Why Miz loves the unexpected Gunther and Danhausen pairing

The Demon Is Exactly What Finn Balor's Feud With Gunther Needed.

Finn Balor brought The Demon back on the Oct. 30 edition of WWE SmackDown.

Gunther took the punishment in Charleston, West Virginia.

The face-painted alter ego answered an attack on Danhausen, who hosted the Halloween episode.

The segment came after two months of run-ins among the three men.

None of those nights produced a singles match between Balor and Gunther.

The last one came on the July 29, 2024, edition of Raw, when the latter won with a Sleeper.

HOW GUNTHER GOT CAUGHT BETWEEN BALOR AND DANHAUSEN

Gunther's wins over the past year include John Cena's final match on Dec. 13, 2025, and AJ Styles' retirement match at the 2026 Royal Rumble.

Balor, Gunther, and Kevin Owens met in a No. 1 contender's match on the Aug. 28 SmackDown.

Sami Zayn yanked Balor out of the ring during a cover after a Coup de Grace, then attacked the referee to force a no contest.

Zayn then hit all three men, plus CM Punk, with the WWE Championship belt.

Gunther first crossed paths with Danhausen that same night, walking in on a meeting between Danhausen and SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis.

On the Sept. 11 SmackDown, Aldis steered Balor toward Money in the Bank rather than a title shot.

Gunther cut in and claimed Balor had not mattered in a decade.

Balor answered with a punch to the face, and Aldis had to step in.

Punk, Gunther, and Balor met in a Money in the Bank qualifier on Sept. 25.

Balor's Coup de Grace broke up a Sleeper that Gunther had locked on Punk, who rolled over and pinned him.

The loss kept both Gunther and Balor out of the ladder match.

Balor went after Zayn during a promo on the Oct. 2 SmackDown, and Gunther then attacked both men near the stage.

Later in the show, Danhausen tested a new device that scans for evil.

The device found it in Gunther, who tossed Danhausen across a hallway.

WWE booked Gunther against Danhausen for the Oct. 9 SmackDown, but the match never officially started.

Danhausen tried to stop the referee from calling for the bell, then cursed his opponent and took a boot to the face.

The beating continued until Balor ran in to make the save.

On the Oct. 16 SmackDown, Danhausen impersonated Aldis and fooled Gunther.

In unaired footage released after the Oct. 23 SmackDown, Gunther promised to make the Halloween episode special for Danhausen.

No match against Balor was advertised for that episode.

THE MIZ ON THE GUNTHER-DANHAUSEN PROGRAM

The Miz appeared on WWE Radio's Busted Open earlier this week to explain why he supports the direction.

Miz said: 'I think the way they're utilizing Gunther…I cannot stand a monster that is just 'Rawr rawr rawr rawr.'

It's one note. Give me layers to a character. Give me layers.'

He continued: 'And this allows him to get another layer of hatred for Gunther in a completely different way.'

Miz pointed to Gunther's matches with AJ Styles and John Cena as evidence of his ability.

He said: 'The way he did AJ and Cena were incredible matches.

Unbelievable matches. There is no one, I think, more talented, and people always talk about technical ability, but he is not only able to be technical in the ring, he's able to listen to a crowd, understand his character, and know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.'

The Miz framed the Danhausen program as a test.

He said: 'Can he do it with everybody?

And this is his test.

This is another test for Gunther to showcase 'Hey, I may be in this comedy thing, but I can still make it look real and effortless and technical and be still the menacing Gunther that I need to be without being 'Rawr rawr rawr.

I'm big, bad professional wrestler, hahaha.'

I love it. I love this…'

Miz added: 'I could be wrong, I might be, but I love layers to a character.'

THE NARRATIVE AROUND GUNTHER'S BOOKING

Since WrestleMania 42, Gunther has spent a lot of time in and around the WWE title program.

More recently he has been working with the company's most popular act, based on merchandise sales.

Still, because that was preceded by World title runs and retiring future Hall of Famers, the narrative that has developed around Gunther this year is that WWE is wasting him.

John Cena himself addressed that narrative during an appearance on Busted Open Radio.

Cena said: 'I know there's sentiment out there that like, 'Man, they're wasting Gunther!'

Maybe currently they are.

But I don't see the view from the penthouse.