Thanks for this, Bios. I've always been interested in the Doink character as a heel. My favorite Matt Borne quote is: "A good heel doesn't cheat because he HAS to, a good heel cheats because he WANTS to."
I totally agree , brother! Kamala was super scary. Undertaker was scary. DoinK was not only scary....but unsettling & super creepy. One hell of a gimmick
I know it's been mentioned before but I would LOVE to see a feud between Matt Bourne's Doink and the Undertaker where Doink gets more and more cruel and sadistic in an effort to get a rise out of the Dead Man. Some real Batman/Joker vibes.
Heel Evil Doink was really good character work where it plays on the fear, makes you uncomfortable and even nowadays could put people off especially with the killer clown craze. Matt Borne did great work with the character and while i understand why he was replaced it was never the same.
@@jasonmaclean719After his run in ECW they should have hired him back first by attacking fake doink and bringing a psychotic version of him kind of like Heath ledger's Joker
Nobody ever really talks about the amazing job Bobby Heenan did putting Doink over on commentary in late 92/early 93. He'd talk up his wrestling credentials, whilst hinting that he thought he recognised him/knew who he was. This was also played up in WWF Magazine. There was all this intrigue and mystery around the character and I'm inclined to believe that the original plan would have seen this develop and eventually play out with a reveal somewhere down the line. Maybe we'd have seen 'Borne Again' in the WWF in 1996 alongside Goldust, Mankind and those proto-Attitude characters,
Always loved how one minute Matt would be all jolly, smiling and laughing as Doink and then balm! His face would go all cold, evil staring close-up camera. Really made him so eerie and creepy.
I like that he wasn't cartoonish, OK, he was a dude dressed as a clown, he WAS cartoonish but it was like the jolly laughter was just a façade and the snapping to this dead stare was the real man behind the paint showing himself.
I love this series, can't wait for more. Gangrel might be one you'll want to explore. It's an elaborate character. Not sure if there is a story to tell though. I would love to hear about Repo Man only because I laugh so hard at that character.
This was excellent... more please! It felt like something that should air right alongside "Dark Side of the Ring", and other such televised wrestling documentaries. Well done, Ryan!
My favorite wrestler, even if he only portrayed the gimmick for less than one year. I always dreamed of the WWF bringing back Matt Bourne as Doink just before they would retire the Doink gimmick in 1995. I could see him come back in his Doink outfit and attack the WWF Doink and Dink. And then a week after cut a shoot promo on RAW. If Jake Roberts and the Ultimate Warrior had a chance to come back, the original Doink could have been a really interesting to see, in a time when the WWF was trying to find more interest because of the recent introduction of competition of Monday Nitro. Matt Bourne could have gotten over in a pre attitude era WWF, even going into the attitude era.
Killer klowns from outer space is one of the best movies made! Doink to me is a timeless character. Portrayed by the right person (possibly someone with legit depression issues) could work even now
That's no Clown! That's a LumberjackMan! 😂 That would be cool on Hawk's story, he does remind me of Krusty The Clown. People who were around 1993 1994 would tell you Doink was almost everywhere in the world of WWF. I barely knew WWF but I would have video game magazines and Doink as well as Taker, Razor, Bret were always on the cover. Doink just stood out.
WooHoo It passed! I'm not kidding Doink the clown was one of those seriously accidental gimmicks that went absolutely crazy in a heartbeat. Matt Osborne was Doink, and every representation of him afterwards always failed ( even the mini doinks failed). I'm kind of glad they never tried to revive this gimmick as I feel it can't be topped. The gimmick is already complete. There can't be anything added. The whole story of Matt and Doink and how he took the Doink character with him and what he did with it is a VERY interesting, tragic but compelling story that many ought to listen to. Thank you for the chance to see it done and yay for winning!
Even as a young kid I was intrigued with Doink the Clown, I never found him outright scary, but 'disturbing' would be the right way. I knew there was more to him, he was entertaining to watch and a talented wrestler, also picked up on the sort of vibe that he was going for during that first era with Matt Bourne. Many, many years later I found out that my parents went to school with Matt Bourne; my mom didn't really have a problem with him and said he was nice enough to her, my dad didn't really like him and described him as a bully, but talented. Both parents watched Portland Wrestling and WWF/WWE (the latter more seldomly), so were aware of his prowess in ring and both admitted he was definitely talented. They didn't know that A. He was in the first Wrestlemania and B. That he was Doink the Clown. Unfortunately we found out about this when he died. Did a really good job as always Wrestling Bios! I've been so glad to see opinion changing on first run Doink over the years and videos like this are helping it... Talking up the amazing portrayal of a layered character, as well as the in-ring talents of the man who brought the character to life. I've thought many times before that Doink might have caught on if he debuted a few years later after the Attitude Era ushered in grittier and more fleshed out characters, provided it was heel Doink with Bourne portraying him.
I am one of those ppl that absolutely hate and are terrified of clowns, always have been, but Doink was one of my favourite wrestlers growing up and strangely enough he never scared me or creeped me out or anything.
I wonder how the Doink character would evolve throughout the decade if he stayed prevalent and active. Would he have gone through a Dark Knight Joker phase, an IT remake phase, an evil Captain Spaulding phase, or the opposite and have a Patch Adam phase?
