Marty Jannetty

[Loss]

Looking at a few random singles matches over the years, I've been really impressed at Marty's ability to get himself over in front of just about any WWF crowd, whether he's being pushed at the time or not. The three matches that stand out are Jannetty vs Hughes from All American in '93, Jannetty vs Skip from RAW in '95 and his comeback match against Kurt Angle in 2005. He seems like a guy who could have had a really strong singles run if he had his act even halfway together. Really excellent at working as an underdog and building to interesting/creative spots when working against bigger guys. It's also interesting that in the Skip match, he manages to get himself more over for one match than just about any babyface in the company. And in 2005, he got himself over with an audience that had no reason to care about him at all.

 

I think the natural comparison is to Shawn Michaels, but I'd rather not go there for the purpose of this thread. That's a conversation you can have anywhere.

[Matt D]

I think, and this is going to be a hard thing to really debate, that while part of it was his energy and his selling and his hope spots and pluckiness, some of it was the simple fact that he personally saw himself as a bigger star than he was. I think it had to mess with him a bit when he was tagging with the 1-2-3 Kid at the start of 94 and the crowd was chanting 1-2-3 and not Marty.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Marty had two of my favourite matches from that weird early-mid-90s period in WWF: the best 2/3 with Doink, and the tag title change w/Kid against the Quebecers. I have no doubt that Marty was a better worker than Shawn at least into 1994 (though, to be fair, he was also in a much more familiar role). I think maybe we underestimate just how popular the Rockers were, and how fondly remembered they are (no doubt being a part of Shawn's legacy helps with that), and that probably plays a big part in Marty's enduring ability to get a reaction. I just hope that he doesn't end up being remembered as a joke, what with Miz cutting promos about how John Morrison was the 'Marty' of their team, and Hawkins and Ryder wearing those stupid "I'm Shawn, he's Marty" shirts.

[soup23]

I like Marty, I really do and I agree with the crux of the thread that when he was put in a signature singles match position he was able to have a real good match and performance. I vastly enjoyed the Buddy vs. Marty match from the AWA set for instance.

 

Where I usually sort of stray from the argument that seems to prevail is in this regard.

 

1. Marty could have been a bigger star

2. Marty was definitely better than Shawn in the Rockers era.

 

In regards to 1, I just don't see Marty having the charisma and personality to become a big singles star on his own. He was able to carry good matches and do quick burst interviews but there is a wall in my mind on where he could have developed beyond that. Perhaps he could have come into his own and had promo ability in him like Bret and Shawn did in 1997, but I am pessimistic. This may sound harsh but I do see Marty in a lot of ways as an upgraded Robert Gibson.

 

I have watched a good bit of Rockers in the past year or so with the AWA stuff, yearbooks, and my own personal revisit. I have not seen empirical proof that Marty is better in Shawn. Sure there is instances and matches where this happens but I have not seen prolonged stretches of this occurring. Marty might have been better at singles matches and going beyond the template at this time than Shawn but I did like Shawn more in the majority of the AWA tags and stuff in WWF like the second Conquistadors match and the 10/90 Harts tag. I'm certainly no proponent of the Shawn is the GOAT camp, but I do think in some regards the argument of Marty>Shawn is not backed up by definitive evidence.

[Dylan Waco]

I think Marty's best opportunities actually would have been as a heel. He knows how to work people up and while Shawn was always a heel you wanted to cheer, Marty at times feels like a face you want to boo. I watched a match he had with Scorpio from last week a couple of days ago and was pretty shocked at how good crippled, old Marty was as a heel even now

[soup23]

I can see Marty as a dodgy sort of heel getting some play.

[rzombie1988]

Marty was a good midcarder and upper level midcarder. He couldn't have been more on a major stage, but I could have seen him having a great run in something like a Memphis.

 

He gets too much crap for not being Shawn Michaels and not enough credit for being a very good midcard hand. Had he and WCW had their stuff together, there's no reason he shouldn't have had a Rick Martel run where he could have gotten good matches out Benoit/Eddie and the cruiserweights. I'd rather have a bunch of solid midcard hands than some so-so top guys.

 

Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins should both be wishing they were half as talented as Marty Jannetty.

 

Any Bret vs Marty matches out there? That would have been fun.

[Stiva]

Marty was a good midcarder and upper level midcarder. He couldn't have been more on a major stage, but I could have seen him having a great run in something like a Memphis.

 

He gets too much crap for not being Shawn Michaels and not enough credit for being a very good midcard hand. Had he and WCW had their stuff together, there's no reason he shouldn't have had a Rick Martel run where he could have gotten good matches out Benoit/Eddie and the cruiserweights. I'd rather have a bunch of solid midcard hands than some so-so top guys.

 

Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins should both be wishing they were half as talented as Marty Jannetty.

 

Any Bret vs Marty matches out there? That would have been fun.

Not according to HistoryofWWE but there's plenty of Hart Foundation vs. Rockers match from 89/90 floating around YT and Dailymotion that are fun.

[Exposer]

I like Marty a lot and have always recognized him as a tremendous tag wrestler. That Kurt Angle match from 05 is probably the best example of him proving that he had the potential to be a singles star because it was Kurt Angle long after Angle turned into a "get my shit in" guy and as Loss said the crowd really had no reason to give two shits about him. Whether or not Marty would have ever been a successful singles star is something that comes to mind from time to time while watching his tag matches.

[JerryvonKramer]

I agree with the view outlined by soup earlier in this thread re: Jannetty becoming a singles star although "upgraded Robert Gibson" might be a little strong.

 

However, the main problem Jannetty had in his career is that he never transferred from the Rockers look. Even in WCW he was still dressing like a Rocker. This is also why the Rock n Roll Express and The Fantastics faded in the 90s.

 

That was a fad that had a moment in which it was over 85-88 in Crockett and everywhere else, 89-91 in WWF, and then a moment beyond which it was hopelessly uncool. Change the gimmick. This picture tells you everything you need to know:

 

 

By 93, he should have moved on to a new look.

 

Here he is on Nitro in 98-99:

 

 

Come on dude, it's 1999 now!

 

Say what you want about drug problems, his build, his ability and all the rest of it, that's the reason Jannetty wasn't able to transition higher up the card.

[thebrainfollower]

Let me throw this thought out, how about Marty as the top face of Smoky Mountain once the Rockers break up?