Ranking Every WWE DOINK From Worst To Best

Send out the clowns...

Jeff Jarrett Doink
WWE

The "WWE" qualifier is particularly important for the title of this piece.

For decades and perhaps even up until the very moment these words are being typed, somebody is doing their own Doink to make a few dollars from a gimmick that supposedly never drew.

The complex history of the Sports Entertainment clown is one mostly rooted in mockery of the time at which it was devised. An increasingly cartoonish World Wrestling Federation was all too comfortable a home for such a character, with critics noting how Vince McMahon's circus had been due one for a while anyway. What they missed - then noted in hindsight - was that as a psychopathic heel, the persona was inspired.

Performed with vile glee by Matt Bourne, it was as if an unpredictable sociopathic ex-wrestler had stumbled upon the green wig at the bottom of a bottle and found his calling. Cynical, evil and cruel, Doink had legs before the McMahon's comedic tastes cut them off entirely. As a babyface it was broken, and alongside Dink it was permanently destroyed, to the point where the person donning the paint might as well have been attending a New Generation fancy dress party.

But that’s the point of this - so many gave it a go that you could actually host said soiree without even needing to invite any other gimmicks. Not that all of them would be particularly welcome...

10. Money In The Bank 2020

Jeff Jarrett Doink
WWE.com

Perhaps the most egregious sight gag in match leaning entirely on egregious sight gags instead of an actual story, the "Doink" behind a chair in WWE HQ was a fly buzzing around the titan tower-sized mound of sh*t.

As evidenced by Paul Heyman, Bruce Prichard, John Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon being some of the only IRL cameos available to the company, WWE were as thin on the ground personnel-wise as much as they were creatively when crafting their first major cinematic effort since WrestleMania's well received Boneyard and Firefly Funhouse matches.

This was every kind of awful clown show, in spite of the reasonably massive stakes. Money In The Bank was the shambolic opposite of all there was to love about the 'Show Of Shows' matches in spite of all the tremendous potential, with the above image being literally all this Doink amounted to on the night.

Sh*t idea, sh*t execution, sh*t Doink. A pie in the face would be a waste of the pie.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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