Post by guiltyparty on Nov 26, 2013 13:21:05 GMT -5
The write up of Marty Jannetty makes it clear we’re getting a tag specialist version, which I think is the version we should be getting. With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to talk about potential partnerships for Jannetty.
Real World Partners
Let’s assume, just for a moment that neither 1-2-3 Kid or Shawn Michaels are amongst the remaining 5 names to be announced (probably a pretty safe assumption), nor his more obscure partners like Bulldog Bob Brown or Tommy Lane. That leaves only a few of Jannetty’s real world partners available:
Al Snow- The one that is obvious is Al Snow. I actually really liked the New Rockers. I thought they were a fun, talented team at a time when tag team wrestling was near rock bottom. The biggest obstacle to reuniting the New Rockers is probably Al Snow’s card. While Snow has a perfectly serviceable card, it is clearly a card for Mid-card comedy act/hardcore singles brawler Al Snow, not for mid-card comedy act/high-flying tag team specialist Leaf Cassidy.
Green Ant- A little outside the box, but if you mix cards and want to give Jannetty a real world partner, Jannetty made his in ring CHAKARA debut teaming with Green Ant. Personally, I’d hold out for CHIKARA version of Jannetty.
The Orphans
There is a fraternity in LOW that, again operating under the above assumption, Jannetty will join upon his release. I call them “Orphans”, the guys who are ironically part of a famous tag team, who’s iconic partner isn’t in the game. There are some good partner options in this camp.
The Mountie- The least “Orphan”-y of all the Orphans is The Mountie. Though to me he’ll always be Jacques Rougeau, All-American Boy, his card is undoubtedly a singles star, hence the shockstick and chokeslam instead of the Rougeau Bomb or the Quebec Crash. Still, the Mountie provides an interesting option for consideration, and a pairing of Rougeau and Jannetty, possibly managed by Jimmy Hart, could be a lot of fun.
Warlord- Another Orphan who’s not really hurting for a partner. The thing I like about this pairing is the clash of styles. Warlord is the ultimate strong man, and Jannetty should be an agility heavy card. Big man/Little man is never a bad combo.
Tracy Smothers- This is the pairing I’m personally leaning towards. Smothers has a respectable tag card, with four defensive tags, and I can picture them as a team in my head really clearly.
Jim Powers- This is one I think could be a real strong pairing. Both are cut from that 80’s pretty boy mold, and Powers has the potential to be a strong second fiddle while letting Marty shine for a change.
Masked Superstar- I’m only listing him hear because the idea of partnering Marty Jannetty and Ax tickles the crap out of me.
Dennis Condrey & Tom Prichard- These guys aren’t Orphans, but if, like me, you use the Lane/Eaton combination of the Midnight Express, they can be viewed as such (assuming you don’t want to use Prichard in the Bodydonnas… Just go with it)…. Regardless, these are two very solid tag team guys and would make a competitive team when paired with Jannetty for sure. Style-wise, Prichard might be a better fit, but Condrey is a stronger card. Two fun notes about using Condrey; he and Jannetty feuded over the AWA tag team titles, second, their hybrid team name would be The Midnight Rockers
Contemporaries
There are some guys from Jannetty’s prime who are also worth considering.
Koko B. Ware- How is it that Marty Jannetty and Koko B. Ware were never a tag team? It feels like Koko tagged with everyone?!?! Anyway, this is an easy pairing to make, as their styles should be really similar. This one is so easy it almost feels like lazy booking.
Brad Armstrong- There are some parallels between Jannetty and Armstrong. They are both from Georgia, both are tag specialists, both had short lived singles success, both were largely over shadowed by more charismatic wrestlers with whom they are closely associated. Could be a fun combo.
Bobby Eaton- This one’s not even fair. Eaton is the premier tag team guy in the game. You could partner him with Mr. X and they’d be a contender. So, if Jannetty is an even slightly competent card these two could be champions together… Particularly if Cornette is at ringside.
One Man Gang- Like I said before, Big man/Little man is always fun. Jannetty and OMG have some history (Jannetty made his Wrestlemania debut in tag action against OMG), and I personally always like using Gang in tag team action.
