101 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe Almost Happened
85. Erick Rowan Is A ‘Borne Again’ Doink The Clown Retread
Most fans have likely forgotten all about this.
To be fair, it was a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment from WWE, and it happened on a peripheral show that millions passed on checking out weekly. Even so, Talking Smack was a haven for experimentation, and a deceptively awesome place for those who didn't get a ton of promo time to explore that side of their act.
In 2017, Erick Rowan showed up on Talking SmackDown with a clown face painted on his ‘white sheep’ mask. It was a little bit Doink The Clown, or maybe Matt Borne's banter-filled 'Borne Again' gimmick from the original ECW would be more apt. Rowan was, after all, blending multiple gimmick ideas into one.
It wouldn't go anywhere though. WWE put Erick in The Bludgeon Brothers soon after instead once he'd left The Wyatt Family alongside tag partner Luke Harper. Any hopes the big red beard had of exploring a clownish element evaporated in a heartbeat, and Talking SmackDown became the only trace of his painting skills.
At first glance, it looked for all the world like Rowan fancied bringing back some of the clown menace Doink had introduced back in late-1992. Borne's original character is fondly remembered for a reason. Sure, the WWF rubbished it by turning Doink babyface and putting various journeymen under the greasepaint, but Borne's initial characterisation has become stuff of legend regardless.
Maybe Rowan could've shown off a different side to his personality had The Bludgeon Bros not...bludgeoned his creativity so quickly.