Why AEW Extended Danhausen’s Contract When He Hasn’t Wrestled For Them Since 2023

AEW has had nothing for Danhausen ever since. He has wrestled on the indies, waiting for his contract to expire so he could move on. When his contract ended in July of this year, though, Khan did not let him go. The AEW head instead extended his contract due to the time he missed while injured. So, despite no sign that Khan will use Danhausen again, he has locked the painted one up well into 2026. Here is a look at why Khan made that decision.

Danhausen Is An AEW Merch King

Khan does not have to use Danhausen’s comedic genius on television to profit from him. From his debut, the wrestler’s merch has flown off the shelves. Danhausen’s merch has been among the top-selling in the company since that first Beach Break appearance in January of 2022. His vlog, “Love That Danhausen,” is also wildly popular and has featured other wrestlers, like “Pepsi Phil” (CM Punk), MJF, Toni Storm, Ethan Page, and Brody King. Danhausen is a hit at events like New York Comic Con and WrestleCon. He is great advertising for the company.

The Rock Loves That Danhausen Too

It has been mentioned in several interviews and dirt sheet reports that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson watches and sometimes tweets/retweets Danhausen’s posts. There are even rumors that Johnson, as a member of the Board of Directors at TKO (WWE’s parent company), has talked about possibly bringing Danhausen’s comedic talents to WWE. If any of those rumors are true, it would make sense that Khan would hold on to Danhausen just to keep him away from the competition. Imagine a segment on Raw or SmackDown with Danhausen and The Rock, or better yet, R-Truth? –Ratings gold!

End Of My Danhausen AEW Rant

Danhausen is not going to wow fans with five-star matches in the ring or win major championships. That said, he does bring value to each wrestling company that he makes appearances for in the form of merch sales. Whether he is putting curses on other wrestlers or dumping a jar of teeth into another wrestler’s mouth before super-kicking them in the face, he is entertaining. He is Hurricane Helms, R-Truth, the KISS Demon, and Santino Marella all rolled into one, and fans love him.

Khan knows that. He knows that, even during his absence from the ring, Danhausen has made bank for AEW. He can be wrestling on the indies and still be selling merch at AEW shows. Khan will cling to that face-painted cash cow as long as he legally can.

I truly hope that we have not seen the last of Danhausen on AEW television . With his buddies, Best Friends, disbanded, and his occasional tag team partner, Hook, off TV as well, there is not much for him to do right now. Perhaps, when Hook and Orange Cassidy make their returns, Danhausen will surface again as well. Until that happens, or his extended contract runs out, wrestling fans will have to look for him on the indies or watch him on YouTube.

Once free, it would not surprise me if WWE hires him to be the next R-Truth on television. Nor would it surprise me if he were to catch on with TNA. Danhausen would play well off of Marella and the “Demon Assassin” Rosemary. WWE and TNA have positioned themselves to try to counterprogram AEW recently, and Khan cannot afford to let go of valuable assets right now.

It stinks that this is how he is handling Danhausen’s contract and appearances, but business is business. Danhausen seems to have cursed himself in that regard. If he is free next year, we will see if it is Khan who is cursed next.