AEW: Who is Danhausen and what kind of impact will he have?

Danhausen’s appearance at AEW Beach Break caused a lot of buzz but who is the newest individual to be All Elite?

The newest member of the AEW roster was revealed on the Beach Break episode of Dynamite last Wednesday when Adam Cole went to retrieve a chair from underneath the ring to use in his lights-out match versus Orange Cassidy.  To Cole’s surprise, attached to the chair was a man with a painted face.  After being dragged out from under the ring, the mystery man simply stood up and posed, while pointing and staring at Cole.  And that man is known as Danhausen.

Danhausen has been around the wrestling scene since 2015, and like most, he cut his teeth on the independents while becoming something of an internet sensation as well.

The evil one was signed to Ring of Honor before the promotion shut down and released all of their talents from their existing contracts.  This would end up being a blessing in disguise for Danhausen, as it was announced on January 26th, 2022, that Danhausen was indeed All Elite.

And now that Danhausen has signed with the hottest wrestling promotion in the world, the question has to be asked:

Who is Danhausen and why is he a good get for AEW?

Trying to explain who Danhausen is will never be an easy task.  Yes, he is a wrestler, but the argument can be made that he is much more popular for his antics outside the ring than anything he has done in it.

Danhausen seems like the guy who has always admired the world’s supervillains and has tried to pattern himself after them.

The face paint and that painted on smile draws immediate comparisons to Batman’s nemesis, The Joker.

The demonic tattoo that he dons across his chest, his affinity for teeth (he is known for bringing jars of teeth to the ring for his matches and trying to feed them to his opponent), and his eerie gaze suggest that he would be an evil heel, capable of giving children nightmares.

And to hear Danhausen tell it, he is capable of evil supernatural powers, such as cursing people, which would explain the strange interaction with Adam Cole on Dynamite.  (Apparently, it worked as Orange Cassidy scored an upset victory over Cole minutes after Cole was seemingly cursed by the AEW newcomer.)

Yet he just isn’t able to reach fulfill his potential as an evil heel because underneath the facepaint and unsettling demeanor is a good heart and the desire to make people laugh.

Listening to Danhausen speak for any length of time quickly reveals that his true supernatural power is his brand of comedy.

Whether it is mistakenly applying to A&W restaurants while attempting to get a job at AEW, interacting with CM Punk and the Gunn Club at C2E2, or interviewing Chris Judas (Jericho) on his YouTube channel, Love That Danhausen, the man is wildly entertaining.

But the question remains, will Danhausen work in AEW?

AEW is a promotion that has been built around a strong in-ring product and storytelling, and very few gimmicks.

The one gimmick that has been very popular in AEW, Orange Cassidy, does give hope that Danhausen can get over in the promotion as well, as there is most certainly room for another comedic gimmick, especially since the two have almost no similarities.

Time will tell if Danhausen will be able to find his niche with the AEW crowd in the same way that Orange Cassidy has.  If he is able to, then AEW might have yet another sensation on their hands.

The only thing that is for sure is that Danhausen now has the biggest stage of his career available to him to continue to grow his star.  And my guess is that he will be able to do that due to his exceptional character work and his ability to add another brand of a comedic element to the All Elite Wrestling product.

As of January 26th, 2022, I guess the best way to describe just who Danhausen is would be: very nice, very evil, very elite.