Ranking Every WWE DOINK From Worst To Best

6. Steve Lombardi

Jeff Jarrett Doink
WWE.com

Stepping in immediately after original master of the gimmick Matt Bourne was fired in 1993, longstanding company odd job man Steve Lombardi parked the Brooklyn Brawler and baseball togs to ensure Doink made the towns until Ray Apollo came in full time. Or sometimes, wore them too to make double use of the clown on A and B shows.

Lombardi played the role as recently as 2012 during an angle that saw Heath Slater challenging old stars in the run up to Raw 1000, but it was as charmless then as it had been nearly two decades earlier.

Much like Apollo, Lombardi was beating a dead horse with the character working babyface. But Bourne's technical wrestling ability gave credence to why a clown was in the ring. It was a facade, not a lifestyle choice. Not so by 1994 and beyond - once the flower on his lapel flashed a toothy smile rather than an evil glare and the entrance music lost the terrifying and sinister breakdown, the game was gone no matter who played.

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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