100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time (Ranked)
69. Marty Jannetty vs. Shawn Michaels (Raw, 19 July 1993)
There was a mountain-sized chip on the shoulders of both former Rockers when they tussled on a July 1993 edition of the still-new Monday Night Raw. Their first major match up at Royal Rumble earlier in the year had been considered a real disappointment; it wasn't even a terrible match, but it definitely could've been better. Reportedly, an erm...rough night for Marty before the Rumble knackered proceedings.
That irritated Vince McMahon and cost Jannetty his job, but he was back by the time summer rolled around, and the WWF boss was willing to try again on a Marty singles push. The ever-controversial Jannetty would actually win the Intercontinental Title from HBK in mid-May, but his reign only lasted a month or so before Shawn regained the thing on a June house show loop.
Come the 19 July edition of Raw, there was a lot of anticipation about Marty repeating his prior feat. It wasn't to be, but what a bloody match these former tag-team partners treated everyone watching to! They were right on top of their game that night, and they'd fully exorcised pesky demons hanging over (ahem) from the Rumble pay-per-view by working multiple bangers afterwards.
That had to feel good even if Jannetty's singles push wouldn't take off the way he might've hoped.
Still, he and Michaels had gone around 23 minutes and finally lived up to the hype. What's more, they didn't even need a shock title change to make the moment. It's a crying shame that some will skip this in favour of exclusively watching the so-so Rumble scrap or the more famous match from 17 May '93.