Shawn Michaels Turns On Marty Jannetty (1992)

A prerequisite for any successful tag team is that they will eventually break up. The Rockers were no different, and their split continues to serve as a standard bearer for how to expertly execute friend-on-friend betrayal in pro wrestling.

Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty teamed together from the mid-80s to early ‘90s, showcasing their high-flying, fast-paced style and influencing the likes of the Hardy Boyz, Los Guerreros, and the Usos.

However, cracks in their foundation formed when Jennetty accidentally cost Michaels multiple matches and the duo suffered a deflating defeat against The Legion of Doom for the tag titles (which the Rockers never won).

Brutus Beefcake attempted to mend the Rockers’ relationship on his show The Barber Shop, but Michaels wound up super kicking Jannetty and tossing him through the barbershop window, face first.

To say the break up had significant ramifications would be an understatement. The Heartbreak Kid transformed into one of the best and most influential wrestlers ever, while Jannetty failed to reach an even remotely similar level of success. Still, The Rockers’s demise, due to Michaels’s turn, served as a blueprint for the division of many tag teams to follow.