Very Nice, Very Evil! What Danhausen’s Debut in WWE Means for Collectors
After weeks of speculation, former AEW and independent professional wrestling star Danhausen made his WWE debut at Elimination Chamber at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. His debut was teased with a random crate that had shown up on various WWE television events with a message that read "Deliver to WWE, do not open until 2/28/26” which was the date of Elimination Chamber PLE. During the event the crate was open allowing Danhausen to make his entrance complete with Ghoulhausen dancers as he walked to the ring. Danhausen joins a long line of stars that have recently officially signed with WWE including Joe Hendry, Matt Cardona and Royce Keys .
For those unaware, the self described very nice, very evil, Danhausen had been a star on the independent wrestling scene for years prior to being signed by mainstream promotions ROH and AEW. The man behind the makeup describes the character as if it was Conan O'Brien if he was possessed by a demon. His vignettes and other antics both within and outside AEW were often hilarious cementing his reputation as one of the most unique characters in wrestling. Danhausen is more than just a good promo. He’s also a solid wrestler too. Unfortunately due to injury and other reasons that remain a bit murky, Danhausen was not featured on TV for over two years until his AEW contract expired. Now with his contract expired, Danhausen will bring his unique talents to WWE.
What This Means for Collectors
Danhausen signing with WWE opens up a lot of new avenues for fans and collectors to add to their collections. Even before signing with WWE, Danhausen had a lot of collectibles and trading cards available on the market, including in AEW's Upper Deck products. Going forward, since Topps has the license for WWE trading cards, it will probably be a matter of time before Danhausen makes his debut in an official Topps product (outside of Topps NOW sets). Due to the timing of Danhausen’s debut, he most likely won’t have cards in WWE Topps Chrome 2026. However, there is a strong chance collectors will see Danhausen in other Topps WWE products like Finest and Cactus Jack Chrome that will be released later in the year. Also for those that collect action figures, it would be fair to expect a Mattel figure of Danhausen sometime in late summer summer/ fall of 2026.
