10 Precise Moments WWE's Best Ever Gimmicks Stopped Working

8. Doink The Clown

This writer will die on the Doink hill if he has to.

That heel gimmick Matt Borne played from 1992-93 was stunning stuff. It was creepy, it was mysterious and it was clear that Borne was one hell of a worker between the ropes. Everything was going so well for the character (Bruce Prichard even admitted on his podcast that he wanted bigger things for Doink creatively) when things suddenly turned sour.

Borne, riddled with personal problems and substance issues, left the WWF, but the company didn't want to abandon the Doink character. Instead of picking another solid heel to fill the role though, they turned Doink babyface, gave him a sidekick called Dink and played both off as fun-loving pranksters who only wanted to entertain the kids.

Even typing that is enough to make one feel sick. The entire Doink persona was butchered by this development, and it'd never recover. It was dead as soon as Borne wiped off the greasepaint and hung up his green wig that last time.