[[quoteright:394:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/photos_09_3.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:394:Wrestling's original MonsterClown]]
->''"And then I look at their little smiles... and I like to just take those smiles right away. A-ha-ha-ha."''
-->--'''Doink the Clown''', ''WWF Superstars,'' [[http://www.cagematch.net/?id=93&nr=89 January 9, 1993]]

'''Doink the Clown''' is a ProfessionalWrestling [[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. That said Doink would still occasionally appear in house shows played by various wrestlers. The final WWE wrestler to play Doink would be Wrestling/NickDinsmore (later known as Eugene) who played him in a Royal Rumble appearance as well as a match with Wrestling/ChrisBenoit.

The Doink persona would also be used in the WWE by various wrestlers such as Wrestling/ChrisJericho and Wrestling/JeffJarrett for various [[{{Kayfabe}} storyline]] reasons.

Matt Osborne, the man behind the original Doink the Clown was found dead on June 28th 2013 due to an accidental overdose of morphine and hydrocodone.
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!! "Evil Clown Tropes":
* ArchEnemy: (as a heel): [[Wrestling/BrianAdams Crush]], [[Wrestling/CurtHennig "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig]]; (as a face): Wrestling/BamBamBigelow, Wrestling/LunaVachon, [[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]]
* AxCrazy: As a heel.
* CaptainErsatz: "The Famous TV Wrestling Clown" in Far North Wrestling
* CircusOfFear: Of course.
** CreepyCircusMusic: His heel entrance theme.
** EvilLaugh
** MonsterClown: as a heel
* DeathGlare / KubrickStare: After winning a match, he would suddenly stop, and stare daggers right into the camera, threatening the viewer. Sometimes he would break it with laughter to make him seem even more unhinged.
* 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]]''. [[Wrestling/DanSpivey Waylon Mercy]], a {{Heel}}, got a huge {{Face}} reaction amidst chants of "Kill the Clown! Kill the Clown!"
* DiabolusExNihilo: Doink just started showing up in the crowd, with no buildup, no background, no explanation, no clue as to his motivations.
** Commentator Wrestling/{{Vince McMahon}} outright {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d this when Doink was making balloon animals in the entranceway during the Wrestling/RickMartel vs. Wrestling/{{Tatanka}} match at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 92,'' asking, "What is he doing here?"
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Doink had been making appearances in the crowd during matches starting back in October and playing simple pranks on wrestlers (dousing Bam Bam Bigelow 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, grabbing him by the arm and giving him a good shake. Afterwards, Doink appeared another time or two [[WoundedGazelleGambit with his arm in a sling]] before he encountered Crush again, pleaded with him not to hurt him again, and then 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 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 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."
*** 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."]]
* {{Expy}}: It wasn't explicit, but, Borne drew on the jokester personality of "Moondog" Lonnie Mayne, who had teamed with Borne's father Tony in the old NWA Pacific Northwest territory. Unfortunately, Mayne was an alcoholic, and Borne's own demons would derail his run.
* FacialMarkings: His clown face paint, of course., which pretty much defined the gimmick.
* FightingClown: He's a clown and a wrestler, so it's pretty self explanatory.
* FinishingMove: Stump Puller, [[AssKicksYou Whoopie Cushion]]
* LargeHam: He's an ''evil clown,'' what would you expect, subtlety?
* LegacyCharacter: Many, ''many'' wrestlers played the gimmick after Matt. Including the above list in the WWE Doink was also in the NWA, Smokey Mountain, and most oddly in Ring of Honor, ''played by'' ''Wrestling/CMPunk''.
* MesACrowd: Sometimes there would be multiple Doinks at once.
* NonIronicClown: After his HeelFaceTurn, Doink was generally played this way, as...well, a straight-up clown and pure comic relief.
* PartsUnknown: "The Circus," "Circus City"
* RingOldies: Borne and Keirn both started in the 1970s.
* ShoutOut: In 2010, Matt Borne changed the gimmick's facepaint design to resemble that of ComicBook/TheJoker 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."
* SmokingIsCool: Sometimes appeared with cigars as a heel.
* SquashMatch: Due to the potential for his face paint to run, many of his matches fell under this category.
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