Why Danhausen Didn't Want To Wrestle In WWE

• Danhausen said his weird, goofy charisma allowed him to create a character others didn't want to do.
• The gimmick was loved by AEW fans.
• After returning from injury, Tony Khan didn't book Danhausen in AEW or ROH.

In a 2023 interview with The New York Times Magazine, author Dan Brooks wrote about Danhausen's career. To be showcased in such a huge outlet showed that the gimmick had taken hold. In the piece, Donovan Danhausen spoke about his early days in the indies, where he went by Kid Gorgeous, before he struck gold with a new gimmick, a demon with a painted-up face who was silly instead of scary.

“I was just a bearded guy with the tattoos, trying to be a tough guy, and I’m not a tough guy naturally. But I can be weird and charismatic, goofy. That’s easy. That’s also a role that most people don’t want to fill...

“I have no background in anything. I don’t have a wrestling background. I’m not into sports. I don’t have an improv background. I watched wrestling, and I watched ‘The Simpsons.’”

In The New York Times Magazine piece, knowing he was writing for an audience who might not normally watch wrestling, Dan Brooks made sure to talk about the company everyone knows, WWE, and how AEW was different. He also got an admission from the man behind Danhausen. Brooks wrote:

"He told me he had no interest in signing with W.W.E., the logical next step in any wrestler’s career, because he felt AEW was better suited to his act. That was, of course, the correct thing to say, but it also seemed true. For him, AEW is not the minor league so much as a place where Danhausen can be Danhausen, in front of an audience who appreciates what he is doing."

Comedy characters have succeeded many times in WWE, but it's true that Danhausen worked better in AEW. Part of that was because of his smaller stature, and part of it was because Danhausen was a little more quirky than the straight-forward humor of WWE stars like R-Truth and Santino Marella. But for whatever reason, when Danhausen was healthy, Tony Khan no longer saw him as a worthy name on his roster. It's a shame, because AEW fans loved his type of comedy and would have easily welcomed him back with open arms. Donovan Danhausen may have not wanted to ever work in WWE, but with his AEW dream dead, working for TKO was his only choice if he wanted to stay in the spotlight.

Will Danhausen's Character Work In WWE?

• WWE often treats comedy gimmicks like a joke not to be taken seriously.
• Danhausen was built for a more hardcore wrestling audience.
• Fans booed Danhausen's WWE debut, but he saved his character with one segment.

Danhausen is extremely talented, but we didn't get to see him in the ring often enough in AEW. He was usually the background guy cursing someone's opponent. With WWE's numerous hours of weekly TV time, they will be able to give him more matches and time on screen, but at what expense? WWE has been known to have many comedic characters over the decades, but there's always the risk that Danhausen will be treated like a joke.

The New York Times also spoke with Tony Khan about Danhausen, who said at the time:

"I like to take people’s presentation once it’s gotten over, once it’s gotten popular and been accepted. If you find people that have gotten over with a smaller, hard-core audience, often if you give them a chance on national television, the hard-core audience will vouch for them.”

Khan stopped seeing that, leading to Danhausen going on his most challenging journey. Danhausen had gotten over immensely with a hardcore audience. That's great, but it does not mean anything in WWE, the home for casual wrestling fans and families who often don't watch any other wrestling. So, when Danhausen was revealed as the man in the crate at Elimination Chamber, of course, the audience booed. He wasn't on the level of such a debut, and most fans had no clue who he even was. It looked like he was DOA. Then, in just one segment on Raw, Danhausen showed why he's so popular with those who know him. He may not have wanted to go to WWE, but now he's there, and he's about to become more over than ever.