The New Rockers ( Marty Jannetty and Leif Cassidy) vs The Hardy Boys WWF Superstars 05-28-1996
Never read Youtube comments
It's just not worth it. The cure to the common cold could be written in the comment section of one of the Chris Chan documentaries and it still wouldn't be worth it. I don't wish to be too controversial, but I'm beginning to suspect people are rude on the internet sometimes. I know, it shook me to my very core when I realized that too. It's not just YouTube obviously, but there always seems to be the craziest stuff written in a YouTube comment. I never read the comments
Except one, and I'm furious
After I watch a match , I save it to my drafts and then I either write a blog about it or sit on it for a few days and see if I have something to say about it. Some matches can be good, but unless I find a way to talk about it I don't think it's a good read for you. I thought I had finally found a hook for this match. I wanted to talk about The New Rockers and compare them to things people said sucked, but was actually good. How they were ahead of their time and it actually is a pretty fun gimmick. First though I needed to find the date of the match. So I scrolled down looking and there I saw a comment that shook me to my core. Not because It was mean or offensive, but because it made me feel foolish I never thought about it. Five years ago a user named Sean Morpheus wrote
" ....This looks like the blueprints for the Young Bucks to follow. The gimmick, the charisma, the interaction with the fans. They are babyfaces that act like heels. Or vice versa, it's brilliant"
Goddamnit
It blew up everything I had planned, because he was right. Now obviously, the Young Bucks and The New Rockers did not have similar movesets. However, it's hard not to watch the way The New Rockers act like absolute pricks in this match and not see some eerie similarities.
The New Rockers were Marty Jannetty and Leif Cassidy, better known as Al Snow. They took the white-meat babyface Rockers gimmick of the 80s and brought it into the 90s by making them self-delusional dorks. Tonight they're opponents are The Hardy Boys, which makes this even weirder given the role they would play in the careers of The Young Bucks. Right off the rip, The New Rockers shake the Hardy Boys hands as if they were going to be babyfaces.
They are not.
Leif Cassidy is especially great here trying to insincerely get the crowd behind him and doing ridiculous lame dance moves after offense. He looks like such an asshole. Him and Marty hit a lot of classic 80s tag team babyface offense, but then act like jerks by randomly knocking Jeff off the apron. At one point they whip Jeff into Matt who accidently suplexes Jeff to the outside WHO LANDS FLAT ON HIS BACK . Those are 96 WWF mats so there is no give. It is astonishing Jeff Hardy is still walking, let alone wrestling. When Jeff gets in, Marty Jannetty pulls down his headband and taunts him while Jeff is blind.
Sean Morpheus really nailed it
Marty is great at being a prick at this point, just waving his hand in front of his face and then punching Jeff. He also hits a really gnarly belly to belly on Jeff, followed by a big knee lift that Jeff goes above and beyond for. He takes the Scott Hall Stone Cold Stunner bump onto the back of his head. I also must point out that Marty is even dancing his way out of the ring now . Finish comes with a....oh god I hate this part.....reverse powerbomb top rope facebuster....thing? Anyways, it's enough to give The Young Buc....I mean New Rockers the win.
I went back and forth on it, but I decided this had to be in The Hall of Fame. It is such a great combo of cool moves and character work. People should seek this out , even if only to see the eerie similarities between The Young Bucks and The New Rockers. There is absolutely zero way it's intentional, but it's fun to see
TLDR Review
The New Rockers ahead of their time. The Hardy Boys before their time. I wish Marty Jannetty ascended to main event status
If you're interested in more condensed version of my thoughts, You can check out my Twitter where I talk about wrestling or stress out during Boston Celtics games. Hell, I'll even take suggestions for matches you want to see reviewed. You can also check out my Youtube where I make weird videos where I put on wigs in front of a camera to mask my true identity.