The Strange Case of Former WWE Superstar Marty Jannetty and His Confessing To Murder

For any wrestling fan, the name Marty Jannetty is synonymous with the late 80s wrestling scene. Finding success in the late 80s Jannetty moved to the major leagues of wrestling, performing for what was then known as the World Wrestling Federation. As one-half of the Rockers, along with WWE Hall of Famer and legend, Shawn Michaels, Jannetty, and Michaels were one of the tag teams that could be depended on to bring the fans to their feet. It was the golden era of tag team wrestling.

Jannetty and Michaels quickly rose through the ranks and achieved championship gold in the later part of 1990 as the WWE World Tag Team Champions. Their reign was short-lived as the win was voided for disputed reasons. The rockers remained on the scene until 1992 when they infamously split during an episode of WWF/WWE legend, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcakes moc talk show The Barbershop. It was then that Michaels hit perhaps his most notorious superkick on Jannetty and sent Jannetty crashing through the set window, ending one of the companies main tag teams.

After the notorious split, Jannetty became the companies Intercontinental Champion once and went on to capture the tag team titles a second time with Sean Waltman (1-2-3 Kid/X-Pac). Jannetty competes for the company off and on throughout the mid-90s, occasionally being in the world title scene with both ECW and WWF between 1995 and 1996. It was around that time that his star power had faded and he was relegated to the level of enhancement talent, mostly wrestling and putting over the talents that were on the rise.

Jannetty would return to WWE in the 2000s, making sporadic appearances in one-off events and as filler talent for legends nights and large matches like the Royal Rumble. His occasional appearances even lead to an on-screen reconciliation between Jannetty and Michaels in 2005 but it was all to be short-lived due to the issues that constantly plagued Jannetty through his career.

After performing in some of the biggest arenas in the world and in front of some of the biggest crowds in professional wrestling history, the once famed entertainers story took a bizarre and twisted turn in 2020 when an odd and widely publicized Facebook post appeared to be a confession that he'd 'made a man disappear' when he was only 13 years old. Perhaps, more shocking, was the revelation that this incident was only the first time he'd made someone disappear.

I was 13, working at Victory Lanes bowling alley buying weed from a F*** that worked there...and he put his hands on me...he dragged me around the back of the building...you already know what he was going to try to do.

Marty Jannetty-On Facebook August 2020

Jannetty went on during the bizarre Facebook rant session and indicated where the authorities should have looked for the body.

That was the very first time I made a man disappear...they never found him...they shoulda looked in the Chattahoochee River.

Due to the claims made and the publicity behind the quickly deleted post on Facebook police opened an investigation into the claims Jannetty made. They began checking for missing persons from that area, finding that there was a Victory Lanes bowling alley along the Chattahoochee in the 1970s. However, it was in September that Jannetty would quickly recant his story, indicating it was all an elaborate wrestling story they were developing for him. Any fan of pro-wrestling in the 90s to today has witnessed some bizarre stories that have played out both on-screen and on the internet during what the industry calls the reality era. Half of the WWE's 24/7 title changes have been done on the internet during the week and then shown on the flagship show, Monday Night Raw. A storyline seemed like a believable explanation.

While the police continued to look for leads into Jannetty's wild claims things took an additional turn. In October of 2020, Jannetty spoke to Hanibal TV and was asked about the murder confession. He told reporters that when things got serious after the Georgia Bureau of Identification contacted him he decided to tell them that it was a pro wrestling storyline. During the interview, he painted a picture that didn't feel at all like a story.

You know once the police got involved-I don't wanna say police. Once the GBI which is the Georgia Bureau of Investigation got involved it got serious and I was just trying to set up a storyline I have to say that right now because you know it was 40 years ago, and you know what kills me? They don't care that a 13-year old was going to get raped. It's like 'oh you killed somebody.' What do you think he was gonna do to me after he raped me? Because so many rape victimes get murdered afterward.

Marty Jannetty-2020 Hannibal TV interview.

Jannetty said, "I have to say it's a storyline for the police department," after admitting to lying about putting the body in the Chattahoochee River. He reported that he and his nephew poured gas on the body and burned it before burying the bones and parts that didn't disintegrate in the fire.

The case is still open according to all accounts and there have been no additional statements after the authorities declared it an open investigation. Marty Jannetty, a troubled soul that achieved the heights of his profession, claimed to be a murderer in self-defense, to have made up a story, and then to have added great details to his story. However the story ends, it is a sad commentary on another of the great professional wrestling stars from the 80s-90s era.