Brutus Beefcake- Looking for a face partner for Beefcake? Jannetty could be the guy. Just keep him away from any plate glass windows at the Barbershop.
Boogie Woogie Man- Rock and Roll Boogie Wooggie? It’s a natural fit.
Buddy Rose- Buddy has a good tag card, and with their feud being mentioned in the post, pairing them up could be a fun bit of role reversal.
Non-Contemporaries
Red Bastien - Okay, “Red Rock” doesn’t roll off the tongue the way “Red Pepper” does, but this could be a very interesting and successful pairing. Bastien is the original LOW tag team specialist, and he and Jannetty could fuse very well.
Bob Roop- Technically, Roop could have been listed as a contemporary, but I always think of him as a seventies guy. Roop’s a good tag card, but not sure he’ll be a great partner for Jannetty, with Roop’s patriotic, Olympic spiel and Jannetty’s rock and roll. Creative booking could make it work.
Don Leo Jonathan- Another potential Big/Little combo. DLJ doesn’t have a lot going on tag wise, but is strong enough on his own to make up for it. This pairing forces Jannetty in to the “Ricky Morton” roll more than most…
John Pesek & William Muldoon & Abe Lincoln- These guys are awful tag cards, but they make for a really fun character contrast with Jannetty’s rock and roll persona.
(Potentially(?)) Crazy Ideas
Freebird- Ever since Gordy was released in Legends Partners, I’ve been eyeing releases as potential substitute Freebirds. Jannetty, with his rocker gimmick, tag focus, and natural second banana-ness (and I say that as a fan) could be a really good stand in for Jimmy Garvin.
Horseman- Jannetty should be a tag team workhorse. As such, he should be viable for the role of the “Tully Blanchard” to someone else’s “Arn Anderson” in a pseudo Horsemen arrangement. And he’d still be a better Horseman than Paul Roma.
Solo- Obviously, just because someone is designed as a tag specialist doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy singles success (I should know, my reigning World's Champion is Road Warrior Animal). Jannetty may make a great underdog face, or may even be surprisingly effective as a heel (I know post WWF he had a heel run in Memphis, though I never saw any of it).
So, what pairings have y’all considered? Are there any obvious ones I’m missing?
Real World Partners
Let’s assume, just for a moment that neither 1-2-3 Kid or Shawn Michaels are amongst the remaining 5 names to be announced (probably a pretty safe assumption), nor his more obscure partners like Bulldog Bob Brown or Tommy Lane. That leaves only a few of Jannetty’s real world partners available:
Al Snow- The one that is obvious is Al Snow. I actually really liked the New Rockers. I thought they were a fun, talented team at a time when tag team wrestling was near rock bottom. The biggest obstacle to reuniting the New Rockers is probably Al Snow’s card. While Snow has a perfectly serviceable card, it is clearly a card for Mid-card comedy act/hardcore singles brawler Al Snow, not for mid-card comedy act/high-flying tag team specialist Leaf Cassidy.
Green Ant- A little outside the box, but if you mix cards and want to give Jannetty a real world partner, Jannetty made his in ring CHAKARA debut teaming with Green Ant. Personally, I’d hold out for CHIKARA version of Jannetty.
The Orphans
There is a fraternity in LOW that, again operating under the above assumption, Jannetty will join upon his release. I call them “Orphans”, the guys who are ironically part of a famous tag team, who’s iconic partner isn’t in the game. There are some good partner options in this camp.
The Mountie- The least “Orphan”-y of all the Orphans is The Mountie. Though to me he’ll always be Jacques Rougeau, All-American Boy, his card is undoubtedly a singles star, hence the shockstick and chokeslam instead of the Rougeau Bomb or the Quebec Crash. Still, the Mountie provides an interesting option for consideration, and a pairing of Rougeau and Jannetty, possibly managed by Jimmy Hart, could be a lot of fun.
Warlord- Another Orphan who’s not really hurting for a partner. The thing I like about this pairing is the clash of styles. Warlord is the ultimate strong man, and Jannetty should be an agility heavy card. Big man/Little man is never a bad combo.
Tracy Smothers- This is the pairing I’m personally leaning towards. Smothers has a respectable tag card, with four defensive tags, and I can picture them as a team in my head really clearly.
