History Wrestling / DoinkTheClown

* ArchEnemy: (as a heel): Crush, [[Wrestling/CurtHennig "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig]]; (as a face): Wrestling/BamBamBigelow, [[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]]

'''Doink the Clown''' is a [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestling]] [[TheGimmick gimmick]] that first appeared in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in late 1992 and lasted into 1995. He started out as a vicious {{heel}} played by veteran "Maniac" Matt Borne. The second Doink, also evil, was played by veteran [[Wrestling/TheFabulousOnes Steve Keirn]], who had last been seen as Skinner. Sometime after Doink's first PPV loss, to [[Wrestling/BretHart Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] by DQ at ''Wrestling/{{SummerSlam}} 1993'', the gimmick started becoming popular. Borne left in October 1993 due to drug/alcohol problems, and was replaced. Doink was [[HeelFaceTurn turned face]] around this time, with first [[Wrestling/SteveLombardi Steve "Brooklyn Brawler" Lombardi]] and then Ray Licachelli (a.k.a. Ray Apollo or Gary Fall) taking on the gimmick full time. The face turn, complete with a guy playing SantaClaus giving Doink his midget wrestler {{Sidekick}} Dink, is generally acknowledged as the moment that killed off everything that had made Doink so effective.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment[=/=]MoralEventHorizon: Doink had been making appearances in the crowd during matches starting back in October and playing simple pranks on wrestlers (dousing Wrestling/BamBamBigelow with [[ImprobableWeaponUser confetti]], leaving {{banana peel}}s on the floor for Wrestling/BobBacklund to slip on after a match, using a tripwire on [[Wrestling/BigBossman the Big Bossman]], sticking a mop in Tatanka's face, putting a [[KickMePrank "KICK ME" sign]] on Lance Cassidy [Steve Armstrong]'s jacket and kicking him, etc.) This changed on the January 16, 1993 (taped December 14, 1992) episode of ''WWF Superstars.'' After winning a {{Squash|Match}}, Crush confronted Doink about the pranks he had been pulling on kids in the audience. Doink [[WoundedGazelleGambit had his arm in a sling]] and pleaded with Crush not to hurt him. Doink offered Crush a flower, which he accepted. As Crush handed the flower to a fan, Doink ''pulled the (fake) arm right out of its socket'' and beat up Crush with it. This was considered so shocking that even commentator [[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]], who normally endorsed whatever the [=heels=] did, had to say that Doink had gone over the line, though it DID take some prompting by Wrestling/RandySavage.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Doink just started showing up in the crowd, with no buildup, no background, no introductions, no announcement, no clue as to his motivations.

* ShoutOut: In 2010, Matt Borne changed the gimmick's facepaint design to resemble that of the Joker in ''Film/TheDarkKnight.'' Playing off his "Borne Again" run in Wrestling/{{ECW}}, where he had shed the gimmick, he called this new version "Reborne Again."

* Website/{{WrestleCrap}}: Two separate inductions, though the site has repeatedly mentioned their love of the original Heel version of Doink.
** Dink the Clown, Doink's midget sidekick
** A combined induction: [[Wrestling/TheSheepherders The Bushwhackers]] and [[Characters/WWETagTeams Men on a Mission]] dressed as Doinks vs. Wrestling/BamBamBigelow[=/=][[WildSamoan The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu [Rikishi])]][=/=]Bastion Booger from ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1993'', and the Royal Family ([[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]][=/=]Sleazy[=/=]Queasy[=/=]Cheesy) vs. Clowns R Us (Doink/Dink/Pink/Wink) from ''Survivor Series 1994.''

