Around 400 fanhausens lined up at Cricket Wireless in Center Line on Monday to meet Danhausen, the Metro Detroit-raised comic-horror wrestler who makes his hometown debut as a WWE Superstar Monday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Fans began lining up beginning at 3 a.m. for their chance to meet the ghoulish figure, who dresses like the host of a horror movie marathon on local TV. While many pro wrestlers’ brand is intimidation, Danhausen casts a friendly but fiendish spell, best summed up by his catchphrase, “very nice, very evil.”
By 9 a.m., the line of fans — many wearing Danhausen T-shirts and facepaint, and some carrying WWE championship belts over their shoulders — was wrapped around the building and into a back alley.
Danhausen, born Donavan Danhausen and raised in Warren, pulled up in front of the store just before 11 a.m. as fans cheered his arrival while his WWE theme music blared out of an outdoor speaker system. He then entered the store and proceeded to sign autographs, pose for pictures and grant the occasional curse to fans.
Monday’s “Monday Night Raw” event at LCA is WWE’s first Detroit event since Danhausen joined the company in February.
“This is the dream,” Danhausen told The Detroit News, about performing in front of a hometown crowd. “We’ve done WrestleMania, Madison Square Garden two nights ago, and now right to follow that up, Danhausen gets to come home to Detroit.”
In the five months since he joined WWE, Danhausen has become one of the company’s biggest stars, regularly ranking at or near the top of merchandise sales, alongside marquee names like Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins.
He’s become known for the hexes, or “curses,” he places on both in-ring opponents and figures in the larger world of sports. After he cursed the opponents of the New York Knicks during the NBA playoffs, the team went on a hot streak and captured their first NBA Championship since 1973.
Was that simply a coincidence? Who’s to say?
Danhausen wasn’t quite ready on Monday to use his powers to help along the Detroit sports teams, but he’s willing to get the ball rolling to work with them.
“We’ll get to it, we’ll get to it,” he said, stopping short of placing any curses on opponents of the Red Wings, Pistons, Lions and Tigers. “Not yet, you’ve gotta earn it a little bit. How bout you meet Danhausen halfway, get to the playoffs, and then we’ll talk.”
It’s Danhausen’s genial nature that has made him such a hit with fans.
“He’s just so fun,” said 8-year-old Avery Swisegood of Grand Blanc, who came to the event with his father Nick, his mom Emily and his 5-year-old sister, Adalyn. He was dressed head-to-toe in Danhausen gear and had his face painted up like him, and was also carrying a Danhausen action figure.
“He’s bringing a new wave into WWE, and he’s not taking it so serious,” said Avery’s father Nick, who is also a Danhausen fan. “It’s slapstick,” he said, of Danhausen’s B-movie antics, which often involve mad scientist-like experiments, played for goofy comic effect.
Nick Sandelich, 34, of Center Line and Metal Pipper, 27, of Auburn Hills both came to the event dressed as Danhausen, and both have cosplayed as the wrestler at conventions and fan events in the past.
“I wore him to Colossalcon in Sandusky, Ohio a few months ago and it was really fun walking around as a gremlin, causing chaos, and cursing people,” Pipper said. “Mostly I get super wholesome reactions. I’ve gotten a lot of kids coming up to me and being like, ‘oh look, it’s Danhausen!’ even though I’m obviously a woman. It’s just funny.”
Pipper says the simplicity of Danhausen’s character makes him easy to like.
“He’s a very easy-to-understand gimmick. When you meet Danhausen, you immediately know the vibe, and it’s easy to bond with anyone else who matches that vibe.”
Matt Kowalske and Jessica Harms came to the event with their son, 11-year-old Anthony.
“We love him,” said Kowalske, 34, of Danhausen. “I love the fact that he’s here, the fact that he’s underestimated, and the fact that he doesn’t look like an official wrestler, but he’s so good and undeniable.”
At the event, an emcee kept those in line entertained and Cricket reps ran raffles while fans waited for their chance to meet their herohausen.
Two doors down from Cricket Wireless, Crypt Keepers Halloween Emporium opened specially for the day — the horror-themed costume store is usually closed Mondays and Tuesdays — and sold red capes, at $10 and $25 a pop, to those in the crowd who wanted them. By noon they had sold 30, said Carly Douglas, daughter of the store owner, making the day worth their while.
The Cricket Wireless event was held just two blocks from where Danhausen trained to be a professional wrestler, at the House of Truth Wrestling School in Center Line. Danhausen said he dropped by the building prior to the meet-and-greet event, and said the school would be reopening in October.
“Danhausen’s busy all over the world,” Danhausen said, “but if I do get a moment, I will pop in and teach the new students.”
As fans waited in line to meet him, Danhausen had a final message for Detroit fans ahead of Monday’s “Raw” taping.
“Cheer for Danhausen tonight as loud as humanly possible, because if you don’t, you are cursed!” he said.
Detroit, you’ve been warned.
agraham@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Danhausen says ‘this is the dream’ ahead of first hometown WWE event
Reporting by Adam Graham, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Graham, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
