6. The Character Was An Independent Draw
After leaving the WWF in late-1993, Matt Osborne continued to use the Doink schtick on shows for various independent promotions across North America, making a pretty penny in the process. Fans have long been fascinated with the character, but were even more so when it was still 100% relevant, and had just been seen on WWF programming only a few months earlier. Cashing in on his brief success in the biggest company around, Osborne sold a truckload of merchandise at independent events, and continued to wrestle on and off as Doink right up until his death in 2013. Eerily, the older Osborne became, the more twisted and scary Doink The Clown looked - the man's custom-made outfits weren't quite as bright and garish as those the WWF costume department had churned out in the early-90's, and they had a washed-out appearance which actually only served to make the persona more maniacal. Today, wrestling fans expect to see recent WWE releases pop up on local independent shows, because there really aren't that many companies wrestlers can go to work for and make a solid living. Back in 1993, there were a few more, but Osborne knew he could make a killing by freelancing, and that's exactly what he did.