WrestleMania Week is in full swing and once again I'm keeping that theme with today's FOF. It's my favorite moment from WrestleMania IX. I don't know if that says something about me as a fan or the rest of the card that day from Caeser's Palace. The match was Doink the Clown vs. Crush. Crush was the orange and yellow Kona Crush and not the darker bad ass Crush or Demolition Crush. Doink was an evil clown who was actually more over with the fans than the WWE probably intended him to be at the time. Near the end of the match, Doink got caught in Crush's vice grip. As he flapped his arm's wildly, referee Joey Morella got hit and knocked down. Crush released the hold and Doink tried getting away. But he found himself again locked in the former tag team champion's finishing hold. That's when things got fun...
Wham! Courtesy: WWE
A second Doink got into the ring, carrying a fake arm. Doink II whacked Crush across the back, which caused him to release the hold again. The original Doink grabbed Crush's arms and held him as the arm was smashed into the big man's head a couple of times. The new Doink disappeared in time for Morella to regain consciousness and make the three count for Doink.
"It was an illusion!" Courtesy: WWE
The two clowns then posed together in the ring, in mime-like fashion. The original shouted the phrase "It was an illusion!" implying he was the only clown in the ring. That phrase made an impact on my wife (girlfriend at the time) as she was not a wrestling fan at the time, but perked up and watched the ending of this match. She would randomly use the phrase in the weeks after WrestleMania IX. It was kinda awesome.
It's Halloween and as tradition with the Boo Blogs, I like to end it with your Halloween pics. This year I opened it up to just more than wrestling costumes. Thanks to all who read this and share it with their friends. Happy Halloween!
Erik Stensland as Bray Wyatt
Dakota as Jeff Hardy
My work crew
HBK & a monkey
Duke Raoul, The Red Queen, Alice in Wonderland and Irish Joe Nuggets
Editor's note: The man behind the original Doink character, Matt Borne passed away on June 28, 2013. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and fans. Rest in Peace. By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
I may be one of the few people out there who actually enjoyed Doink the Clown. When he first showed up in the WWF in late 1992, a lot people criticized the gimmick. I loved the idea of an evil clown terrorizing not just the fans, but the babyfaces too.
Doink for those who don't know was played by Matt Bourne, who wrestled on the very first Wrestlemania against Ricky Steamboat. He worked in regional promotions like Pacific Northwest and World Class, achieving success in tag team competition. In the early 90's he was WCW's Big Josh, a babyface lumberjack who held the 6 man tag team titles at one point.
Doink vs. Crush
Wrestlemania IX
I feel like Doink really allowed Bourne's personality to shine. It's similiar to how Goldust brought out the best of Dustin Rhodes. Doink's feud with Crush was quite memorable to me. The two battled it out at Wrestlemania IX. I figured Crush would crush (pardon the pun) his opponent. But the clown outsmarted the big man and a second Doink helped secure the win. Nearly 20 years later, I still mutter the phrase "It was an illusion" the same way Bourne did after the second Doink scurried back under the ring.
Like all good things in wrestling, the heel Doink finally came to an end. It was on an episode of Monday Night Raw in the fall of 93 when the clown threw a bucket of water or confetti on commentator Bobby Heenan. A feud with Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon would follow with Doink picking up a little sidekick Dink. By this point the gimmick jumped the shark and was painful to watch.
Doink vs. Heath Slater
There's still a version of Doink on the indie scene and we've seen some form of him on Raw recently, returning to battle Heath Slater. It was the one match the One Man Band won in his battle with the legends. Yes, I just used legend to describe Doink. Some may disagree, but I was down with the clown, and one of these years for Wrestlemania I'd love to dress up like him.
