.
Break up and beyond
After teaming together since 1985 the Rockers split up in December 1991 after backstage disputes. The exact nature of the dispute has not been confirmed by the WWF other than it was a monetary issue that lead to Jannetty quitting the WWF on behalf of both Rockers. According to Michaels's book, Jannetty had claimed that World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
were willing to give them a very high guaranteed contract but when Michaels inquired about it turned out to be an exaggeration. Jannetty disputes this saying that Michaels was the driving force suggesting to quit the WWF, but had Jannetty do the phone call to ask for a release from their contract. When Vince McMahon actually agreed to let them go Michaels appeared shocked according to him, and later went to McMahon unbeknownst to him to explain this was Jannetty´s idea only and that he had no intention of leaving the WWF himself. After cooler heads prevailed it was decided that the Rockers should split with Michaels turning heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
to feud with Jannetty. Jannetty was not happy about the team splitting, while Michaels could not wait to work as a singles wrestler.
On screen there was no mention of what went on backstage, instead Michaels and Jannetty started to show signs of dissension. During a singles match between Michaels and Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
, Jannetty rolled Shawn into the ring to get pinned. Michaels took this as Jannetty costing him the match instead of helping out (though this was a storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
). At the 1991 Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1991)
Survivor Series was the fifth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Eve, November 27, 1991 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan...
Jannetty caused Michaels to be eliminated by accidentally slamming one of the Nasty Boys into him after which the Rockers argued. After the build up, the Rockers wrestled one last match on television, a title shot at The Legion of Doom
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
which the Rockers lost after which Jannetty and Michaels argued over who was to blame.
A DVD extra on Heartbreak And Triumph titled The Rockers "Fight" reveals that they got into a legit fight on an unknown date that was instigated by Roddy Piper
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
. The story, told by Jannetty, reveals that police were called to the scene and arrested Jannetty. As they were arresting him though, Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
stepped in and prevented him from going to jail by telling the police that it was all part of a storyline even though in reality he did not know the cause of the fight in the first place. Michaels almost quit the WWF over the incident, and Jannetty believes that this incident was one of the factors in the WWF's decision to break up the Rockers.
The final split came on Brutus Beefcake’s "Barbershop" (taped on December 2, 1991, and shown on January 12, 1992) where Beefcake interviewed the Rockers about their recent problems. After seemingly working their problems out Michaels suddenly blasted Jannetty with a Super kick and then threw him through the glass window on the set. Michaels also proceeded to rip a full page picture of the group in half, signifying the separation. The turn had the desired effect of making Michaels a hated heel especially since the WWF agreed to let Jannetty "blade" (make himself bleed) after being thrown through the window, something which was not very prevalent in 1991. It also prevented Jannetty from entering the Royal Rumble in 1992.
Michaels vs Jannetty
Michaels and Jannetty were supposed to feud following the breakup, but Jannetty left the federation for personal reasons, forcing the feud to be abandoned at least temporarily. While Jannetty was away, Michaels began developing his “Heartbreak Kid” heel persona including getting Sherri MartelSherri Martel
Sherri Schrull was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri....
as his manager. Michaels also won the WWF Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
from The British Bulldog
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
. On the October 31, 1992 edition of WWF Superstars, Michaels was in the ring posing before a match, admiring himself in a mirror that Sherri brought to the ring. To everyone’s surprise, Jannetty came down through the crowd and entered the ring. Jannetty attacked Michaels, grabbed the mirror and tried to hit Michaels with it. But instead Michaels pulled Sherri in front of himself so that she got hit with the mirror instead. This led to Sherri being hospitalized from the glass shards (only in storyline terms) when Sherri returned from her “recovery” she turned on Michaels and actually backed Jannetty in his unsuccessful attempt to take the Intercontinental title away from Michaels at the 1993 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1993)
Royal Rumble was the sixth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 24, 1993 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. The main event was a Royal Rumble match, a battle royal in which two wrestlers...
. After the loss, Jannetty once again left the WWF.
During an episode of Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
on May 17, 1993, Jannetty returned to the WWF during an impromptu challenge. Jannetty defeated Shawn Michaels to win the title (with the help of Mr. Perfect
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
). Three weeks later Jannetty lost the title back to Michaels in an untelevised house show thanks to the interference of Michaels’ new bodyguard Diesel
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
. After losing the title the Michaels/Jannetty feud petered out with Michaels focusing on other title challengers while Jannetty wrestled on the mid-card.
The New Rockers
In September 1995, Jannetty returned to the WWF and initially worked in the singles division. In early 1996, Jannetty was introduced to Al SnowAl Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
and told that he would be his new partner as the New Rockers. The idea was initially going to be a more or less straight up return to the Rockers gimmick, but the decision was soon made to turn them more "silly" and become comedy heels according to Marty Jannetty in the book The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. They were told that the idea was for them to be like watching the 1960s television show The Monkees
The Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
, complete with Snow being named "Leif Cassidy" as a play off 1970s idols David Cassidy
David Cassidy
David Bruce Cassidy is an American actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his role as the character of Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical/sitcom The Partridge Family. He was one of pop culture's most celebrated teen idols, enjoying a successful pop career in the 1970s, and...
and Leif Garrett
Leif Garrett
Leif Garrett is an American singer and actor. He became famous in the late 1970s as a teen idol, but received much publicity in later life for his drug abuse and legal troubles.-Early life:...
