Scariest of All-Time: Doink the Clown

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

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I've read some polls that show as many as 42 percent of Americans are scared of clowns. I do not fall into that category, as I dressed up as a clown for Halloween when I was in third (maybe?) grade. It became even more apparent when Doink the Clown arrived in the WWF in late 1992. 

Personally, I loved this gimmick. Matt Bourne was perfect as the evil clown, terrorizing the babyface Superstars on the roster. His match with Crush at WrestleMania IX is in my favorite moment from that show (I'm not kidding). I thought everything was going great for the character until he turned good in late summer 1993. Then Bourne left and the character lost its luster for me.

When Dink was added to the mix, I checked out on Doink. As far as I'm concerned he never should have turned but I totally get why. What better character to use as a marketing tool to kids than a lovable clown. He may not have been as friendly as Bozo, but fans seemed to enjoy his silly antics and giving bad guys like Bam Bam Bigelow grief.

I will admit I did get a kick out of Men on a Mission and the Bushwhackers coming out as Doinks at Survivor Series 1993. By this point, the fear the character induced was gone and that's okay. I wish rumors of Glen Ruth playing DTK had come to fruition. I think an updated version of the character would have worked during the Attitude Era. I think it could even work now, but I'll enjoy the nostalgia when Doink shows up from time to time. 

In Memory (2013)

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

We've lost several wrestling greats in 2013.  As we prepare to wrap up the year and look ahead to 2014, I wanted to take a moment to honor those who died this year.  May they all rest in peace.

Boo: Send in the Clowns

Doink the Clown
Photo courtesy: WWE

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.

Six Crazy Clowns

Doink!

On the sixth day of Wrestling Christmas my true fans brought to me... six crazy clowns.  All named Doink, but played by six different men.

Okay, I struggled with this one.  I'm not even sure we'll make it to day 12, but I'm still working on that.

Doink the Clown was brought in to the WWF back in 1992.  When you hear wrestling clown, you probably assume a good guy brought in to bring cheer to young fans.  But that was not the case at all.

You see, Doink was an evil clown.  His music was even scary when he came to the ring.  He played pranks on fans, and not nice ones.  He was played by former WWF jobber Matt Bourne, who had been successful in Portland and World Class.  Bourne had come to New York after a stint as lumberjack Big Josh in WCW.

Doink's most notable feud was his first big program in the WWF against Crush.  The big Hawaiian himself had just gone through a gimmick change after Demolition disbanded.  He kept the name, but changed his look, still sporting the mullet, but lost the make up and black leather.  Instead he wore an orange singlet, looking like a can of Orange Crush.  It all made sense.

I think most people expected Crush to, pardon the pun, crush Doink when the two met at Wrestlemania 9.  But of course, the clown had a plan.  When the ref went down, a second Doink appeared.  This one was former Fabulous One Steve Keirn (who was also Skinner).  He named Crush with a fake arm and the "real" Doink got the pin.  The clown told fans it was all an illusion.

Bourne eventually left the WWF, but the clown stayed behind.  This time, former WCCW wrestler Ray Apollo filled those giant floppy shoes.  But this time, Doink was a good clown.  Big mistake in my opinion.  I wasn't a big fan of his face turn, and then when he adopted his little sidekick Dink, the gimmick was pretty much dead to me.

During that time, the Doink gimmick spread to Men on a Mission and the Bushwhackers at the 1993 Survivor Series and again at the 1994 event when Doink was joined by three little clowns in two of the worst matches in the history of the pay per view.

Steve Lombardi who wrestled as the Brooklyn Brawler, also donned the makeup and bright colored costume.  Other jobbers Dusty Wolfe and John Maloof played the character too.  Those are the six guys who remained unnamed as Doink.  Other superstars like Jeff Jarrett and Chris Jericho did the gimmick, but it was obvious who was under the green wig.


Doink is still on the indy scene as well as "Son of Doink".  A gimmick that started nearly 20 years ago, still having some popularity out there.  Again, the original gimmick was one of my favorites from back then.


So here's the Wrestling Christmas count:
A Red Rooster in a wrestling ring
2 Turtle jobbers
3 French Canadians
4 Wooing Horsemen
5 Brass knuckles
6 Crazy clowns


Stay tuned for tomorrow.  We'll come up with something.