5 career turning moments for Shawn Michaels

#2 The barbershop incident

A cruel but necessary move.

The Rockers were a consistently strong part of the WWF's impressive roster throughout much of the late 80s and early 90s, but as the old saying goes, you just cannot keep good talent from rising to the top. Shawn had clearly outgrown his partnership by the time 1991 came around and it was time to set his sights on a singles career.

During an edition of 'The Barbershop', a TV-style segment hosted by Brutus Beefcake similar to Piper's Pit, Shawn turned on his partner, superkicking him out of nowhere and smashing his face through the barbershop window. Breaking up a tag-team in this fashion is a move we have seen the WWF do on multiple occasions over the years, and while Shawn and Marty were not the first to do it, this will always feature highly on the all time greatest heel turns the company has done.

The occasion was made even more satisfying with Bobby Heenan on commentary, responding to Michaels' actions with approval stating 'I knew he was gonna do that!'

Fans couldn't possibly have known just what kind of a career the future WWF Champion was going to have, but they knew the timing was right and that they were in for at least a good few months of seeing these two compete against each other.

As much as the barbershop incident launched Shawn onto bigger and better things, the occasion also marks probably the last notable moment of Marty Jannetty's career, despite him going on to win the IC Championship a few years later. For one reason or another, Jannetty would not feature prominently in the future plans of the WWF.

Even today, tag teams will often measure themselves on who is the Shawn Michaels of the pair and who is the Marty Jannetty.