WWE star's 'uncursing' of the Knicks gets partial credit of team's journey back to NBA Finals
"You. Are. Cursed."
It’s the zinger that has plagued WWE superstars, Stephen A. Smith and sports teams alike. Danhausen, the "very nice and very evil" pro wrestling personality that has laid his curse on The Miz, Kit Wilson and the ESPN pundit, did something that was more of the former rather than the latter. He "uncursed" the New York Knicks.
The Knicks and Knicks fans have been in a pit of basketball despair for about 27 years. Since the San Antonio Spurs swept them in the 1999 NBA Finals, joy when watching the Knicks has come in waves.
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The arrivals of Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony helped bring the spark back into their eyes. Jeremy Lin and "Linsanity" gave them hope and even Phil Jackson taking over as president of the team for three years in the mid-2010s was a moment that would have been engrained in fans’ heads for quite some time if it led to any kind of success.
But this year’s iteration of the Knicks, led by Jalen Brunson, has, so far, erased all of the tales of tragedy and small triumphs that never came to fruition. The Knicks advanced to the NBA Finals on Monday night with a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Danhausen cursed the Cavaliers, much to the chagrin of Cleveland sports fan The Miz. He even showed up to Madison Square Garden and received a jersey while WWE released a shirt in collaboration with the Knicks. The shirt read, "You are Uncursed."
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Danhausen took a victory lap on Tuesday, appearing in a video breaking out a broom to signify the sweep.
"UNCURSED," he added in a separate post on X.
The moment underscores a perfect crossover moment between pro wrestling and mainstream sports. Brunson, himself, is a huge WWE fan and got involved in an angle last year with Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.
Brunson has avoided commenting on Danhausen’s shenanigans, but said he and the training staff "acknowledge" world heavyweight champion Roman Reigns before every game.
"See, these are the questions I want asked! ... I have a handshake with one of our trainers and we acknowledge him before every game," he said back on April 30 after Reigns won the title at WrestleMania 42.
Whether it’s voodoo, magic, or whatever you want to call it, the Knicks have propelled themselves back into the hearts and minds of basketball fans and have become one of the feel-good stories of the year.
Across the city, in Queens, the New York Mets are still hoping for an "uncursing." But Danhausen made clear to Fox News Digital during WrestleMania week in April that that the team wasn’t fully away from his curse.
"I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect," he said. "Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation."