A new wrestling magazine called Wrestling Talk debuted this week in the U.K., featuring a revealing article about the infamous 1995 incident involving Shawn Michaels and the story that he was beaten up by eight marines. The piece revisits what really happened, how the story was spun publicly, and why it quietly disappeared.
On October 13, 1995, Shawn Michaels wrestled Davey Boy Smith at a WWF house show in Binghamton, New York. At the time, Michaels’ usual "bodyguards" — Kevin Nash and Scott Hall — were overseas in Europe. After the show, Michaels, Smith, and fellow wrestler Sean Waltman (also known as X-Pac) drove to Syracuse, where they were scheduled for another event the next night.
After checking into a Motel 8 in Syracuse, the trio got some local fans to drive them to Club 37, a bar. While at the club, they reportedly consumed multiple shots and took somas, a muscle relaxant. At some point, Michaels began hitting on a woman, unaware—or unconcerned—that she was there with a 23-year-old U.S. Marine named Douglas Griffith.
Griffith warned Michaels that the woman was with him, but Michaels persisted and even asked her to come back to his hotel. A bouncer, noticing the wrestlers’ impaired state and sensing potential trouble, instructed his girlfriend, Donna Jones, to drive Michaels and his group back to the motel. By the time they left, Michaels was nearly unconscious and had to be carried out by Waltman, Smith, and another man named Richard Jones (brother of Donna Jones).
As the group reached the parking lot, Griffith and two fellow Marines were waiting. Griffith, who knew Donna Jones and was also acquainted with the woman Michaels had pursued, confronted the group. While Smith sat in the back of the two-door car, he overheard the argument and tried to punch Griffith from inside the vehicle. Michaels, despite being heavily intoxicated, also threw a weak punch.
Griffith pulled Michaels from the car, slammed the car door on his head, and then repeatedly kicked him in the face with steel-toed boots. Waltman and Smith tried to get out of the car to help, but were initially blocked by Griffith’s two friends. Once they managed to exit, Waltman attempted to fight back but was quickly overpowered. Smith eventually pulled Griffith off Michaels, but was attacked by the other Marines and nearly had his eye gouged.
Donna Jones had run to alert the bouncer, who returned and helped break up the fight. All three wrestlers were taken to the hospital. Michaels suffered a torn eyelid, two black eyes, and ear bleeding—his earrings had been ripped out. Smith needed stitches and also had a black eye.
WWF chairman Vince McMahon was furious. He had long warned Michaels to avoid reckless behavior, and now Michaels had gotten into serious trouble without his usual enforcers around. McMahon was also upset that Michaels and Smith had been socializing, as they were in an on-screen feud and, at the time, wrestlers were expected to keep up appearances in public.
Michaels was scheduled to drop the Intercontinental title to Shane Douglas at the upcoming pay-per-view, but due to his injuries, he had to forfeit the belt instead. To protect Michaels’ reputation, McMahon put out a story claiming that eight marines had jumped Michaels in an unprovoked attack. The number was inflated, and there was no mention of the fact that Michaels had been with Smith and Waltman, or that he had instigated the altercation.
Although WWF tried to control the narrative, it eventually leaked that Smith and Waltman had been present. Nonetheless, all three stuck to the “eight attackers” story for public appearances. Months later, Bret Hart—who had a deteriorating relationship with Michaels by 1997—was the first WWF insider to publicly cast doubt on the official version of events.
Initially, Michaels pressed charges against Griffith. However, Griffith’s lawyer, Robert Mascari, threatened to expose Michaels’ drug use and the fact that the attack was not unprovoked. He also planned to subpoena Michaels’ medical records, bring up drug and steroid use—still a sensitive issue for WWF following McMahon’s highly publicized steroid trial a few years earlier. By that point, WWF had quietly ended drug testing in 1996.
Faced with a potential PR disaster, McMahon told Michaels to drop the charges, and the legal case was closed.