Jim Powers- This is one I think could be a real strong pairing. Both are cut from that 80’s pretty boy mold, and Powers has the potential to be a strong second fiddle while letting Marty shine for a change.
Masked Superstar- I’m only listing him hear because the idea of partnering Marty Jannetty and Ax tickles the crap out of me.
Dennis Condrey & Tom Prichard- These guys aren’t Orphans, but if, like me, you use the Lane/Eaton combination of the Midnight Express, they can be viewed as such (assuming you don’t want to use Prichard in the Bodydonnas… Just go with it)…. Regardless, these are two very solid tag team guys and would make a competitive team when paired with Jannetty for sure. Style-wise, Prichard might be a better fit, but Condrey is a stronger card. Two fun notes about using Condrey; he and Jannetty feuded over the AWA tag team titles, second, their hybrid team name would be The Midnight Rockers
Contemporaries
There are some guys from Jannetty’s prime who are also worth considering.
Koko B. Ware- How is it that Marty Jannetty and Koko B. Ware were never a tag team? It feels like Koko tagged with everyone?!?! Anyway, this is an easy pairing to make, as their styles should be really similar. This one is so easy it almost feels like lazy booking.
Brad Armstrong- There are some parallels between Jannetty and Armstrong. They are both from Georgia, both are tag specialists, both had short lived singles success, both were largely over shadowed by more charismatic wrestlers with whom they are closely associated. Could be a fun combo.
Bobby Eaton- This one’s not even fair. Eaton is the premier tag team guy in the game. You could partner him with Mr. X and they’d be a contender. So, if Jannetty is an even slightly competent card these two could be champions together… Particularly if Cornette is at ringside.
One Man Gang- Like I said before, Big man/Little man is always fun. Jannetty and OMG have some history (Jannetty made his Wrestlemania debut in tag action against OMG), and I personally always like using Gang in tag team action.
Brutus Beefcake- Looking for a face partner for Beefcake? Jannetty could be the guy. Just keep him away from any plate glass windows at the Barbershop.
Boogie Woogie Man- Rock and Roll Boogie Wooggie? It’s a natural fit.
Buddy Rose- Buddy has a good tag card, and with their feud being mentioned in the post, pairing them up could be a fun bit of role reversal.
Non-Contemporaries
Red Bastien - Okay, “Red Rock” doesn’t roll off the tongue the way “Red Pepper” does, but this could be a very interesting and successful pairing. Bastien is the original LOW tag team specialist, and he and Jannetty could fuse very well.
Bob Roop- Technically, Roop could have been listed as a contemporary, but I always think of him as a seventies guy. Roop’s a good tag card, but not sure he’ll be a great partner for Jannetty, with Roop’s patriotic, Olympic spiel and Jannetty’s rock and roll. Creative booking could make it work.
Don Leo Jonathan- Another potential Big/Little combo. DLJ doesn’t have a lot going on tag wise, but is strong enough on his own to make up for it. This pairing forces Jannetty in to the “Ricky Morton” roll more than most…
John Pesek & William Muldoon & Abe Lincoln- These guys are awful tag cards, but they make for a really fun character contrast with Jannetty’s rock and roll persona.
(Potentially(?)) Crazy Ideas
Freebird- Ever since Gordy was released in Legends Partners, I’ve been eyeing releases as potential substitute Freebirds. Jannetty, with his rocker gimmick, tag focus, and natural second banana-ness (and I say that as a fan) could be a really good stand in for Jimmy Garvin.
Horseman- Jannetty should be a tag team workhorse. As such, he should be viable for the role of the “Tully Blanchard” to someone else’s “Arn Anderson” in a pseudo Horsemen arrangement. And he’d still be a better Horseman than Paul Roma.
Solo- Obviously, just because someone is designed as a tag specialist doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy singles success (I should know, my reigning World's Champion is Road Warrior Animal). Jannetty may make a great underdog face, or may even be surprisingly effective as a heel (I know post WWF he had a heel run in Memphis, though I never saw any of it).
So, what pairings have y’all considered? Are there any obvious ones I’m missing?