. Going against his better judgment, Jannetty agreed to it, if nothing else than to help Snow out, who was trying to find a bankable gimmick. Jannetty was later informed that former partner Shawn Michaels had been the one to suggest the change in the gimmick. The team was never seriously pushed in the WWF making only a couple of low card PPV appearances before Jannetty decided to leave the WWF in December 1996.
Reunions
In the years following Jannetty's 1996 departure, Michaels became a born-again Christian in real life. This helped the two to patch up their above mentioned off-screen differences once and for all when Michaels shared his faith and aided Jannetty in becoming a Christian. On the SmackDown! shown on March 10, 2005 (taped two days earlier) Kurt AngleKurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
announced that as part of his preparation for his WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21 was the twenty-first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on April 3, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It started off with an interpormotional battle royal, for which Booker T...
against Michaels he would face Michaels old partner Jannetty on the following SmackDown. The following Monday (March 14, 2005) Jannetty made a surprise appearance on WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and for one night the Rockers reunited to take on La Résistance (Sylvain Grenier
Sylvain Grenier
Sylvain Grenier is a Canadian professional wrestler, who is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment in the La Résistance tag team. He is currently a French language announcer for TNA Impact! on RDS....
and Rob Conway). Jannetty got the win with the "Rocker Dropper" after Michaels hit ”Sweet Chin Music” on Grenier. Three days later on SmackDown Angle had promised to make Jannetty ”tap out”, just like he was going to make Michaels tap out at WrestleMania 21. On the night Angle made good on his promise and forced Jannetty to submit to his ankle lock submission hold, but only after a nearly twenty minute match and an impressive showing for Jannetty which saw him nearly pin the Olympic champion. After two good showings on Raw and SmackDown to convince WWE that he was still a very talented performer, they signed him to a contract. Due to a domestic incident, Jannetty was arrested and thus unable to meet the commitments of his WWE contract, which lead to him being released from his contract by July 6, 2005.
On the February 20, 2006 edition of Raw, Michaels was pitted against four of the five members of the Spirit Squad
Spirit Squad
The Spirit Squad was a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling that consisted of Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky, and Mikey. The team's ring personas were those of an all-male cheerleading squad....
in their in-ring debut. After he had connected with "Sweet Chin Music", Michaels was attacked by all five members until an unknown man came storming in to the ring to defend Michaels. During the melee, it was revealed that it was Jannetty coming to defend his former tag team partner. Later on Raw, Vince McMahon came out to mention that he would offer Jannetty a full-time contract. However, Mr. McMahon added a stipulation - Jannetty had to join Mr. McMahon's "Kiss My Ass Club" the following week on Raw. On Raw Jannetty refused to kiss Mr. McMahon’s ass. McMahon instead offered Jannetty the possibility of breaking Chris Masters' signature submission hold, the Master Lock. Jannetty appeared to almost break the hold, but Mr. McMahon (who was officiating) delivered a low blow, and Jannetty was never able to break it, only being released when Michaels ran in to save him. Shortly after Michaels had saved Jannetty, Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon is an American executive, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of YOU On Demand. A former executive and professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment , he is the son of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and former US Senate candidate Linda...
ran in the ring with a steel chair and knocked out Michaels. The former Rockers were supposed to continue a program with the McMahons, but Jannetty was absent from the next edition of Raw which meant that they had to rewrite the angle leaving Jannetty out of it.
In December 2007, Michaels began feuding with Mr. Kennedy
Ken Anderson (wrestler)
Kenneth Anderson is an American professional wrestler and occasional actor. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Mr. Anderson. He is a former two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, making him an overall two time world champion. He wrestled under the ring...
. Kennedy was set to face off against Jannetty at the Raw 15th Anniversary Spectacular. Kennedy won the match, but continued beating down Jannetty. Michaels then came out to save his former partner from a beating. Before Michaels had a chance to get in the first punch, Kennedy quickly recognized Michaels and started an assault on him. Until Triple H Shawn's D-X Partner Came Out And Kennedy Escaped.
In wrestling
- Double-team finishing moves
- Aided diving fist drop while jumping off the partner's shoulders from the corner
- DoubleProfessional wrestling double-team maneuversThe double-team maneuvers in professional wrestling are executed by two wrestlers instead of one and typically are used by tag teams in tag team matches. Many of these maneuvers are combination of two throws, or submission holds. Most moves are known by the names that professional wrestlers give...
diving fist drop - Rocker-Plex (Simultaneous vertical suplex (Michaels) / diving crossbody (Jannetty) combination)
- Double-team signature moves
- Double missile dropkicks from adjacent corners
- Double Russian legsweep
- Double superkick
Championships and accomplishments
- American Wrestling AssociationAmerican Wrestling AssociationThe American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
- AWA World Tag Team ChampionshipAWA World Tag Team ChampionshipThe American Wrestling Association World Tag Team Championship was professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991.-History :...
(2 times)
- AWA World Tag Team Championship
- Central States WrestlingHeart of America Sports AttractionsHeart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...
- NWA Central States Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Central States Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988...
(1 time)
- NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
- Continental Wrestling AssociationContinental Wrestling AssociationThe Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
- AWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipAWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
(2 times)
- AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked them #33 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" in 2003
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Tag Team of the Year (1989)