Did MJF tell AEW officials to not hire Danhausen?
The AEW star sat down with Buff Bagwell and discussed the people that helped him get hired by Tony Khan; however, he also revealed that one name was against it - MJF:
"Cody [Rhodes], I think, had a little bit to do with helping me get a job there," Danhausen said. "I believe 'Pepsi Phil' [CM Punk] had something to help with that. 'Chris Judas' [Jericho] had something to help with that, because I did his cruise. Orange Cassidy I believe helped. I believe they all helped me get a job there ... [but] I believe, to be fair, that MJF said 'Do not hire this man.'"
Danhausen doesn't particularly fit in with AEW due to his sport entertainment-like presentation, but the character was nicely getting over with the crowd until his sudden injury.
Danhausen also recalled his first appearance on Dynamite was from the help of the current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes:
"I showed up to say hello to people, Cody Rhodes said, 'Well, are you doing something tonight?' And I said, 'No, my leg is broken.' He said, 'I'll make sure you're doing something tonight.'"
The disappearance of Danhausen from AEW television has been an interesting case. The former ROH star was featured prominently in 2022 following his debut at Beach Break, but an injury at Revolution slowed down his momentum. Danhausen hasn’t been on AEW television since At World's End in 2023. He worked a pre-show Battle Royale that was won by Killswitch.
Since then, Danhausen has been wrestling for various independent promotions, but it’s been reported recently by Fightful that the company has no creative plans for Danhausen. In fact, officials have not kept in contact with Danhausen for over six months, unless the AEW star has needed approval to work independent dates. His contract reportedly runs through 2025. There’s no reports on why Tony Khan has yet to write any plans for him, though there are rumors that guys like Bryan Danielson were fighting for him to get back on television.
As of this writing, MJF has yet to respond to the accusations. Hopefully, AEW can find something for Danhausen in 2025 as he is a talented worker with a unique gimmick. Who knows, maybe AEW can use this to launch an MJF vs. Danhausen feud. Meanwhile, check out the full Buff Bagwell interview where Danhausen talks about how he got started in the business and so much more.