WWE's newest and hottest sensation is bound to be a part of the Knicks celebration parade this coming Thursday, leaving fans to question how much more mainstream the Danhausen curse can get.
A great gimmick can make or break a WWE Superstar's career, and for Danhausen, the curse has become bigger than anyone could have ever expected. Sometimes it is simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and many from years past can relate to the success he is experiencing at the moment.
That is not to be confused with the company's all time best characters, storylines or match concepts. In this case, gimmicks can be short lived or just serve as a recurring attraction over a period of time, and the celebrated curse of Danhausen is well on its way to ranking among the most iconic ever.
Danhausen's WWE Run and the Curse Gimmick
Danhausen nearly went down as one of WWE's most botched debuts in history at Elimination Chamber, solely because of how the company originally planned to present him. It was evident from that first night that however they perceived him was not going to click with crowds. Thankfully, it did not take them long to pivot and let him just be himself, as he has been everywhere he has worked in wrestling over the last decade.
He got over with the audience almost immediately in his Raw debut through his entertaining interactions with general manager Adam Pearce and Dominik Mysterio, who proceeded to lose his Intercontinental Championship to Penta after being cursed by Danhausen. Danhausen's curses had never really had that effect anywhere else before, so it was wise to use that as his introduction to the WWE fanbase.
Where the Danhausen Curse Ranks Among WWE Gimmicks
The Danhausen curse sits in conversation with some of WWE's most memorable recurring gimmicks. The following entries from that ranking illustrate the kind of company his curse keeps.
- Every Day Is Rusev Day. Rusev's stock in WWE reached a new low coming out of a swift 10 second loss to Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2017. He had gone from being an undefeated, unstoppable force to a laughing stock on SmackDown. The Bulgarian Brute wisely turned a negative into a positive by recruiting Aiden English as his manager and having him recognize the day as Rusev Day in a random segment on SmackDown that September. Not meant to be anything more than a one off originally, the Rusev Day bit became a weekly fixture with Rusev proclaiming every day was in fact Rusev Day. Rusev's natural likability turned him into an undeniable fan favorite and a merchandise moving machine within a matter of months. WWE only ever capitalized on it by putting the United States Championship back on him, albeit briefly and a year too late at that. It did not make him a perennial main event player as it should have, but Rusev Day was at least fun while it lasted and is still occasionally chanted by fans to this day.
- Evil Doink the Clown's Descent Into Madness. In an era of WWE full of ridiculous gimmicks and unbelievable characters, Doink the Clown stood out from the rest as being truly ahead of his time. In theory, an evil clown wrestling should not have worked, but it was Matt Bourne's execution of the gimmick that made it especially great. From early 1993 onward, he became creepier and creepier by the week, including by enlisting a doppelganger to beat Crush at WrestleMania 9. His descent into madness, as well as his rivalry with Bret Hart heading into SummerSlam were among the few highlights of an otherwise creatively dire WWE product in 1993. His push was unfortunately stalled when he turned face post SummerSlam, and even more so when Bourne was fired from the promotion at the end of the year and replaced with Ray Apollo. The Doink character became a punchline in the years that followed, but early on, the gimmick had legitimate promise that went to waste.
Danhausen's curse has already crossed from the ring into mainstream sports culture with the Knicks title run. With a parade appearance set for Thursday, the gimmick's reach continues to grow alongside the WWE entries it is being measured against.
