Dan The Dad made his AEW debut on the November 8 episode of AEW Dark: Elevation, taking on Powerhouse Hobbs. Dan The Dad had become a proven commodity on the independent scene, connecting with audiences with his character and comedy style of wrestling.
AEW often uses local independent talent for AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation tapings, and when the company comes to St. Louis, Dan's name was brought up to be brought in.
"Just making connections, getting within the circulation of the talent that is invited to TV," Dan told Jeremy Lambert and Stephen Jensen on The Spotlight when asked about his first AEW Dark appearance. "That was their first loop of Kansas City and St. Louis. Obviously, I'm in St. Louis, it was easy to get to those. It was nice to get my name thrown in there by some friends I have on the roster. Luckily, didn't screw it up too bad, so I came back a few more times, hopefully, more in the future. Luckily, I've been around the Indies enough that everyone else who has a job can maybe someday help me get up there too. I'm just thankful for anyone who has gone to bat for me with any sort of situation like that. It's not easy to get a foot in the door anywhere these days. Lucky enough to get on the list, and even if you're on the list and you're there, there is no guarantee that you have a match or anything to do that day. The day of, lucky enough to be told...I remember I was sitting in catering, I didn't think I was doing anything that day, but I got a text, 'they're looking for you down here.' I said, 'What are you talking about?' 'You have a match with Hobbs.' 'Oh, nobody told me.' I had to run out of catering with like a piece of shrimp in my mouth. Luckily, it went well."
Dan The Dad has appeared on AEW programming a handful of times, including at AEW Dynamite Road Rager 2022 and a viral moment with Toa Liona on the December 5 episode of AEW Dark: Elevation.
Elsewhere during the interview, Dan spoke about the viral moment with Toa and the "Dad Joke." You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Check out the full interview with Dan The Dad in the video above.
