10 Greatest WWE TV Matches Ever
7. Shawn Michaels Vs. Marty Jannetty - RAW (July 19, 1993)
The pace at which this superior sequel to a pay-per-view offering (a recurring theme throughout) was breathtaking, all hip toss reversals and finisher teases - so much so that it could only have lasted minutes.
It did and it didn’t. Jannetty thought he’d captured Michaels’ then-prestigious Intercontinental Title, but it was a Dusty finish - just one heart-wrenching moment in a match predicated on unbearable suspense. The origins of Shawn’s brattish heel persona were planted here. He used all of the old tricks, planting his foot on the ropes and using the referee as an obstruction - but the best and ultimately most effective tactic in a match crammed with agonising and believable near-falls saw him intentionally wrap himself in the ropes just to avoid his former partner’s never-rivalled babyface fire. As Jannetty sailed towards him, Michaels unhooked himself; Jannetty could only torpedo helplessly into the guardrail. That, and Diesel’s assistance, handed Shawn the win - but it was a quiet, wider victory for the smaller and more athletic talents in the Federation. The deafening reaction confirmed that they belonged at the forefront.
It might not live on as one of the prominent highlights of Shawn’s CV. His status as Mr. WrestleMania casts a singular shadow.
But it should be remembered as a corrective footnote to the tired jabs at Jannetty’s expense. He is known primarily as “not Shawn Michaels”, and it’s ironic. On this evidence, he is lightyears more talented than the men who use him as shorthand for a cheap heat jab at their former partners.