Doink the Clown
| Doink the Clown | |
|---|---|
 Doink the Clown |
|
| Ring name(s) | Doink the Clown[1] The Clown |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Billed weight | 243 lb (110 kg) |
| Billed from | Parts Unknown |
| Debut | 1992 |
Doink the Clown is a professional wrestling gimmick, originally and most successfully used by Matt Osborne in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1992 to 1996. Since Osborne's departure from the WWF in late 1993, the character has been played by several wrestlers, primarily on the independent circuit, as well as in sporadic special appearances on WWE (formerly WWF) programming.
Contents |
History [edit]
World Wrestling Federation [edit]
After making appearances in late 1992 in the crowd and at ringside, playing tricks on the fans and wrestlers, the Doink character made his in-ring debut in the WWF in 1993, originally wrestling as a technically sound villain. Doink played cruel jokes on both fans and wrestlers in order to amuse himself and put them off guard.[2] Some of his villainous pranks included tripping The Big Boss Man with a trip wire, dumping water on Marty Jannetty and attacking Crush with a loaded prosthetic arm. He clashed with Crush at WrestleMania IX, a match which he won after the appearance of an identical Doink (played by Steve Keirn) from underneath the ring. Doink also briefly feuded with Randy Savage on an early edition of Monday Night Raw, and Bret Hart, after substituting for an "injured" Jerry Lawler, at SummerSlam in 1993.
Doink then turned on Lawler on the September 4 episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge in Lawler's The King's Court segment, making Burger King jokes to amuse the crowd and eventually hitting Lawler with a pie.[2] Matt Osborne, the original man behind Doink, was fired for re-occurring drug abuses, eventually leaving the gimmick (after bouncing through a few others) to Ray Apollo. Now as a fan favorite and with a new midget sidekick Dink, Doink encountered Lawler again the following year in a match at Survivor Series. In this match, Doink and Dink teamed with Wink and Pink to meet Lawler's dwarf team of 'little kings' Queazy, Cheezy, and Sleazy.[2] As a fan favorite, Doink was more of a comic relief character, but continued to pull pranks on other wrestlers (albeit more harmless and silly than outright cruel), mostly villains such as Lawler and Bobby Heenan. Doink and Dink also battled with Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon in a feud that culminated at WrestleMania X.[2] Doink soon became a jobber, regularly losing to wrestlers like Jeff Jarrett, Hakushi, Waylon Mercy and, in his final televised match in September 1995, to Hunter Hearst Helmsley.[3] Doink reemerged one last time in 1996 at the Slammy Awards and was attacked by Stone Cold Steve Austin, amidst crowd chants of "kill the clown".
He was also a playable character in WWF Raw released in 1994 by Acclaim Entertainment and WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game released in 1995 by Midway.
Extreme Championship Wrestling [edit]
Following his departure from the WWF, Osborne appeared (as Matt Borne) in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) for a handful of matches as Doink in a blue and green clown suit, setting up an angle where ECW champion Shane Douglas criticized Vince McMahon for turning a talented wrestler like Borne into a comic relief character, and claimed that he knew how to bring out Borne's full potential.
Borne then made a few appearances with Douglas as "himself", sporting his face half-painted with the Doink makeup. His attitude insinuated that he had developed borderline personality disorder from having been forced to wrestle as a clown; after winning matches he would dress his opponent in clown accessories to humiliate them. His ring name under this gimmick was "Borne Again".
World Wrestling Entertainment [edit]
Since the abandonment of the gimmick, Doink has made random appearances in the next decade. He competed in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven. Chris Jericho dressed up as Doink when he attacked William Regal in April 2001. He showed up in the A.P.A. Bar Room Brawl at Vengeance in 2003. Doink was played by Nick Dinsmore and selected by Rhino to face Chris Benoit on July 31, 2003 edition of Smackdown!.[1] He also fought Rob Conway on an October 2005 episode of Raw.[4] On the June 2, 2007 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Doink (Steve Lombardi)[citation needed] teamed up with Eugene and Kane to defeat Umaga, Viscera, and Kevin Thorn. On Raw XV, the 15th-anniversary Raw special on December 10, 2007, Doink participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal.
Doink has also made sporadic appearances since then. On the July 12, 2010 episode of Raw, Doink (Steve Lombardi)[citation needed] teaming with William Regal, Primo, and Zack Ryder was defeated by the team of Santino Marella, Goldust, Vladimir Kozlov, and The Great Khali. The match was set up as a foil for guest host Florence Henderson who starred as Carol Brady in 70's sitcom The Brady Bunch. Doink was pinned by the Great Khali during the match. As a post-match celebration, The Great Khali picked her up and proceeded to make out with her while Santino and Goldust danced to Khali's music.
