10 Best Wrestling Matches That Ever Happened In New York City
8. Shawn Michaels Vs. Marty Jannetty - WWE Raw (19 July 1993)
In the early days of Raw, the show was mostly built around squash matches. The nature of the business was such that free TV was used to drive Pay-Per-View and house show revenues, so marquee matches were typically saved for when fans were paying money. Still, the occasional "name versus name" match made it to the show in the early days, and one of the best was Shawn Michaels versus Marty Jannetty.
Michaels and Jannetty had come to WWE as The Rockers, a babyface tandem popular for their athletic ability and good looks. The two teamed for more than three years, but famously split when HBK superkicked Jannetty on Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop talk show, then threw him through a plate glass window. Jannetty took time off to sell the injury, but was fired from WWE after an arrest.
Jannetty's talent led him back into the company and his personal problems forced him out, but in May of 1993, he beat Michaels for the Intercontinental Title. HBK soon won the belt back, and the two men faced off one last time on Raw in the Manhattan Center.
The two had a hard-hitting, ultra-athletic encounter that saw Michaels's bodyguard, Diesel, get involved more than once. At one point, Jannetty scored the pin off a DDT, but Diesel alerted the referee that HBK had gotten his foot on the bottom rope. In the end, Michaels dodged a crossbody, and Jannetty went flying over the top rope to the outside. Diesel tossed the challenger back in the ring, and Michaels pinned him to retain the title.