10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Doink The Clown
Matt Borne's life beyond WWE's iconic Doink character was anything but funny.
"I just want people to know that's not who he was".
Matt Osborne (typically shorted to Borne) was a flawed human being for sure, and none of the talking heads quizzed for VICE's latest 'Dark Side Of The Ring' episode try to hide that. However, his ex-wife Michelle's passionate plea for people to remember that he had a good side too stood out when watching.
Best remembered as Doink The Clown, Borne's substance abuse issues would be his undoing. The final hours of his life remain mysterious, and credit must go to VICE for presenting both sides of the story. Put it this way: Tegan (Matt's daughter) thinks his then-girlfriend Connie Cook killed her father in 2013, but police reports say otherwise.
This is a story of wrestling dreams wrecked by personal demons, kids who just wanted to love their father, and various lovers who stood by Matt despite his unpredictable, often-aggressive nature away from the ring. Borne's WWF/WWE run was shorter than it should've been, and the end of it ultimately put him on a path of self-destruction he'd never recover from.
Here's everything we learned from VICE's latest look at the seedier side of the biz.
10. Matt Borne's Horrible Childhood Memory
There wasn't a ton of detail about Matt's childhood life on 'Dark Side'. He grew up the son of a local wrestler called 'Tough' Tony Borne, and there's a particularly nice moment midway through when old footage of Tony reveals that he was always immensely proud of his boy.
His mother, apparently, wasn't.
Matt's ex-wife Michelle (who came across very well throughout the doc) revealed that Borne once told her what had happened when his parents split. The boy was just 10 years old, and would end up going to live with his father. Why? Well, his mother said: "You go with your dad, because I don't want that little bastard".
Man, that's awful. Michelle says those words stayed with Matt for the rest of his life, and he'd never understand why she'd be so cruel. That's literally the only mention of Borne's mother on VICE's show too, so it doesn't paint her in a positive light.