Danhausen Already Doing BIG Business For WWE (WWE News)

Danhausen already has WWE's top-selling t-shirt.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 Danhausen
WWE.com

After a somewhat opinion-splitting debut at Elimination Chamber last month, Danhausen is already doing big business for WWE.

Taking a look at WWE Shop, the Very Nice, Very Evil star currently has the top-selling shirt on both the US and European versions of the site, edging out the likes of John Cena, Steve Austin, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Penta, and Finn Balor.

Danhausen Merchandise
WWE

Making this all the more remarkable, Danhausen has so far only actually appeared in front of fans once, which was at Chicago's United Center for that Elimination Chamber debut; a debut that, being honest, fell a little flat.

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After weeks of WWE teasing the reveal of what was in the mystery crate, that allowed fans to dream up all sorts of huge possibilities, including some thinking that this could all be tied to the WWE return of Chris Jericho. Instead, Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis opened that crate to reveal a coffin, which in turn led to several Danhausen-esque dancers taking to the stage, followed by the arrival of Danhausen himself. While there was an initial pop for Danhausen, that was soon met by a few groans and boos, and those groans and boos only intensified by the time the now-former AEW man made his way to the ring - giving Michael Cole a jar of teeth along the way.

By the time of his WWE debut, it had been over two years since Danhausen last wrestled for AEW, and two years since his last ROH match. Prior to signing with Tony Khan's outfit, the star had generated a whole bunch of buzz for himself on the independent scene, though he was a rather niche performer when looking at the more mainstream WWE fans. As such, a good chunk of those fans at Elimination Chamber seemingly didn't know who Danhausen was, and others were frustrated that this wasn't something 'bigger', ala Chris Jericho.

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Still, for those familiar with Danhausen, you always fancy the man to get himself over when given the opportunity, and that certainly seems to be the case already in WWE. Simply put, and to borrow a line from our own Simon Miller, the pro wrestling world sometimes needs a good ol' dollop of goofy wrestling, and that is exactly what Danhausen brings to the table: silly, light, quirky entertainment. And by that, Danhausen's already demanded, amongst other things, a WWE Hall of Fame induction (this year), a blimp, a personal assistant, and a mentor, and poor Dominik Mysterio lost the Intercontinental Championship to Penta after being cursed.

Love that Danhausen.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.