* TheOtherDarrin: Steve Keirn, then the deluge, including many in WWE and the independents.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment[=/=]MoralEventHorizon: Doink had been making appearances in the crowd during matches starting back in October and playing simple pranks on wrestlers (dousing Wrestling/BamBamBigelow with [[ImprobableWeaponUser confetti]], leaving {{banana peel}}s on the floor for Wrestling/BobBacklund to slip on after a match, using a tripwire on [[Wrestling/BigBossman the Big Bossman]], sticking a mop in Tatanka's face, putting a [[KickMePrank "KICK ME" sign]] on Lance Cassidy [Steve Armstrong]'s jacket and kicking him, etc.) This changed on the January 16, 1993 (taped December 14, 1992) episode of ''WWF Superstars.'' After winning a [[SquashMatch squash]], Crush confronted Doink about the pranks he had been pulling on kids in the audience. Doink [[WoundedGazelleGambit had his arm in a sling]] and pleaded with Crush not to hurt him. Doink offered Crush a flower, which he accepted. As Crush handed the flower to a fan, Doink ''pulled the (fake) arm right out of its socket'' and beat up Crush with it. This was considered so shocking that even commentator [[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]], who normally endorsed whatever the [=heels=] did, had to say that Doink had gone over the line, though it DID take some prompting by Wrestling/RandySavage.
** During Doink's TV in-ring debut, a [[SquashMatch squash]] on the January 31 (taped January 4), 1993 ''Wrestling Challenge'', announcer Wrestling/GorillaMonsoon said that the fake arm "was lined with lead" and "weighed about 35 lbs.," prompting commentator [[Wrestling/BobbyHeenan Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]] to say, with no discernible irony, "Now that's not funny."

* CreepyCircusMusic: His heel entrance theme.

* EvilLaugh

* MonsterClown: as a heel

'''Doink the Clown''' is a [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestling]] [[TheGimmick gimmick]] that first appeared in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in late 1992 and lasted into 1995. He started out as a vicious {{heel}} played by veteran "Maniac" Matt Borne. The second Doink, also evil, was played by veteran [[Wrestling/TheFabulousOnes Steve Keirn]], who had last been seen as Skinner. Sometime after Doink's first PPV loss, to [[Wrestling/BretHart Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] by DQ at ''Wrestling/{{SummerSlam}} 1993'', the gimmick started becoming popular. Borne left in October 1993 due to drug/alcohol problems, and was replaced. Doink was [[HeelFaceTurn turned face]] around this time, with first Steve "Brooklyn Brawler" Lombardi and then Ray Licachelli (a.k.a. Ray Apollo or Gary Fall) taking on the gimmick full time. The face turn, complete with a guy playing SantaClaus giving Doink his midget wrestler {{Sidekick}} Dink, is generally acknowledged as the moment that killed off everything that had made Doink so effective.

* [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Actor Existence Failure]]: The original Doink, Matt Osborne was found dead at 55.

* ActorExistenceFailure: The original Doink, Matt Osborne was found dead at 55.

!!! Tropes associated with Doink the Clown:

** A combined induction: [[Characters/WWETagTeams The Bushwhackers and Men on a Mission]] dressed as Doinks vs. Wrestling/BamBamBigelow[=/=][[WildSamoan The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu [Rikishi])]][=/=]Bastion Booger from ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1993'', and the Royal Family ([[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]][=/=]Sleazy[=/=]Queasy[=/=]Cheesy) vs. Clowns R Us (Doink/Dink/Pink/Wink) from ''Survivor Series 1994.''

* DownerEnding: Borne's death at 56 on June 28, 2013.

* ActorExistanceFailure: The original Doink, Matt Osborne was found dead at 55.

** A combined induction: [[Characters/WWETagTeams The Bushwhackers and Men on a Mission]] dressed as Doinks vs. Wrestling/BamBamBigelow[=/=][[WildSamoan The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu [Rikishi])]][=/=]Bastion Booger from ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1993'', and the Royal Family ([[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]][=/=]Sleazy[=/=]Queasy[=/=]Cheesy) vs. Clowns R Us (Doink/Dink/Pink/Wink) from ''Survivor Series 1994.''

!! Tropes associated with Doink the Clown:

* DownerEnding: Bourne's death at 56 on June 28, 2013.

* {{WrestleCrap}}: Two separate inductions, though the site has repeatedly mentioned their love of the original Heel version of Doink.

