"I’m not in ring shape anymore," says AEW star who last wrestled in promotion at Worlds End 2023 

A highly popular and innovative pro wrestler currently signed to AEW recently discussed maintaining his in-ring conditioning during his long-running hiatus from the company. The star, Danhausen, last competed in an All Elite ring at Worlds End 2023.

Danhausen made his AEW debut at the 2022 edition of Dynamite: Beach Break in January and was later announced to have signed with the promotion. Viewers enjoyed the face-painted star's interactions and team-up with former FTW Champion HOOK, as well as his eventual partnership with Orange Cassidy and The Best Friends.

However, his last appearance in the Jacksonville-based company's programming was at Worlds End 2023, where he competed unsuccessfully in a Battle Royal for a future TNT Title shot.

During his recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Danhausen discussed his absence from AEW television for most of 2024. The 34-year-old shared insights on how more frequent wrestling can benefit a pro wrestler's health, stating:

"Because I don’t know if non-wrestlers might not know this wrestling hurts, but it also hurts less if you do it more. So your body gets callous to it I guess. So if you’re wrestling once every couple months, or once every other month, or whatever it is, it sucks every single time. It feels like the first time of going to wrestling school, where it’s the worst. Then also your body is more susceptible to getting injured because you’re not used to that weird getting slammed or weird movements or whatever it is."

Danhausen further discussed his preferences regarding maintaining a ring shape for potential television appearances:

"So I’d prefer to wrestle at least once a week, whether it be a dark match or whatever, just let me go out there for the crowd, do something. So that way, if you need before TV, I’m fine, I’m ready to go. Then it’s not like, oh sh*t I haven’t wrestled in three months, all of a sudden, I have to wrestle. I’m not in ring shape anymore. I don’t have a wrestling ring near where I live at all," said Danhausen. [H/T - NoDQ.com]

The Very Nice, Very Evil star did wrestle on a February taping of ROH last year and spent the rest of the year plying his trade on the indies.

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AEW star Danhausen on channeling his creativity on the independent scene

During the same interview, Danhausen was asked whether the rationale he provided earlier motivated him to wrestle on the independent circuit across promotions like GCW, HOG, The Wrestling Revolver, and more throughout last year during his AEW hiatus.

The Michigan native confirmed this and discussed how he utilized his creativity in his indie programs.

“Yes, just keeps me sharp. It keeps me, I don’t wanna say creative, because there is still some creative lull in indies because you’re not doing storylines, generally. So, it is just more so matches. So I have to have my creativity outlet be the promos that I do leading up to those, and then figuring out ways to do the match different, have fun with the crowd and try to make them participate in everything. But yeah, that’s why I do two to three a week so I can stay in ring shape and not, knock on wood, get injured...,” said Danhausen.

It remains to be seen when fans will see the 34-year-old star in AEW next.