Complex sentence: He has often been claimed to have been one of several men to have portrayed Doink the Clown, however this has been disputed in favor of Ray Liachelli who subsequently played the character in independent promotions following the character's retirement in 1995.
Split into simpler sentences: He has often been claimed to have been one of several men to have portrayed Doink the Clown. However this has been disputed in favor of Ray Liachelli who subsequently played the character in independent promotions following the character's retirement in 1995.