10 WWE Superstar Gimmicks That Nearly Turned Out So Differently
9. Doink The Clown
The genius of the early incarnation of Doink the Clown was that, by all appearances, he looked like a happy-go-lucky clown. There was a giant smile painted on his face, he was bright and colorful and playful. But behind the eyes of the man underneath the paint was a maniacal, deranged soul who got as much joy out of making children cry as he did making them laugh. He was evil at its most pure, something covered up by the innocent white, red and blue paint that adorned his face. It worked, in large part because the personality did not match the appearance. That was nearly not the case, though, as WWE's creative minds heard "evil clown" and immediately set out to craft paint schemes that were straight out of a nightmarish horror flick. In place of the painted-on smile were razor-sharp teeth and fiendish eyes. In some mockups of the character, the green wig was present, in others the character had a shaved head that did not fit the character whatsoever. None of that artwork so perfectly captured the essence of Doink the Clown the way that the final design did. The beauty of the character, in the most deranged way possible, is that he made children cry because he was mean-spirited, not because he looked like something out of Stephen Kings It. Had they gone in that direction, Doink would have been more of a caricature than the genius character it wound up being.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