Attitude era definitely would of been the It heel clown, ruthless aggression era the dark Knight joker heel , pg era krusty the clown (when he went meta and quit being krusty similar to his ecw doink era) sadistic heel and Captain Spaulding heel during the other runs
Please keep this type of content up. Your coverage of the Monday Night Wars has been absolutely phenomenal. Smackdown will test your mettle, and you will positively kill it. Just dont give Smackdown the same treatment as Thunder because we both know, Smackdown won the Monday Night War.
I know pro wrestling has had a lot of spooky gimmicks over the years but, Doink was the original creepy guy. His performance as Doink was fantastic. Matt Bourne was a talented performer and Doink is a great example of that. R.I.P. Mr. Bourne. Also, Vince has made many, many mistakes in WWE from a booking standpoint but, turning Doink babyface was near the top of those terrible decisions Vince made. It’s up there with turning Austin heel and, having Goldberg beat The Fiend. Just terrible.
@@Venemofthe888 Leader of the Oddities would Be a good role for Heel Doink. Have INSANE Clown Posse and him as a three man tag would have been awesome. Not to mention John Tenta and Big Kurrgen along with Luna Vachon on his side. I can see that now in my head and I am very pleased! 😄
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is more popular now than ever. Great movie!!! I'd like to believe Doink took inspiration from this movie. Bruce Prichard is who says he did.
While it could be seen as a rip-off in comics, had things worked out better for Borne and they kept up Heel Doink, I could ALMOST see him being a Mankind like rival for The Undertaker. Yes, like Joker to Batman in a wrestling form.
Matt Bourne was a great worker who could go in the ring and the original *evil* clown character was good for the time. Sadly Bourne's career was derailed more by serious substance abuse issues than poor booking.
PICTURE THIS WITH ME PLEASE: DOINK IN THE ATTITUDE ERA: Hear me out please. Doink is Heel leader of the Oddities, Luna Vachon is on his side and also does mixed tag matches. He and Insane Clown Posse could have done a three man tag. Then how would he interact with Big Kurrgen and John Tenta's character Golga. Im sure those 3 could have put their heads together and made it work. I can see it now in my head and WOW. What a faction for the upper mid card. Tag titles and Intercontinental title runs easy!
This was great to watch, very well put together. Doink has always been one of my favourites. Highly underrated, they could've done so much more-dark, evil storylines with Doink. But can only appreciate with what we got to see. He nailed the character.
I will admit, I was not a fan of Doink at first, but after learning more about Matt Bourne and how he portrayed the character, I started to appreciate him. Honestly, Doink was a great character, and Matt did a fantastic job playing the role.
I grew up during the New Generation, and Doink was always one of my favorites. I loved that character, even as a kid. I loved the character even more once I recognized Bourne, because I was a big fan of his from WCW. It sucked after he left. It sucks that Bourne will never get the credit he deserves for being a talented professional wrestler who created one of the most memorable character in the history of the business. Maybe one day.
I loved the moments where the commentary rightly pointed out that, despite the dumb attire , Doink was a damn good wrestler and the shot of his make-up running to reveal more of the man behind the paint was always cool.
When I was a weeeeeee lad I never understood how doink could have gone from such a great heel to.... Silly. I wish that doink could return to become what he should have
This was great, as I never learned the backstory on this character and the actual wrestler behind the paint. I recall really liking the character when he first game on the scene as I've always gravitated toward the more technical wrestlers and this explains why I was a Doink fan to begin with (especially that feud with Perfect you brought up, I do vaguely recall enjoying a lot back in the day). I knew a switch in wrestlers happened at some point but this explains a lot of why the in-ring quality of the character faded away quite a bit.
Really good bio, I got really intrigued with Doink after family mentioned him and eventually Dark side of The Ring doing an episode on him. Fantastic and dedicated to his own persona and creation. it was a shame how things went for him with addiction.
Yes Create a Wrestler is back. I'm happy you're doing these videos. It's a cool concept and there's a lot of wrestlers u can do with this series. Keep up the great content brother
Glad i stumbled upon this channel, subd. I was in my early 20's when the original doink debuted, i remember liking the original evil Doink and being disappointed with how they took the character as well as not liking the replacements renditions of the character. Very interesting, I'll be going through your videos for sure.
You do your best to give us the most of the juiciest most intriguing parts of wrestling, and I've not seen anyone come close. I was born slightly too late for Goldust and Doink and the rest, so thankyou
I never had any idea Doink was something other than just another cartoony, joke-y Vince creation. Seeing the original, deeper version of Doink is so insanely interesting to me.
Thank You for this video. The admiration of this character and the level of respect you most justly gave Matt Borne, kudos to you. I’m 41, in 2009 I got to meet Matt Borne and tell him face to face he was my all time favorite. His face lit up and all he could say was Wow! As a kid, for a Halloween I costumed as Doink, it was thrilling to feel like you were the character. The word underrated gets used a lot but this character most definitely is! As a character, do you know Matt Borne’s Doink only loss once on television? Macho Man pinned him and next week Doink turned face, throwing the pale of water on Bobby Heenan. This character was strong and through the passage of time his legacy will be that much stronger …. And that’s no laughing matter!
Well written as always. I love these individual segments, So many things going on behind the curtain. Not too many can get Vince McMahon settle and the counter suit shows that Borne had a lot going on upstairs Demons or no.
Brilliant work, lad. One of your best. More content just like this, please. There are so many old school wrestlers that deserve attention and recognition.
Doink was just before my time as a wrestling fan. The character always seemed kind of stupid to me but this video made me see it in a whole new light. Thanks, WB!
