If there’s one thing about the WWE Universe, they are going to let you know when they love (or hate) a Superstar. For a month or two, a mysterious crate bounced between episodes of Raw and SmackDown, eventually opening at WWE Elimination Chamber in February 2026. On that night in Chicago, fans had a number of expectations, and yet when Danhausen and his ghoulish bunch emerged from that crate for a throwback dance routine, the WWE Universe was confused, with some boos eeking out. By the time the next episode of SmackDown had aired, and Danhausen was already cursing Superstars (with real results!), fans had turned the corner on Danhausen, propelling him to the top of the company (at least in terms of merchandise sales). Roughly a year before, he was under contract with WWE’s competition, spending more time on the independent circuit than on their television.
Everything happens for a reason; Danhausen and WWE seem to be a good fit for each other. And as the brute with the spooky make-up is still growing within WWE, now feels like the best time to get properly acquainted with the “very nice, very evil” Superstar. These are 10 things you didn’t know about Danhausen.
Danhausen was wrestling for 12 years before joining WWE
October 18, 2026 marks the 13th anniversary of Danhausen’s pro wrestling debut, a career that has netted him a number of championships on the independent circuit, as well as a spot on the 2020 PWI 500—eventually landing a contract with All Elite Wrestling in 2022, after wrestling for AEW’s sister promotion, Ring of Honor, from 2019 through 2021, working independent bookings alongside his obligations for AEW. After spending all of 2024 off of AEW and ROH TV, Danhausen let his contract expire, leading to his WWE debut in February 2026 at Elimination Chamber.
Danhausen takes inspiration from Conan O’Brien
While many have likened his looks to being a member of KISS, Danhausen has always described Danhausen as "Conan O'Brien possessed by a demon," which is what led to Danhausen eventually joining Conan’s podcast. His voice also incorporates Mark Hamill’s Joker, and while we have seen his curses “work” on WWE programming, the original idea was that Danhausen’s curses wouldn’t work at first…until they started to work. Very campy, very genius way to turn into a Conan-inspired, pop culture-spewing, money-hungry ghoul.
Danhausen has his own coffee blend
After hearing Danhausen’s conversation with Conan, Rootless Coffee Co. sent Danhausen some coffee. (The perks of being world famous, right?) Their relationship continued to grow, and after they made Danhausen his own bag, both parties agreed to create a blend for him, and Danhausen Coffeehausen was born. With art from Craig Horky, word from Rootless was that it was so popular, Coffeehausen sold out in a single day. (You can grab a baghausen now, though.)
Danhausen was the first wrestler to trademark his facepaint
In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Danhausen shared that, after he debuted with his signature face paint, he’d seen a Magic: The Gathering card that he felt looked too similar to his face paint, to the point where fans were inquiring with him on if he had struck a deal with the card company. Although Danhausen said it was likely a “pain in the ass” for legendary “gimmick lawyer” Michael Dockins to secure the trademark, it was a necessary evil (heh) and likely helped individuals like Sting trademark their looks later on.
Danhausen carries around teeth
Sometimes in a bag, most often in a jar, Danhausen got those teeth—usually human?—on him. Why? Mostly to confuse or disgust his opponents, he may answer a question by handing you a jar of teeth. It’s not telling you to “be quiet,” but if that’s the end result, then Danhausen wins.
Danhausen’s wifehausen was part of his WWE debut
During his Elimination Chamber segment, Danhausen had a number of people performing in the routine. One of them was his wifehausen, who is known professionally as Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière. Danhausen is the stepfather to her daughter, and she gave birth to their son in 2025.
Danhausen’s merch has been a top-seller in the WWE Shop
Ever since his WWE debut, Danhausen’s “Cursed!” t-shirts have been top sellers. A report that was released in April 2026 said that, during WrestleMania 42 weekend, Danhausen was surprisingly No. 3 on the top merch seller’s list, behind CM Punk and Cody Rhodes. Many figured Danhausen wouldn’t work on WWE television, but it’s clear that Danhausen’s either in the right place or needed to be in the right place to hit the next level.
Danhausen cursed IShowSpeed
One of the first things Danhausen did on WWE TV was curse IShowSpeed after Speed refused to give him the login details to his stream. That curse helped set Speed on his journey to putting Logan Paul through a table at WrestleMania 42.
Danhausen takes bribes to curse pro sports teams
Not only is there a running list of WWE Superstars that Danhausen has cursed—including The Miz, Dominik Mysterio, and the original El Grande Americano—Danhausen has also been known to take “human monies” (his words, not ours) to curse sports teams upon request. In a hilarious spin, during an interview with SI, Danhausen (who’s from Detroit) cursed the enemies of the Detroit Lions. Let us know how that works out, Bears fans!
John Cena originally wasn’t part of Danhausen’s WrestleMania 42 moment
Every night during WrestleMania Week, the team over at MicroMania put on a show, so it wasn’t surprising when a number of their performers showed up to Allegiant Stadium dressed up as Danhausen to take part in Danhausen’s first Mania moment. The bigger shock was that John Cena, who was hosting the two-night extravaganza, would be a part of the segment. According to Richard Fitswell, one of the performers, what we saw on television was originally a completely different plan.
"It was phenomenal,” Fitswell told Rewind Recap Relive. “We went to rehearsal. John Cena was side stage, Danhausen asked John Cena to be part of the production. Then they asked if we would come into the ring, and then one of the gentlemen gets rushed, and one of our other guys punch, kick, and in the lower, you know, area, and then we pummel him. And then, we go to Miz and carry him out. So, that was all built out, [and it] evolved. Like I said, it was simple, and then it evolved into something big. And to have John Cena out there, wrestle Miz, and [have] Danhausen, that's like a dream come true.”
Sounds like Danhausen is money and everyone can smell it!
