Matt Osborne

United States Wrestling Association (1989–1991) In 1989, World Class merged with the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). For the next two years, Borne won the USWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Jeff Jarrett and held the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship twice. In August, Big Josh won the WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with Dustin Rhodes and Tom Zenk, which they held for three months. He continued to make sporadic WCW TV appearances throughout the summer before leaving the company. He would shortly thereafter become Doink the Clown, in a villainous clown gimmick that would frequently pull tricks on wrestlers at ringside as well as fans. In March, he started feuding with Crush after attacking him with a prosthetic arm on an episode of Superstars, which resulted in a match at WrestleMania IX on April 4. Doink defeated Crush after another Doink (Steve Keirn) came out from under the ring and attacked Crush with another prosthetic arm.

In the spring, Doink was given the opportunity to enter the King of the Ring tournament, facing Mr. Perfect in the qualifying round. After two time-limit draws, Mr. Perfect defeated Doink in their third match on the May 24 episode of Monday Night Raw. At the titular event on June 13, Doink (or rather, two Doinks) distracted Crush, costing him his Intercontinental Championship match against Shawn Michaels. In the summer, Doink continued his feud with Crush and was successful in house show encounters against Marty Jannetty and the 1-2-3 Kid, despite occasionally losing to higher profile opponents such as Bret Hart or Tatanka. At SummerSlam on August 30, Jerry Lawler hired Doink to wrestle Hart as he feigned injury, with Hart winning by disqualification when Lawler interfered.

Several days later, Doink turned face by inciting a mocking chant from the fans directed at Lawler. On the September 13 episode of Raw, Doink poured a pail of water over Bobby Heenan, marking his face turn. In late November, Doink was given a present from Santa Claus in the form of a midget in the Doink costume, which he named Dink. Shortly after, however, Osborne was fired for re-occurring drug abuses. Osborne cited in a shoot interview that Bam Bam Bigelow did not like putting over Osborne, which led to Bigelow snitching on him for smoking weed in the hallway of his hotel and getting him fired from the WWF. Following his departure, Doink was played by Ray Licameli (also known as Ray Apollo). Borne then changed his ring name to Borne Again and continued wearing the clown suit, albeit without the wig, wearing a minimal amount of face paint, as well as growing out his hair and beard. After beating his opponents, he would make them dress in clown outfits. However, his tenure with the company was short-lived due to personal problems. On December 10, 2007, at the suggestion of Ricky Steamboat, Osborne reprised the role of Doink at Raw s 15th Anniversary as he took part in a Legends Battle Royal. At that time, Wolfe no-showed the event to avoid Borne. On August 8, Borne won the Wrecking Ball Wrestling Championship. Osborne continued to compete on a semi-regular basis all over the United States for the last several years until a few days before his death on June 28, 2013.

Death Osborne, aged 55, was found dead by his girlfriend on June 28, 2013, in the Plano, Texas apartment he lived in. His death was acknowledged by WWE. Though no weapons were found near his body, and police said the death appeared accidental, they launched a precautionary homicide investigation. The cause of death was later determined to be an accidental overdose of morphine and hydrocodone. He also suffered from heart disease, which had been a contributing factor in his death.

In June 2015, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against WWE, alleging that "WWE created a culture of violence and sacrificed Matt Osborne's brain for its own profit" which "led to further illnesses and injuries, including depression and drug abuse, which ultimately resulted in his untimely death." WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said the suit was without merit and blamed the attorneys for taking advantage of the families involved. The suit was filed by the mother of two of Osborne's four children, and was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. The lawsuit was dismissed by US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant, who ruled that they failed to show that his death was linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Other media He was the focus of a fourth season episode of the docuseries Dark Side of the Ring.

Championships and accomplishments International Wrestling Association IWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling / World Championship Wrestling NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Buzz Sawyer Pacific Northwest Wrestling / Championship Wrestling USA Championship Wrestling International Alliance World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Texas Wrestling Federation TWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Superstar of the Year (2012)