Depending on how you look at him, Doink The Clown is one of the best products of WWE's New Generation Era. Originally played by second-generation star, Maniac Matt Borne, Doink the evil clown was wrestling’s version of The Joker. While he had a great run as a heel, no superstar was cast as Batman to play against him and soon, Doink became a babyface.
Eventually Borne left the company, and Ray Apollo took over the gimmick and became WWE's resident clown. With Apollo under the paint, Doink became a babyface and was paired with a little person to be Dink. He, along with several other superstars, have donned the paint over the years for all sorts of moments, some of which have likely been forgotten by fans.
8 The One-Armed Bandit
For some time, Doink spent most of the time playing pranks on the children in the crowd, which meant making them cry. Crush had had enough of the evil clown’s antics and tried to confront him. For his troubles, Doink pulled an even nastier prank on the man from Kona - he beat him with a fake arm and left him laying to help set up their WrestleMania 9 showdown.
7 Double Doinks
WrestleMania 9 didn’t have a lot going for it and to date, it is among one of the lesser Manias fans ever got. But one of the highlights of the show came while Crush was pounding away on Doink the Clown. The referee unfortunately got knocked down which led to tomfoolery and chicanery.
A second Doink came out of nowhere to help the original clown defeat the big orange Kona Crush. After they performed their best mirror impression, the second Doink headed back under the ring.
6 ECW Run
After Matt Borne’s run in WWE, he headed to ECW and took his clown gear with him. In the Land Of Extreme, he was literally Borne Again, a superstar who snapped after what WWE had done to him. He’d have a good match against Shane Douglas and after being defeated, Douglas derided the WWE for giving Borne a clown gimmick. After he defeated his opponents, he’d wind up putting them in a clown suit as well.
5 Money In The Bank Cameo
With the Coronavirus changing the way everyone lived their lives and consumed their entertainment, the WWE had to adapt to this new reality. Some of their early Pandemic Era PPVs featured interesting takes on matches.
The Money In The Bank match was a madcap (not Moss) affair featuring all the men and women racing to the top of the WWE headquarters. At one point during the match, eagle eyed fans caught a glimpse of their favorite wrestling clown.
4 DTK Enterprises
Despite Matt Borne and Ray Apollo being gone, the legacy of Doink lived on and continues to live on. During The Attitude Era, there was a storyline to try and resurrect the clown. During certain hardcore matches, some fans might have noticed Bruce Prichard lurking around the ring and collecting plunder.
The storyline never came to fruition, but the idea was going to be that he was working for DTK Enterprise (Doink The Klown) and Glen Routh of the Headbangers was going to don the paint.
3 Great Wrestler
Shane Douglas wasn’t wrong necessarily when he derided Vince McMahon and the WWE for what they did to Matt Borne. Oddly enough, as a heel, Doink did get a lot of opportunities to showcase he was a good wrestler. He had a big two-out-of-three falls match with Marty Jannetty on Raw. Most famously, he had a big SummerSlam match against Bret Hart, as a substitute for an “injured” Jerry Lawler. The clown even used a nasty submission move that hasn’t really been seen since. He’d sit on a fallen opponent’s shoulders and yank up on their leg - aptly named The Stump Puller.
2 Doink Is Jericho
Heading into WrestleMania 17, Doink the Clown was announced as one of the participants for the Gimmick Battle Royal (this would be Ray Apollo under the paint). However, he also made a special appearance on Raw, beating the heck out of Lord William Regal.
This clown, though, was being portrayed by the future Wizard, Chris Jericho, who locked in The Walls Of Jericho. It’s amazing to think that this feud still continues to this day in AEW.
1 At The 1997 Slammys
As a remnant of The New Generation, Doink didn’t have a lot of room to be let of the WWE during The Attitude Era. But her certainly tried to insert a little fun and games. During the 1997 Slammys, he thought it would be a good idea to try and get a smile out of Stone Cold Steve Austin and doused him with a water flower. The Rattlesnake struck and accosted the Clown, kicking him out the WWE until the Gimmick Battle Royal.
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