10 Famous Wrestling Gimmicks That Were Actually Inherited
5. Doink The Clown
When Doink debuted in late 1992, he was originally intended to be a dark, brooding heel. With Matt Borne under the paint, the character had a lot of promise; however, when Borne left the WWF in late ‘93 following recurring drug issues, Doink instead became a generic, kid-friendly babyface.
After briefly passing through the hands of John Maloof and Steve Keirn, Ray Apollo would take control of the character until 1995, when it was clear there was no place in mid-90s WWF for a babyface clown. Doink’s brief cameo at the 1997 Slammy Awards confirmed this, as fans cheered the villainous Steve Austin, as he memorably beat down the clown during the ceremony.
Since the turn of the millennium, Doink has been played by several men, including Steve Lombardi (Brooklyn Brawler) and Nick Dinsmore (Eugene), as well as reappearances of Apollo and Borne who reprised the role at WrestleMania X-Seven and Raw 15th Anniversary respectively.