Danhausen Brutally Compared To Gobbledy Gooker After Elimination Chamber 2026 Debut (WWE News)

Dave Meltzer was not a fan of Danhausen's WWE debut.

by Andrew Pollard
The Gobbledy Gooker Danhausen
WWE

With Danhausen having made his WWE debut at Elimination Chamber this past weekend, it's safe to say that the Very Nice, Very Evil star's arrival was welcomed with a rather split opinion by Chicago's United Center.

For those who may have missed it, Danhausen was revealed to have been in the 'mystery crate' that was bounced between Raw and SmackDown in the weeks leading up to the Chamber PLE. After Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis opened that crate on the stage setup in the United Center, they found a coffin, which quickly led to several dancers appearing in Danhausen-esque facepaint, before the man himself arrived to a fairly decent pop. However, mild boos and groans then started, and they only got louder by the time Danhausen had headed to the announce table, given Michael Cole a jar of teeth, entered the ring, and then vanished after the house lights went off.

Whenever a wrestling company runs any sort of mystery angle, there's always a risk that the eventual reveal will leave some disappointed, as that whole mystery element means fans can let their imaginations run wild. As an example, many had thought this might all be part of Chris Jericho's long-rumoured WWE return, or may possibly tie in with Seth Rollins. And so, for those hoping for one of those outcomes, the reveal of Danhausen might have been viewed as a bit of a letdown.

One such person who seemed to share that sentiment was Dave Meltzer, who, speaking on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, brutally compared Danhausen's debut to that of the infamous Gobbledy Gooker.

Advertisement
"I mean, it was the Gobbledy Gooker; that's what it was. They finally managed to do another Gobbledy Gooker. We'll see. It's a weird one, because, again, with Paul Levesque, the way he books, I don't see where this guy fits in, but he could do the R-Truth thing, but they have R-Truth. It's like, 'You don't need two R-Truths.' I know he's not the same thing, but it's just sort of that gimmick mascot guy that doesn't wrestle. There's no upside for him to do wrestling matches. I mean, him going and doing his shtick might get over; it's WWE. On paper, I would have thought that it would for a while, and then it would just become commonplace and then it wouldn't mean much, but who knows."

When his WOR co-host Bryan Alvarez highlighted how Danhausen has gotten himself over previously with "almost zero national television exposure", Meltzer added that he can't see the now-former AEW man being a regular on WWE TV as he's not an "awesome talker", "really freakin' good in the ring", or "a big, muscular dude". Dave also noted that the signing of Danhausen was not a "unanimous decision", with some people in the company pushing for his signing, and others who "didn't want him".

As for the Gobbledy Gooker comparison, the Gooker hatched out of a giant egg at Survivor Series 1990. In the weeks leading up to that reveal, it was teased that the egg may contain anything from a dinosaur to a Playmate of the Month, with there even speculation that this could lead to the company debut of Ric Flair, or possibly be tied to the recent signing of a certain Mark Calaway. Instead, fans got a giant turkey mascot, as played by Hector Guerrero, who danced with Gene Okerlund after hatching, all as the live crowd booed. While there were plans for the Gobbledy Gooker to wrestle, the character was completely dropped after just one month, partly due to Guerrero not being able to see out of the outfit properly, and partly due to the negative response to the Gooker. As for Mark Calaway, he debuted at that same Survivor Series, taking on the gimmick of the Undertaker.

Advertisement

Danhausen is expected to be in attendance for tonight's Raw, so here's hoping the hugely charismatic star receives a strong welcome from Indianapolis' Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Love that Danhausen.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Wrestling Observer Radio with an H/T to WhatCulture Wrestling.

Two Wrestlers Just Left AEW (AEW News)

10 Wrestlers Who Turned Face & Heel In The Same Year

Every WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas Wrestler - Where Are They Now?

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.