On July 2, 2012, Doink, this time portrayed by longtime WWE veteran Steve Lombardi,[5] aka The Brooklyn Brawler, made a surprise return and had a losing effort against Heath Slater in a match on Monday Night RAW.[6] He then reappeared on the actual 1,000th episode on July 23 with other WWE Legends to again take down Slater.
Independent Circuit [edit]
In early 2010, Osborne reinvented the Doink character to resemble Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight, nicknaming the incarnation 'Reborne Again'.[7] The new character debuted on March 27 for ISPW in New Jersey.[7]
On May 23, 2010 Doink the Clown, portrayed by Dusty Wolfe, interfered against Skandar Akbar and his men Dr. Knuckles and Rommel. This caused them to lose the Wrecking Ball Wrestling tag titles. In retaliation Akbar called on the original Doink Matt Borne. They were scheduled to meet on Aug. 15, 2010.[8] At that time Wolfe no showed the event to avoid the wrath of Borne. On August 8, 2010, Borne won the Wrecking Ball Wrestling Championship.[9]
IWA Wrestling [edit]
Doink has been to some IWA events in Ohio. He has been signing autographs and takes pictures with fans at events. He was spotted signing autographs outside a Frisch's Big Boy in Lima, Ohio.[citation needed]
Doink Wrestled for British promotion Basix Pro Wrestling in Oswestry, Shropshire, on May 5, 2010.
Doink appeared at Warlney School on September 25, 2010 as part of a charity event.
Doink's recent show was in Clarksburg, Ohio on March 28, 2011 as a fundrasier event for Deerfield Township Fire and Rescue.
Reincarnation [edit]
Characters who used the Doink gimmick [edit]
Five men have used the Doink gimmick, and seven have used the costume for storyline purposes, at various times.
- Matt Osborne[1] – the original Doink.
- Steve Keirn[1] – wrestled as the "illusion" Doink at Wrestlemania IX and occasionally the "real" Doink at house shows.
- Steve Lombardi[1] – occasionally wrestled as Doink at house shows.
- Dusty Wolfe[1] – wrestled as Doink in NWA Kansas.
- Ray Apollo[1] – wrestled as Doink full-time after Osborne left the company.
Characters who used Doink's costume for storyline purposes [edit]
- Jeff Jarrett once dressed up as Doink to pull pranks on Dink.
- In 1993, Men on a Mission and The Bushwhackers wrestled as "The Four Doinks" at Survivor Series.[10]
- Chris Jericho also took on the persona of Doink in order to perform an ambush on William Regal.
- Nick Dinsmore – wrestled as Doink on the July 31, 2003 episode of Smackdown!, losing to Chris Benoit.[1]
In wrestling [edit]
- Finishing moves
- Stump Puller (Single leg inverted Boston crab, sometimes into a sit-out position)[2]
- Whoopie Cushion (Seated senton)[1][2]
Championships and accomplishments [edit]
- Allied Powers Wrestling Federation
- APWF Television Championship (1 time)[11]
- International Wrestling Association
- IWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[11]
- NWA Southwest
- NWA Southwest Television Championship (1 time)[12]
- Regional Championship Wrestling
-
- RCW United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jay Love[11]
- Wrecking Ball Wrestling
- WBW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[9]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Most Embarrassing Wrestler (1994)
- Worst Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Jerry Lawler
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (1994) with Dink, Pink and Wink vs. Jerry Lawler, Sleazy, Queasy and Cheesy at Survivor Series
Notes [edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Doink profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ a b c d e f "Doink's Alumni Profile". WWE. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
- ^ 1995 WWF results, from The History of WWE
- ^ Brad Dykens. "Brooklyn Brawler's OWW Profile". OWW. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ "Pruett's Pause: WWE Raw SuperShow - A.J. Lee gets the central focus, C.M. Punk and John Cena tease tension in their match against Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan, Jericho plays his greatest hits, Paul Heyman responds to Triple H again". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
- ^ "Raw SuperShow live results: July 2, 2012". WWE. Retrieved 2012-07-02.
- ^ a b Oliver, Greg (April 12, 2010). "Doink the Clown 'Reborne Again'". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ Martin, William (May 26, 2010). "Wrecking Ball Wrestling results from 5/23 featuring Skandar Akbar". Indy Wrestling News. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ a b Wrecking Ball Wrestling results from 8/8 in Dallas, TX featuring Matt Borne
- ^ Survivor Series '93 Results
- ^ a b c Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2000). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA Southwest Television Championship title history". Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 1993". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
