Danhausen recently said that joining WWE was always the plan.
In his first sit-down with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, the “Very Nice, Very Evil” called the company “the dream” and laid out a concrete checklist he set for himself before arriving, one he says he has already worked through.
Oh, because it’s the biggest stage of them all. It’s the biggest company in the world for that. So, this is the dream. Most wrestlers grow up wrestling, and the goal is to get to WWE, and we’ve done it,” Danhausen said.
The interview, uploaded to the Stephen A. Smith YouTube channel, offered a rare look at the calculated ambition underneath the goofy character. Danhausen framed his WWE run as a series of goals checked off one by one.
The goal now is to hit it as hard as possible, as fast as possible. And I think Danhausen has done quite a good job,” he said. “We debuted at WrestleMania. Two months in, we were involved with John Cena, The Miz, and Kid Wilson. We’ve done that. He got a car made. They sent Danhausen in a blimp.
Danhausen Eyes Retail And Mainstream TV Next
With those early goals behind him, the 35-year-old says the next targets are outside the ring. He pointed to retail expansion and mainstream television as the new frontier.
We’ve got Danhausen crossing over with the NBA, regularly featured on ESPN. We’re getting Danhausen into retail. We’re getting Danhausen all over these television shows,” he said. “I think we’re doing pretty good.
That mainstream push has already paid off. Danhausen recently became linked to the New York Knicks’ championship run, with fans crediting him for lifting a curse that had hung over the franchise for more than five decades.
The viral story began with an interaction involving Smith and led to this sit-down, while WWE and TKO have reportedly been building a major crossover deal off the connection.
Danhausen Credits WWE Platform For The Growth
Danhausen was clear that he built the character before signing, but he credits WWE’s global reach for the explosion that followed. He has become one of the promotion’s top merchandise sellers, sitting alongside names like CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes.
I think that’s why Danhausen is in WWE, because Danhausen made Danhausen a thing prior to that. Then he came there, and now he has the backing of the biggest company in the world of wrestling and sports entertainment,” he said. “And then that leads to ESPN asking for Danhausen and Stephen A. Smith asking for Danhausen to be on his wonderful TV show and all of that.
WWE has already taken concrete steps toward the retail goal, recently filing a new Danhausen trademark tied to his business plans.
