As reported by PWMania.com, Danhausen has signed a multi-year deal with WWE following the expiration of his AEW contract at the end of February.
He made his WWE debut during the Elimination Chamber event this past Saturday night in Chicago. WWE has reportedly shown interest in him since last year, but AEW chose to extend his contract despite Danhausen’s request to let it expire if they had no plans for him.
According to Fightful Select, WWE always planned for Danhausen to be the person inside the mystery crate from the outset, and there were no significant contractual complications that delayed his debut.
It was also noted that the plan was for Danhausen to continue using his ring name and gimmick in WWE, despite some discussions about potentially changing his name or gimmick. In contrast, WWE opted to change the name of another recent AEW signing, Royce Keys, who was known as Powerhouse Hobbs in AEW.
The report further stated that WWE personnel expect Danhausen to be utilized across multiple brands, including AAA, and he is anticipated to be pulled from his independent dates and conventions.
There was some backstage discussion about the decision to debut him in the mystery crate angle, with sources citing the “if it comes out of a box” joke that has been mentioned on Bruce Prichard’s podcasts for years. However, others backstage believe that his debut aligns well with his character.
Earlier reports indicated that Danhausen’s signing was not a unanimous decision among the WWE staff, though such decisions are often not made by consensus.
His first official WWE appearance took place on RAW last night, where he was part of a backstage segment.
