On the back of his success in PNW, Adams went back to work for the WWF in 1992, retaining the Crush name and still a fan favorite but using a new character of an easygoing surfing Hawaiian who wore bright neon tights and utilized a new two-handed skull vice finisher called the "Cranium Crunch". Crush made his televised debut in WWF under his new character on May 9, 1992 episode of "Superstars", defeating Kato. The two would continue to work at house shows that month. Crush made his first pay-per-view appearance under the gimmick with a win over Repo Man (Barry Darsow, who also played Crush's former Demolition partner, Smash) at SummerSlam. Crush then engaged in a feud with Doink the Clown, after he was attacked with a loaded prosthetic arm while confronting the clown about his cruel pranks on children at ringside, which caused Crush to miss the 1993 Royal Rumble. The feud culminated at WrestleMania IX, where Crush lost after a second, identical Doink appeared from underneath the ring and struck Crush with the prosthetic arm. At the first King of the Ring pay-per-view, Crush challenged Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship, but lost the match after a distraction by Doink.