Doink the Clown: Difference between revisions
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A number of men have used the Doink gimmick in the WWE, as well as wrestlers using the face-paint as a disguise at various times. The first (and best-known) Doink was [[Matt Osborne|Matt Borne]]. The second was [[Steve Keirn]] who played the "illusion" Doink at Wrestlemania IX, and occasionally played Doink at house shows. He was succeeded by [[Dusty Wolfe]], [[John Maloof]] and [[Steve Lombardi]], who played the character temporarily after Borne left the company until Ray Apollo was brought in as the permanent replacement. |
A number of men have used the Doink gimmick in the WWE, as well as wrestlers using the face-paint as a disguise at various times. The first (and best-known) Doink was [[Matt Osborne|Matt Borne]]. The second was [[Steve Keirn]] who played the "illusion" Doink at Wrestlemania IX, and occasionally played Doink at house shows. He was succeeded by [[Dusty Wolfe]], [[John Maloof]] and [[Steve Lombardi]], who played the character temporarily after Borne left the company until Ray Apollo was brought in as the permanent replacement. |
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While the precise period when |
While the precise period when Matt Osborne stopped playing the character is not known. This [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tEpRZ7k7VI&feature=related|video] suggests that one of his last appearances was shortly after Doink's face turn when attacking Bam Bam Bigelow. This would explain the absence of any 'flagship' Doink at the then-upcoming Survivor Series 1993. |
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[[Jeff Jarrett]] once dressed up as Doink to pull pranks on Dink. [[Men on a Mission]] and [[The Bushwhackers]] appeared as "The Four Doinks" to compete in a [[Survivor Series]] match. [[Chris Jericho]] also took on the persona of Doink in order to ambush an opponent. Doink was played by [[Nick Dinsmore]] when he was selected by Rhino to face [[Chris Benoit]]. To date, no one has won a championship while wrestling as Doink. |
[[Jeff Jarrett]] once dressed up as Doink to pull pranks on Dink. [[Men on a Mission]] and [[The Bushwhackers]] appeared as "The Four Doinks" to compete in a [[Survivor Series]] match. [[Chris Jericho]] also took on the persona of Doink in order to ambush an opponent. Doink was played by [[Nick Dinsmore]] when he was selected by Rhino to face [[Chris Benoit]]. To date, no one has won a championship while wrestling as Doink. |
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Revision as of 16:53, 3 August 2009
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2008) |
| Doink the Clown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Parts Unknown |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Doink the Clown "The Clown" (before his name was revealed in an interview) |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 243 lb(110 kg) |
| Debut | 1992 |
Doink the Clown is a professional wrestling gimmick, originally portrayed by Matt Borne in the World Wrestling Federation from 1992 to 1994. After Borne's departure from the WWF, the character has been played by several wrestlers since the 1990s, primarily on the independent circuit with sporadic special appearances on WWE programming as well.
Gimmick
The Doink wrestling character is that of a circus clown. He wrestles in a clown costume, complete with face paint, makeup, and a bright green wig. His diminutive sidekick, Dink the Clown (who was approximately four feet tall) wore a similar clown suit.
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 but mentally unstable heel. As a villain, Doink played cruel jokes on both fans and wrestlers in order to amuse himself and put them off guard.[1] Some of his villainous pranks included tripping then-babyface, The Big Boss Man with a trip wire, dumping water on Marty Jannetty and attacking then-babyface, 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 then-babyface Bret Hart, after substituting for an "injured" then-heel Jerry Lawler, at SummerSlam in 1993.
Doink then turned on Lawler on an episode of The King's Court, making Burger King jokes to amuse the crowd and eventually hitting Lawler with a pie, becoming a babyface as a result.[1] Matt Borne, 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 dwarf 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.[1] As a fan favorite, Doink was more of a comic relief character, but continued to pull less cruel pranks on other wrestlers, mostly villains such as Lawler and Bobby Heenan. Doink and Dink also battled with Bam Bam Bigelow and his 'main squeeze' Luna Vachon in a feud that culminated at WrestleMania X.[1] One of Doink's final appearances in his original run was at the Slammy Awards when he was attacked by Stone Cold Steve Austin amidst chants of "kill the clown".
Following his departure from the WWF, Borne appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling for a handful of matches as Doink in a blue and green clown suit, setting up an angle where Shane Douglas criticized then-babyface, 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 changed his ring name to "Borne Again", and continued wearing the clown suit, but without the wig and with a minimal amount of face paint.
Doink made random appearances in the next decade. He competed in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven. He showed up in the A.P.A. Bar Room Brawl at Vengeance in 2003. He also fought Rob Conway on an October 2005 episode of Raw.[2] On the June 2, 2007 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Dwaine Henderson portrayed Doink for the WWE, teaming up with Eugene and then-babyface, 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. On March 15, 2009, WWE.com announced that Doink would be featured in the video game, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 as a downloadable character along with Vader, Earthquake, and the Bushwhackers.[3]
Personnel
A number of men have used the Doink gimmick in the WWE, as well as wrestlers using the face-paint as a disguise at various times. The first (and best-known) Doink was Matt Borne. The second was Steve Keirn who played the "illusion" Doink at Wrestlemania IX, and occasionally played Doink at house shows. He was succeeded by Dusty Wolfe, John Maloof and Steve Lombardi, who played the character temporarily after Borne left the company until Ray Apollo was brought in as the permanent replacement.
While the precise period when Matt Osborne stopped playing the character is not known. This [1] suggests that one of his last appearances was shortly after Doink's face turn when attacking Bam Bam Bigelow. This would explain the absence of any 'flagship' Doink at the then-upcoming Survivor Series 1993.
Jeff Jarrett once dressed up as Doink to pull pranks on Dink. Men on a Mission and The Bushwhackers appeared as "The Four Doinks" to compete in a Survivor Series match. Chris Jericho also took on the persona of Doink in order to ambush an opponent. Doink was played by Nick Dinsmore when he was selected by Rhino to face Chris Benoit. To date, no one has won a championship while wrestling as Doink.
Reception
Some wrestling purists criticized the WWE for creating the Doink character, claiming that it pandered to what they saw as the "one-ring circus" atmosphere the WWE was promoting at the time[citation needed]; others thought that Doink was appropriate given professional wrestling's carny origins.[citation needed] Others preferred the villainous version, saying that Matt Borne made the gimmick work, but once he became a fan favorite, his character was neutered[citation needed].
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Stump Puller
- Whoopie Cushion (Seated senton)
- Theme music
- Doink's entrance music originally consisted of the famous circus song "Entry of the Gladiators", which segued into menacing music, which contained maniacal laughing like that of an evil clown. This song is called "Nightmare Clown".
- After the character became a fan favorite, the music changed to a full version of "Entry."
Championships and accomplishments
- 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
- ^ a b c d "Doink's Alumni Profile". WWE. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ Brad Dykens. "Brooklyn Brawler's OWW Profile". OWW. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ Jim Ross. "Jim Ross' Blog". Jim Ross. Retrieved 2007-12-23.