Why It's Time To FINALLY Kill The Worst Trope In Wrestling

5. From Rockers To Rivals

Toxic Attraction Jacy Jayne Gigi Dolin
WWE.com

With Shawn Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty, the plan was for these former partners to feud across 1992 and have a high profile singles match at WrestleMania VIII.

Sure, we did get a semblance of a rivalry between the two, but those greater designs for what many presumed would be a classic feud were immediately hindered by the behaviour of Marty. Just two weeks after the Wrestling Challenge break-up aired on TV, Jannetty was arrested outside a Tampa, Florida night club for drug charges and for resisting arrest.

Unfortunately for fans eager to see Michaels vs. Jannetty, this situation caused Marty to be placed under house arrest for six months and he was subsequently released by WWF.

Jannetty would eventually be rehired and return to WWF programming in October '92, but clearly that was long, long after WrestleMania VIII and what was intended to be a show-stealer of a match between these former partners. During Marty's time out of the company, Michaels had established himself as the hottest rising heel on the roster, taking the nefarious Sensational Sherri as his manager, fleshing out his cocksure Heartbreak Kid persona, and besting Davey Boy Smith to become the Intercontinental Champion.

Granted, Marty Jannetty's return on the 31 October 1992 episode of WWF Superstars - where he came out of the crowd to appear behind Shawn as the arrogant HBK admired himself in front of a mirror - received a huge pop, but clearly this was a case of striking while the iron was far from hot.

Michaels would successfully defend the IC Title against Jannetty at the 1993 Royal Rumble in an extremely solid bout... though Marty would again be fired soon after due to allegedly being drunk during that match. Still, he would return again in May, surprising his old partner in an impromptu match that saw Jannetty dethrone Shawn as the Intercontinental Champion.

Thanks to the arrival of Diesel, Michaels would regain that title just three weeks later, and the hotly-anticipated feud between the two immediately fizzled out as the pair went in different directions.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.