* {{WrestleCrap}}: Two separate inductions.
** Dink the Clown

-->--''WWF Superstars,'' January 9, 1993

* DemotedToExtra: The gimmick was [[{{Jobber}} jobbed out]] into 1995, with the definitive example of the burial happening on the August 14th episode of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWERaw}} Raw]]''. Waylon Mercy[[note]]Wrestling/DanSpivey doing a gimmick based on Creator/RobertDeNiro's portrayal of Max Cady in the 1991 remake of ''Film/CapeFear''[[/note]], a {{Heel}}, got a huge {{Face}} reaction amidst chants of "Kill the Clown! Kill the Clown!"
* EstablishingCharacterMoment[=/=]MoralEventHorizon: Doink had been making appearances in the crowd during matches starting back in October and playing simple pranks on wrestlers (dousing Wrestling/BamBamBigelow with [[ImprobableWeaponUser confetti]], leaving {{banana peel}}s on the floor for Wrestling/BobBacklund to slip on after a match, using a tripwire on Wrestling/BigBossman, sticking a mop in Tatanka's face, putting a [[KickMePrank "KICK ME" sign]] on Lance Cassidy [Steve Armstrong]'s jacket and kicking him, etc.) This changed on the January 16, 1993 (taped December 14, 1992) episode of ''WWF Superstars.'' After winning a [[SquashMatch squash]], Crush confronted Doink about the pranks he had been pulling on kids in the audience. Doink [[WoundedGazelleGambit had his arm in a sling]] and pleaded with Crush not to hurt him. Doink offered Crush a flower, which he accepted. As Crush handed the flower to a fan, Doink ''pulled the (fake) arm right out of its socket'' and beat up Crush with it. This was considered so shocking that even commentator [[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]], who normally endorsed whatever the [=heels=] did, had to say that Doink had gone over the line, though it DID take some prompting by Wrestling/RandySavage.

*** During the match, a split screen promo from Doink was shown where he said that Crush had fallen for "[[TheOldestTricksInTheBook the oldest trick in the book]]."

* WeWantOurJerkBack: Evil Doink is seen to this day as superior to Good Doink.

'''Doink the Clown''' is a [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestling]] [[TheGimmick gimmick]] that first appeared in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in late 1992 and lasted into 1995. He started out as a vicious {{heel}} played by veteran "Maniac" Matt Borne. The second Doink, also evil, was played by veteran Steve Keirn, who had last been seen as Skinner. Sometime after Doink's first PPV loss, to [[Wrestling/BretHart Bret "The Hitman" Hart]] by DQ at ''Wrestling/{{SummerSlam}} 1993'', the gimmick started becoming popular. Borne left in October 1993 due to drug/alcohol problems, and was replaced. Doink was [[HeelFaceTurn turned face]] around this time, with first Steve "Brooklyn Brawler" Lombardi and then Ray Licachelli (a.k.a. Ray Apollo or Gary Fall) taking on the gimmick full time. The face turn, complete with a guy playing SantaClaus giving Doink his midget wrestler {{Sidekick}} Dink, is generally acknowledged as the moment that killed off everything that had made Doink so effective.

** A combined induction: [[Characters/WWETagTeams The Bushwhackers and Men on a Mission]] dressed as Doinks vs. Wrestling/BamBamBigelow[=/=][[WildSamoan The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu [Rikishi])]][=/=]Bastion Booger from ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1993''. This entry also included the Royal Family ([[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]][=/=]Sleazy[=/=]Queasy[=/=]Cheesy) vs. Clowns R Us (Doink/Dink/Pink/Wink) from ''Survivor Series 1994.''

* LargeHam: as a heel

** The match at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1993'' with the [=Bushwhackers=] and Men on a Mission dressed as Doinks vs. Wrestling/BamBamBigelow, the [[WildSamoan Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu [Rikishi])]] and Bastion Booger, and the Royal Family ([[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]]/Sleazy/Queasy/Cheesy) vs. Clowns R Us (Doink/Dink/Pink/Wink) from ''Survivor Series 1994''.

* DemotedToExtra: The gimmick was [[{{Jobber}} jobbed out]] into 1995, with the definitive example of the burial happening on the August 14th episode of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWERaw}} Raw]]''. Waylon Mercy[[note]]Dan Spivey doing a gimmick based on Creator/RobertDeNiro's portrayal of Max Cady in the 1991 remake of ''Film/CapeFear''[[/note]], a {{Heel}}, got a huge {{Face}} reaction amidst chants of "Kill the Clown! Kill the Clown!"

* PutOnABus: The gimmick was [[{{Jobber}} jobbed out]] into 1995, with the definitive example of the burial happening on the August 14th episode of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWERaw}} Raw]]''. Waylon Mercy[[note]]Dan Spivey doing a gimmick based on Creator/RobertDeNiro's portrayal of Max Cady in the 1991 remake of ''Film/CapeFear''[[/note]], a {{Heel}}, got a huge {{Face}} reaction amidst chants of "Kill the Clown! Kill the Clown!"