10 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Doink The Clown

9. Mick Foley Wanted To Be Him

Dark Side Of The Ring Doink The Clown Matt Borne
WWE.com

Onto something nicer and wrestling-related.

Mick Foley was friends with Borne behind the scenes, but always admired his in-ring work too. Specifically, Foley liked how Matt was able to bring his on-screen characters to life and convince fans that he really was Big Josh or Doink The Clown. Summing it up, Mick added: 'I saw in him what I hoped to one day be".

That's something VICE did well to put across here. Yes, Borne was a flawed human being with terrible habits and behaviours away from the ring, but he was super-talented within a pro wrestling context. It's cool to see someone as respected as Mick put that over, and reveal that Borne influenced him.

Footage was shown of Foley (as Mankind) raining down punches on a grounded opponent. VICE tag-teamed that with footage of Matt doing the same, then backed it up with Mick saying he admired Borne's ability to live a character.

Borne/Doink influenced Mick as Mankind and beyond.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.