Danhausen's AEW Exit Fuels WWE Elimination Chamber Mystery Box Speculation

A very nice, very evil free agent has just hit the open market.

Danhausen made multiple posts online on Friday that heavily insinuated his departure from All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor, and now he has officially been removed from the AEW roster page.

The AEW digital team is meticulous about keeping that page updated, so the deletion of Danhausen's unique grin is as close to a public confirmation from the company as we are likely to get. The eccentric tooth enthusiast is now free to work and sign with any company he chooses, just in the nick of time for WWE Elimination Chamber.

The annual Premium Live Event is taking over the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday night, and while the main focus of the show will be on the chamber matches themselves and which two superstars will punch their tickets to WrestleMania 42, many people are dying to know — what's in the box?

A large mysterious crate was first delivered to Raw General Manager Adam Pearce a couple of weeks ago and it came with explicit instructions that it should not be opened until February 28, 2026 at Elimination Chamber.

Addressing the obvious real quick, yes, it would have made a ton more sense for the crate to be shipped directly to the United Center. However, Pearce and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis have had a bit of fun with each other by sending the human-sized package from venue to venue as a storyline device to build intrigue for the audience. And it worked.

Is Danhausen in the box?!

Elimination Chamber streams live TOMORROW on the @espn app! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CpjQWlYzZe
— WWE (@WWE) February 28, 2026

Prior to his status as a free agent becoming official, one theory that started to gain traction across social circles was that Danhausen boxed himself up and shipped himself to WWE to make a grand debut in his buddy Pepsi Phil's hometown.

Admittedly, this would be the perfect way for Danhausen to introduce himself to the WWE Universe, and now the company is clear to make this ridiculous (in the best way possible) scenario come to fruition.

Danhausen made a name for himself on the independent circuit throughout the 2010s before signing with ROH in 2019 and then eventually All Elite Wrestling.

He spent four years in Tony Khan's promotion, but save for a couple of ROH appearances, Danhausen had not been used on television since AEW Worlds End 2023. He requested his release from AEW over this past summer, but instead of releasing him, the company reportedly tacked on some injury time to the end of his deal.

WWE Elimination Chamber goes live on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT), which means we are just a few short hours away from finding out if the internet was right about the mysterious crate. Anything other than a Danhausen appearance will come across as a massive disappointment to many, so let it be Danhausen or be cursed.

Also, for what it's worth, Chris Jericho is still listed on the AEW roster page after his contract was reportedly frozen late last year.