Matt Borne
The professional wrestling world is morning the death of second generation performer Matthew Osborne who most famously competed as both Doink the Clown and Matt Borne. The 55-year-old Charlotte North Carolina native was found unconscious by his girlfriend on the morning of June 28th and passed away en route to hospital. Borne’s 35-year career inside the squared circle began back in 1978 after having been trained by his father Tony Borne. He started his career spending his first 2-years in the business making a name for himself while competing for both Pacific Northwest Wrestling and Mid-South Wrestling. In 1980 he started a 3-year run with Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling where he became known as a tag-team specialist with partner Buzz Sawyer.
Matt Osborne had his first stint with World Wrestling Entertainment starting in the spring of 1985 when he spent a year with the organization mostly working as an enhancement talent and representing the company competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Osborne remained competing for NJPW from 1986 to 1989 and during this time period also competed for World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas. Debuting in World Championship Wrestling as Big Josh in 1991, he spent a year with the company again winning tag-team championships with the likes of Ron Simmons, Dustin Rhodes and Tom Zenk.
Matt Osborne started his second run with the WWE in late 1992 competing as the evil Doink the Clown. Osborne had a successful short stay with the company but was released in the fall of 1993 due to on-going drug abuse issues. He had a short stint in 1994 with Extreme Championship Wrestling but had to leave the company due to personal problems. Matt Osborne continued wrestling regularly over the next 19-years mostly competing for independent organizations but also made one-time appearances for both Asistencia Asesoria Y Administracion in 2004 and wrestled in a legends battle royal on WWE Raw in 2007. His official cause of death is expected to be released shortly.
Below we look at the professional wrestling career of Matthew ‘Doink the Clown/Matt Borne’ Osborne by the numbers…
World Wrestling Entertainment:
* 5 Matches on WWE Pay-Per-View.
* 15 Matches on WWE Raw.
* 4 Main Event Matches on WWE Raw.
* 12 Matches on WWE Superstars.
* 1 Main Event Match on WWE Superstars.
* 5 Matches on WWE Prime Time Wrestling.
* 3 Matches on WWE All-Star Wrestling.
* 1 Main Event Match on WWE All-Star Wrestling.
* 13 Matches on WWE Wrestling Challenge.
* 3 Main Event Matches on WWE Wrestling Challenge.
* 4 Matches on WWE Championship Wrestling.
* 3 Matches on WWE On MSG Network.
* 1 Match on WWE On PRISM Network.
* 1 Match on WWE On NESN.
* 1 Match on WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1993.
* 3 Matches on WWE European Spring Tour.
World Championship Wrestling / Jim Crockett Promotions:
* 5 Matches on WCW/JCP Pay-Per-View.
* 4 Matches on WCW/JCP Clash Of The Champions
* 30 Matches on WCW/JCP Saturday Night.
* 2 Main Event Matches on WCW/JCP Saturday Night.
* 3 Matches on WCW/JCP Power Hour.
* 2 Main Event Matches on WCW/JCP Power Hour.
* 7 Matches on WCW Main Event.
* 3 Main Event Matches on WCW Main Event.
* 6 Matches on WCW Worldwide.
* 2 Main Event Matches on WCW Worldwide.
* 12 Matches on WCW/JCP World Championship Wrestling.
New Japan Pro Wrestling:
* 2 Matches on NJPW On Tv Asahi
* 3 Matches on NJPW New Wave Dash 1986.
* 1 Main Event Match on NJPW New Wave Dash 1986.
* 1 Match on NJPW Blazing Cherry Blossome 1987.
* 7 Matches on NJPW New Year Golden Series 1989.
Georgia Championship Wrestling:
* 4 Matches on NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling.
* 1 Main Event Match on NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling.
* 4 Matches on NWA World Championship Wrestling.
* 2 Main Event Matches on NWA World Championship Wrestling.
Big Time Wrestling:
* 5 Matches on NWA Big Time Wrestling.
Extreme Championship Wrestling:
* 1 Match on ECW Home Video Releases.
* 1 Match on ECW Hardcore Tv.
