Matt Cardona always recognized Danhausen’s potential within WWE; he simply did not anticipate the scale of his success.
The two first connected on the independent circuit during Cardona’s tenure away from the company. Discussing their history with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Cardona noted that the recent months have held no surprises for him.
“Doesn’t surprise me one bit.”
He emphasized that his initial assessment was never grounded in the in-ring work itself.
“The only two Danhausen matches I’ve ever seen is when I wrestled Danhausen at a GCW, and when I teamed with Danhausen against Los Garza. But that’s not saying wrestling is not important, it’s everything else. And he has a connection with the audience. The people love him.”
“I knew he’d be a star in WWE. I could have never have predicted how big of a star he has become. He’s mainstream. He is with the Knicks. It’s unbelievable.”
Despite a Rough Debut
Cardona referenced Danhausen’s first WWE appearance at Elimination Chamber, which initially garnered a muted response, and praised the resilience involved in overcoming that slow start.
“That first debut did not go over well, but he didn’t let it faze him, and he was confident in himself, and he just kept going, kept going, and then everybody who didn’t understand it, they quickly got it.”
“I just don’t think the fans understood it yet.”
Embracing the Partnership
Cardona has already shared screen time with Danhausen and admits there is nothing complex about the collaboration.
“I’ve been leeching off him.”
“I’ll take it, baby.”
He also mentioned he has proposed a follow-up storyline to WWE, capitalizing on Danhausen reportedly breaking the New York Knicks’ alleged curse.
“He uncurses the Knicks. They win the NBA Finals. I said in a pitch to WWE, hey, I think I should do something with Danhausen. Maybe he should uncurse me.”
Cardona acknowledged that being near Danhausen has already produced an unexpected side effect.
“Yeah, I got a little electric shock, started doing the woo woo a little bit. I don’t know if Zack Ryder will ever be 100% Zack Ryder, but who’s to say we can’t blend them both?”
He noted the same phenomenon occurred during a European tour when the crowd convinced him to bring back a classic piece of his old character.
“Even before all that with Danhausen, I was wrestling Sami Zayn in Spain, and I had Sami down for the boot, and I don’t do the woo anymore. They were chanting for it. How do I not give it to him? So I’m like, ah, screw it, I did it. And why not? Why not give the people what they want?”
Danhausen is scheduled to face AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio at SummerSlam this weekend.