8 New Directions For WWE After Elimination Chamber 2026

5. Danhausen To NXT

WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 Danhausen
WWE.com

There's no defending that debut.

Who thought this box/crate reveal was a good idea? Seriously, that was a terrible, terrible, terrible introduction for quirky ex-AEW man Danhausen. Fans in attendance were silent then booed the segment, and now he’s left with no momentum to speak of right after taking his bow on WWE PLE.

It's WrestleMania season, man, and this is the kind of debut WWE just served up?! As the intro states, this writer likes to give things a chance, but that was truly awful. NXT might be the only option for Danhausen, because at least it's a smaller catchment area of fans, and there's still a hardcore hangover with the developmental product stemming back to the days when Triple H brought black and gold magic to screens via TakeOver specials and the like.

That's less true than it used to be, but the hardcore element is still there somewhere. It'd do Danhausen good to take his wares to NXT and see what Shawn Michaels can do with him, because he's toast on Raw or SmackDown if Elimination Chamber was anything to go by. Hardly anybody in the crowd seemed to know who he was.

It was verging on Gobbledy Gooker territory, which was a nightmare worry going into the show. Triple H tried to defend the segment afterwards, but here's a repeat: There's no defending that debut! It was so poor, didn't reflect the true quirkiness of the gimmick, and ended with pyro so weak Tony Khan from Revolution 2021 called and wants it for Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.