The Rockers

The Rockers
Shawn Michaels (left) and Marty Jannetty (right)
Tag team
Members	Shawn Michaels Marty Jannetty
Name(s)	The Rockers The Midnight Rockers
Heights	Shawn: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Marty: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Combined weight	451 lb (205 kg)
Debut	May 15, 1985
Disbanded	January 12, 1992
Years active	1985–1992, 2005
Promotions	AWA, NWA CSW, CWA CCW, WWF

The Rockers were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty that teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for NWA Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestling Federation, Continental Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation. In 1992, the team had a violent kayfabe breakup that helped propel Michaels into the singles ranks with "The Heartbreak Kid" gimmick that he used until his retirement in 2010. After the breakup Michaels and Jannetty had an on again, off again feud due to Jannetty leaving the WWF on more than one occasion. In 1996, Jannetty teamed up with Leif Cassidy (later to be known as Al Snow) to form The New Rockers but the team never achieved much success in the WWF and ended later that same year.

In 2005, The Rockers reunited for one night but nothing more came of it because Jannety was released by WWE. In 2006, Jannetty was slated to return and work an extended angle, teaming with Michaels against Vince and Shane McMahon but only made two televised appearances before being released from his contract. Instead, WWE reformed Michaels's other team, D-Generation X, to fill the story line.

Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels first met and struck up a friendship when they both competed for the National Wrestling Alliance's Central States Wrestling territory in Kansas City in 1985. Initially they would only travel together (along with Dave "D.J." Peterson) since Jannetty was either teaming with Tommy Rogers (better known as Tommy Lane of the Rock 'n' Roll RPMs) as the Uptown Boys, or he was teaming with Central States booker ”Bulldog” Bob Brown. After the team of Jannetty and Brown broke up Michaels and Jannetty started teaming up, although they were not given a team name. On May 15, 1985 Michaels and Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins (Brad & Bart) to win the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship. Their first title reign was short-lived as the Batten Twins regained the title only a week later on May 22, 1985. Shortly after the team lost the CSW tag team title, Michaels left Kansas City and the NWA, and returned to his homestate of Texas to work for Texas All-Star Wrestling. In TASW Shawn began teaming with Paul Diamond as ”American Force” and the team of Jannetty and Michaels seemed like it was never meant to be a permanent thing.