On this date in 1988, a man took the first step towards achieving his boyhood dream. During a WWF taping in Oakland, California, a young tag team known as The Rockers made their television debut. The flashy duo earned a victory over Iron Mike Sharpe & The Intruder with a double team high cross body block, but the real story wasn’t the outcome of the match. No, the world was granted its first look at Shawn Michaels, and that surely trumped anything else that transpired that day. The Heartbreak Kid would go on to lead a Hall of Fame career, contributing in no small part to turning WrestleMania into the spectacle that it is today and paving the way for talented grapplers without the classic comic book physique to claw their way to the top of the mountain. And it all started on June 1, 23 years ago.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeYjO3yl8gE]
Interestingly, Shawn Michaels and partner Marty Jannetty weren’t the only wrestlers making their television debut on that fateful summer night. Joining them was the Big Bossman, who made his first WWF appearance with a win over Louie Spicolli via a big sidewalk slam. I could be wrong, but I certainly can’t remember a day when multiple superstars of this caliber all made their television debut.
