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

2. Why The Jannetty Comparisons Are Lazy

Toxic Attraction Jacy Jayne Gigi Dolin
WWE.com

The way that WWE and fans throw around the Jannetty term, it's done in a way that's supposed to lambast a performer as being an untalented wrestler who was only decent in a tag team due to the abilities of their partner. It's basically saying, "Marty Jannetty was the s**ts, was completely carried by his partner, and so too is Wrestler A of Generic Tag Team #1".

That statement, to borrow a word from the playbook of the late, great Mr. Perfect, is bogus.

Don't let the WWE narrative or online chatter fool you; Marty Jannetty was a phenomenal worker.

Jannetty was a fantastic in-ring talent before he ever teamed with Shawn Michaels, was a fantastic in-ring talent during his teaming with Michaels, and was a fantastic in-ring talent after his pairing with Shawn was over. A healthy Marty Jannetty was one of the very best, smoothest wrestlers in the then-WWF during his tenures with the company in the 1980s and '90s.

If you needed to get a great match out of a bang average wrestler, Marty was one of those talents - much like a Shawn Michaels or a Bret Hart - that WWF management could turn to. During their time together, the Rockers were absolutely equals in terms of wrestling talent and their ability to connect to the audience.

Of course Shawn Michaels completely ran with the ball and took himself to an entirely different level upon turning heel and embarking on the singles ranks in 1992, but Marty Jannetty likewise had the potential to be a genuine breakout babyface singles act following that split.

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.