February 27, 2026 was a very nice, very evil day for Danhausen. Less than 24 hours, AEW grants the release of CM Punk’s good friend. The popular merchandise mover is officially a free agent. Neither AEW nor Danhausen has spoken about the termination of this relationship. However, each party made its stance known through recent online activity. Let’s take a closer look at the fallout between Danhausen and AEW.
Danhausen Prompts Talks of AEW Release with Cryptic Social Media Post
Nothing goes together like vague social media posts and…well, social media. Danhausen is one of the most infamous independent talents to use GIFs and images to express what he’s thinking. Usually, the tooth collector will give little to no context to the content. In typical Danhausen fashion, the horror movie-inspired Superstar did just that yesterday.
Danhausen took to social media and posted an image of Aladdin’s Genie:
In the movie, Aladdin uses his final wish to set The Genie free. Danhausen has been asking for his AEW release for almost two years. One could say that was his wish.
Danhausen’s last AEW or ROH appearance happened at Final Battle 2024. With the image of The Genie’s cuffs disappearing, the Internet Wrestling Community started to speculate that AEW granted Danhausen his release. AEW would then fan that fire.
AEW Removes Danhausen from Roster Page
Hours after Danhausen’s cryptic post, AEW took matters into its own hands. Tony Khan’s company removed Danhausen from the official AEW roster page. AEW usually does this when a wrestler is no longer contracted with the company.
As you can see, there are many unused talents on the AEW roster page, including Chris Jericho and Britt Baker. Both of these talents are rumored to be WWE-bound once their AEW contracts finally expire. However, Tony Khan has been adding time to contracts to prevent the exoduses to WWE.
Is Danhausen In the Box?
24 hours after Danhausen’s AEW release, could the very nice, very evil star be WWE-bound? Tonight’s Elimination Chamber takes place in Chicago, home of Danhausen’s friend, CM Punk.
There has been a large wooden box ominously showing up backstage as of late. The box says not open until the Elimination Chamber. Coming out of a box is right down Danhausen’s lane. So, could Danhausen be in the box?
Early reports indicate that the box reveal is not intended to be Danhausen. The storyline was in place before AEW granted Danhausen his release. Plus, it’s unknown if WWE is interested in the popular act.
Although injuries keep happening and plans keep changing on the Road to WrestleMania. With the recent masked man reveal being a student of Seth Rollins, perhaps Danhausen will pop out of the box after all!
That said, many believe Danhausen would be a good fit in AAA or TNA, especially with acts like Santino Marella and his Cobra and Mr. Iguana with La Yesca.
Whether Danhausen is WWE-bound or not, that Danhausen is accepting bookings. This post could be a red herring to throw people off of Danhausen’s WWE debut. Otherwise, Danhausen seems to be embracing his free agent status for the time being.