Shawn Michaels Once Got In A Real-Life Fight That Changed Major WWE Plans

Shawn Michaels was a major professional wrestler in the 1990s. During that decade, Michaels won the WWF Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the WWF Tag Team Championship three times apiece. However, The Heartbreak Kid became well-known for his backstage shenanigans as much as his on-screen persona. His antics outside the squared circle are also well-known at this point.

Shawn Michaels openly struggled with addiction, which caused a number of conflicts with WWF owner Vince McMahon and the corporation. On many times, there was genuine anxiety about whether he could or would show up for work. However, one particular incident nearly changed the path of his career.

In October 1995, following a house event in Syracuse, New York, Michaels went out drinking at a club, as Bruce Pritchard recounted on his Something To Wrestle podcast. Michaels allegedly flirted with a lady who was related in some way to another patron at the club while traveling with fellow Kliq member Sean “1-2-3 Kid” Waltman and “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, whom he wrestled that night. With all three men inebriated and Michaels apparently uncomfortable pursuing the lady, the bouncer asked his girlfriend to bring the wrestlers back to their hotel.

On the podcast, Bruce Pritchard continued to elaborate on what happened with Shawn Michaels on that fateful night in October 1995. Donna Jones, the girlfriend of one of the club’s bouncers, was requested to drive Michaels, Sean Waltman, and Davey Boy Smith home. Multiple men allegedly dragged Michaels out of the front seat of the car when he fell asleep on the way back.

“I think there was a segment of the audience that felt, ‘Well, is this real or is it not?’ So, you show Shawn, you show the injuries to his face and make a story out of it. You’re dealt a set of cards, and you have to play them the best way you can at the time.”

Shawn Michaels received significant facial injuries in the incident, since he was unable to protect himself. Waltman and Smith were trapped in the back seat of the two-door automobile and couldn’t get out quickly to assist Michaels. Pritchard and podcast co-host Conrad Thompson both stated that there were nine attackers in total, with Jones being the one who was ultimately killed. You can watch the video below.

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