Who Could Return from the Top Merchandise Seller's Cloning Experiment on SmackDown?
This past Friday, top WWE merchandise seller and fan-favorite wrestler Danhausen had a solo backstage segment in a secret room. He was, once again, attempting to clone himself to have a reliable ally. The cloning machine used this past Friday is the same box he used to make his WWE debut in at Elimination Chamber earlier this year, and the same box that produced the Minihausen clone for his tag team partner at Backlash last weekend. The fan-favorite wrestler said that he was looking to create a bigger clone than Minihausen. One interesting note to point out is that on WWE’s social media pages, Danhausen picked up the Gingerbread Man’s costume shortly after Lil Yachty used it to launch a surprise attack on Sami Zayn alongside Trick Williams after the May 9th episode of SmackDown. Let’s assume Danhausen is attempting to clone the Gingerbread Man. Here are the most likely people who could be revealed as the new iteration of the Gingerbread Man.
Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin has been rumored to return to WWE for the past several weeks. His last match with the company was in October 2024. He’s been an active wrestler, having matches with multiple independent companies, AEW, and ROH. The former United States Champion’s first WWE run saw him also win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, King of the Ring, and the NXT Tag Team Championships with Bron Breakker. ‘The Lone Wolf’ gimmick didn’t go over as well with the audience, but he had a knack for getting multiple characters over, including ‘King Corbin’, ‘Happy Corbin’, and ‘Sad Corbin’. Corbin can play a wide range of dynamic characters, so his being Danhausen’s new ‘clone’ wouldn’t be a massive surprise.
Braun Strowman
This one is a bit of a stretch. Braun Strowman was released from WWE last year. Unlike Corbin, Strowman hasn’t wrestled since being released by the company. ‘The Monster Among Men’ has transitioned into hosting his own television food show, Everything on the Menu. The show gained so much popularity in its first season that they’re currently shooting a second season. Strowman doesn’t need WWE if his show continues to succeed. The former WWE Universal Champion could’ve gotten that itch to wrestle recently, however. Shooting an episodic show takes a lot of time and dedication, but what if he has some free time to do whatever he wants? He could return in a part-time capacity similar to Brock Lesnar or John Cena. Strowman would be a welcome addition to today’s WWE roster.
The thing about figuring out Danhausen angles is that you need to expect the unexpected. He throws logic out the window. The fan-favorite wrestler didn’t start out as such. His debut at Elimination Chamber was met with little live reaction and a lot of post-event negativity. Why would anyone want to stay in a box for several weeks to only be opened during a premium live event? It had its own dedicated segment with no follow-up after the reveal. WWE’s creative team and Danhausen took it to the next level with the reveal of his Backlash tag team partner. There were many wrestlers rumored to be the surprise tag team partner who made logical sense, but that didn’t play out. Not only did no one expect it to be Minihausen, but no one expected Minihausen to be portrayed by El Torito. This is what makes Danhausen a breath of fresh air in WWE today. He keeps fans on their toes and is able to entertain at a level many wrestlers dream they could reach. The more the fans speculate, the more power the top merchandise seller has over the audience.
