50 Fascinating Facts About WWE in The 1980s
35. The Rockers Were Fired After One TV Match
Praise the wrestling lords for second chances. Without them, us fans would've been robbed of two spectacular Shawn Michaels stints in the WWF/WWE. Before becoming HBK, Shawn was part of The Midnight Rockers tag team with fellow high flyer Marty Jannetty. They were hired in June 1987, the "Midnight" bit was chopped from their name, then...the ex-AWA pair were fired after a few short weeks.
Shawn and Marty quickly earned a reputation as wild, out of control party animals who couldn't be tamed and wouldn't listen to authority. That irritated various agents at house shows and TV tapings alike, so Vince had to make an example of the rebellious pair. They were promptly fired and returned to Gagne territory, but The Rockers would return in June 1988 for another whirl.
They'd learned a valuable lesson. Michaels and Jannetty were still up for a party, but they knew they had to be professional and do the business in-ring first and foremost. In total, The Rockers only worked one match taped for an episode of Wrestling Challenge during that initial spurt - it came vs. Jose Estrada and Jimmy Jack Funk, but the bout probably never surfaced due to their run being so short.
McMahon knew he had to discourage newbies from irking his staff. He surely didn't want to cut The Rockers loose after bringing them in from a competitor, but the pair didn't leave Vince with much of a choice. At least things worked out well in the long run. Shawn went on to become one of the biggest stars ever in the 90s.