15 Exact Moments Failed WWE Gimmicks Actually Got Over

15. Danhausen

In retrospect, Danhausen’s debut was perfect, even if WWE did not intentionally tell the story of a silly little guy who has no idea that he isn’t a megastar failing to present himself as a megastar. T

he lame magic act pyro was deliberate, and thus so was the anticlimax - but they expected a pop that was not forthcoming. Danhausen, in a less-than-ideal reminder of the Gobbledy Gooker, did not win the hearts of Chicago. The bit worked so well in hindsight because the respective general managers wanted nothing to do with the mystery box in which he was housed. Danhausen is an irritant. You aren’t meant to take him seriously - but you should doubt him at your peril. He earnestly won the hearts of WWE fans the very next night. 

Danhausen is in fact a weird little guy, an odd one to unpack. If you see his material written down, the patter is lame. It’s the least funny Chris Jericho material from 1999 imaginable. And yet, when he says it, it’s weirdly endearing. 24 hours removed from Elimination Chamber, Danhausen ran into the Judgment Day on Raw. Dominik Mysterio was the perfect foil, and that’s when it clicked: WWE is teeming with the obnoxious heel variant, and all of them will play off Danhausen magnificently. Danhausen cursed Dominik Mysterio, and this is where it immediately felt like the bit wasn’t just going to work; it was going to be huge. 

The pauses he added to “You - are - cursed!” were made for a booming call-and-response from the crowd, and in 2026 WWE, the less you do in the ring, the better. Danhausen is ideal.