10 WWE Joke Pushes That Stopped Being Funny

5. Clowns R Us Vs The Royal Family

JBL Michael Cole
WWE

Vince McMahon's aforementioned obsession with little people didn't start with Hornswoggle. Nor did it with the seven figures of fun he employed in 1994 to drag the a*se out of a woeful feud between Jerry Lawler and Doink, but the hard 1970s/80s graft of Little Beaver, Haiti Kid, Lord Littlebrook etc were a lifetime away from the New Generation's take on miniature action.

Clinging on to Doink's leg and dragging the character into the ideas gutter in 1994, Dink had already been bothersome before 'Wink' and 'Pink' joined him to help even the odds against Lawler's abused crew 'Sleazy', 'Cheesy' and 'Queasy' - named presumably after Vince McMahon, his sense of humour and how it made people feel, respectively.

The eight human cartoons came together for a Survivor Series match that over-achieved by delivering one genuine laugh (Lawler countering Doink and Dink's chicken-fight challenge by getting on one of his partner's shoulders made for mumbled mirth), but otherwise stunk out an arena that was already filled with bullsh*t thanks to McMahon's tacked-on Texas theme du jour.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett