The Story Behind Shawn Michaels Getting Beat Up In A Bar Fight, Explained

Publish date: 2024-05-17

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Shawn Michaels has the reputation of being one of the biggest ‘bad boys’ in professional wrestling - and that wasn’t even just because of his onscreen character. During the 1990s, Michaels didn’t have the greatest of reputations, with him going down a few bad roads at times. Professional wrestlers of that era, and in the eras both proceeding and preceding it, had some troubles here and there, with many becoming quite controversial and problematic. In 1995, Michaels got himself into a pickle inside a bar, resulting in a fight in which Michaels would be on the receiving end of a beating, and it would result in WWE needing to make some changes to their programming due to Michaels’ antics.

Shawn Michaels Had An Awful Attitude During The 1990s

Although Shawn Michaels has earned the reputation of being one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, there was a stage in his career where it seemed as though he would become WWE’s biggest disaster. Due to fame, youth, and ego, Michaels became a huge issue for the WWE in the 1990s, with him having notoriously one of the worst backstage attitudes at the time. With the mass media and publicity around WWE, Michaels turned to many other avenues to ensure that he remained ‘stable’.

RELATED: Every Major Shawn Michaels WWE Feud From The 1990s, Ranked Worst To Best

Michaels would battle several types of addiction around this time, which would help feed towards his constant anger with other performers and with the company as a whole. Notable real-life rivalries such as against Bret Hart and The Undertaker were what defined much of his time in the company back then, even though these feuds would settle down over the years, much like Michaels himself. He mellowed out over time, and whilst that alone doesn’t excuse his past actions, he is certainly a different and better person than he was back then. Many stories would emerge when it came to his antics - one of which was the time he visited a bar in Syracuse.

Shawn Michaels Got Into A Drunken Conflict With A Soldier

Many times during the 90s, Michaels was surrounded by friends in the Kliq - which included the likes of Triple H, Kevin Nash, and Razor Ramon - and these would act as a barrier for Michaels, keeping him out of trouble and keeping him grounded. However, in the Autumn of 1995, his friends would be off on a European tour, whilst Michaels was working the US house show circuit and additionally the In Your House 4: Great White North PPV.

RELATED: Why Shawn Michaels Oversold Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam 2005, Explained

Prior to that event, he would go out to a bar with Sean Waltman and Davey Boy Smith, with the trio deciding to party all night long one night - October 13th. Not settled with the heavy drinking and partying, Michaels decided that he wanted to find a girl to hook up with that night, living up to his ‘Heartbreak Kid’ nickname. He targeted a girl on the dancefloor, but was quickly confronted by Douglas Griffith, who was a soldier, who stated that he and the woman in question were already together.

Michaels ignored these warnings, instead pursuing the woman anyway. In his drunken state, Michaels received some verbal attacks initially from Griffith, who expressed his displeasure towards ‘phony wrestlers’. Before anything could happen, a bouncer stepped in and had his sister try to take the wrestlers back to their hotel before things got physical. Unfortunately, Griffith and some friends were waiting outside.

The Solider Tore Shawn Michaels’ Eyelid In A Brawl

After another jibe was given by Griffith, Davey Boy attempted to land a blow, which was followed up by a near-unconscious Michaels following suit with a weak punch of his own. This led to Griffith allegedly slamming a car door into Michaels’ head, in addition to some kicks in the face and a few punches - one of which ended up injuring Michaels’ eye with a wayward finger. This left Michaels with a torn eyelid, black eyes, and other minor injuries.

RELATED: 5 Shawn Michaels Matches Dave Meltzer Overrated (& 5 He Underrated)

On TV, events were glorified in Michaels’ favor to explain his broken face, but after a threat of a lawsuit from Griffith, this was dropped quickly. However, following his relinquishment of the Intercontinental Championship due to not being able to compete, all these events would lead to a babyface turn for Michaels, with him gaining sympathy from fans due to the fabricated version of events, leading to him winning the Royal Rumble the following year and winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. Somehow, this entire situation turned into a positive, even though Michaels was dangerously close to getting fired because of the events, partly due to his unprofessional actions, and also due to he and Davey Boy being opponents at the time, with partying together being looked down upon as breaking kayfabe.

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