One thing many people forget about Matt Osborne is that he was actually a pretty accomplished in-ring performer. Behind the silly nature of the Doink gimmick, the guy could wrestle, and despite him largely being portrayed as a character more than a wrestling machine, Osborne did help produce some sweet matches during his tenure as the clown. Perhaps the most notable example would be Doink's bout opposite Bret Hart at Summerslam '93 - the match was initially supposed to see Jerry Lawler collide with the Hitman, but a storyline injury curtailed that plan, and Doink was inserted by Lawler as his replacement. The explanation for this was that the clown was Lawler's "court jester", which sums up this cartoon period of WWE history nicely. Another essential match during Osborne's WWF career was a 1993 King Of The Ring qualifying bout against Mr. Perfect. Going nearly 15 minutes on Wrestling Challenge, the duo produced a sterling effort, something which led the WWF to instruct announcers that they should play up the under-rated skills of Doink whenever he appeared, even after Osborne had left the promotion.
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.
