WWE Wrestlers and Their Dogs: 15 Superstars Who Love Their Pups

The Undertaker built an entire animal fund in a mastiff’s memory. Randy Savage asked for his ashes to go under the same tree as his dog. CM Punk spent a decade calling a shelter mutt named Larry the real champion of the house. Behind all the chiselled anatomy and scripted menace, a startling number of wrestlers are, quietly, complete softies for their dogs.

If you searched “Seth Rollins dog” or “Undertaker dog” and landed here, you’re in the right place. This is the running list of pro wrestlers — WWE and AEW, past and present — who genuinely love their dogs, with the real names, the rescue stories and, yes, a few tributes for the good boys who’ve since crossed the rainbow bridge. Because in a business built on tag teams, a dog is the one partner who never turns heel.

Seth Rollins and his dog Kevin

Rollins plays a heel better than almost anyone, but the moment a dog enters the room the act collapses. He and his wife, fellow superstar Becky Lynch, share a dog named Kevin — a fixture of their #NationalDogDay posts and one of the most recognisable pets in the locker room. On the road for 250-plus days a year, Rollins still makes Kevin part of the routine: backstage, in transit, at home. As The Shield never said but absolutely should have — believe in the hound.

CM Punk and his dog Larry (2013–2025)

No wrestler-dog story is more loved than CM Punk and Larry. Punk and his wife, former WWE star AJ Lee, adopted Larry from PAWS Chicago in February 2015 — a scruffy underdog nobody else wanted to work through. He became the unofficial mascot of Punk’s entire second act, appearing on merch, in photoshoots, and in roughly a million of Punk’s posts. Larry the Dog outgrew his owner’s fame.

Larry passed away on 2 December 2025, and the tributes came from across wrestling. If you grew up on “the underdog can become a wonderdog,” that was Larry — proof that the shelter dog no one picks can end up the most famous rescue in the business. Punk, now back in WWE after his AEW run, has kept Larry’s memory front and centre. It’s the best argument for adopting the dog with the “challenging” file we can think of.

The Undertaker and his dog Zeus

The Deadman’s soft spot has a paper trail. After his beloved bullmastiff Zeus died in 2004, Mark Calaway (the man behind the character) endowed the Zeus Compton Calaway Save the Animals Fund at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, which helps pay for life-saving treatment for dogs whose families can’t afford it. He has kept dogs since. Turning grief for one dog into a fund that saves others is about the most wholesome thing a seven-time world champion has ever done.

Rhea Ripley and her rescue dogs Barry and Luna

If Punk owns the legacy slot, Rhea Ripley owns the current one. “Mami” is one of WWE’s biggest present-day stars and an unabashed dog person: her bull terrier Barry and her fluffy Luna have their own devoted following, and Ripley regularly hands her social media over to them. For a character built entirely on intimidation, the dog content is a deliberate, delightful contradiction — and it’s real.

The Rock and his French Bulldogs

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a lifelong French Bulldog guy, and one of his dogs gave wrestling one of its more heartbreaking pet stories. In 2015, his puppy Brutus died after eating a toxic mushroom in the yard; Johnson posted a raw, tearful tribute and a warning to other owners that plenty of people still remember. He has raised Frenchies since. Yes — dogs really can smell what The Rock is cooking.

A reminder buried in that story: many common garden mushrooms, plus chocolate, grapes, onion and xylitol, are toxic to dogs. Keep them out of reach.

Daniel Bryan and his dog Asparagus

Daniel Bryan (these days wrestling as Bryan Danielson) is one of the great animal lovers in the business, and one of its most quietly devastating dog tributes is his. When his dog Asparagus the Wonder Dog died in 2013 at around 11, Bryan called him his best friend and remembered photographing him with every title he’d ever won, proclaiming the dog the real champion. Years later he and then-wife Brie Bella lost their French Bulldog Josie in 2019 too. Two very good dogs, both deeply missed.

Randy Savage and his dog Hercules

The late “Macho Man” Randy Savage was one of wrestling’s most colourful characters — and one of its most devoted dog owners. When his German Shepherd Hercules died, Savage had the dog’s ashes placed under a tree on his property, and told his brother Lanny Poffo that when his own time came, he wanted the same: “If it’s good enough for Hercules, it’s good enough for me.” Savage passed in 2011. It’s a small, strange, tender thing to know about a man best remembered for a flying elbow.

Lita and the ADORE animal charity

Amy Dumas — better known as Lita — took women’s wrestling to new heights and then pointed that platform at animals. She has volunteered at shelters, raised money, and founded the animal-welfare charity ADORE (Amy Dumas Operation Rescue and Education). She’s the template for the wrestler who doesn’t just own dogs but works for them.

Becky Lynch, dog (and cat) person

“The Man” is a rescuer at heart. Becky Lynch famously brought a little pug home after a trip years ago, and today she and husband Seth Rollins share their dog Kevin (plus a cat, for balance). Between the two of them, that household might be the most pet-friendly power couple in WWE.

Batista and his pit bull rescue work

Dave Bautista — Batista — is arguably the most serious animal advocate on this list. He’s a vocal pit bull rescuer and campaigner against breed-specific legislation, has adopted rescue pitties himself, and repeatedly uses his Hollywood profile to push adoption over buying. When a man who looks like Drax pleads with you to adopt a “misunderstood” breed, people listen.

Jeff Hardy, lifelong animal lover

The Hardy compound in Cameron, North Carolina is as much a menagerie as a home. Jeff Hardy and his family are well-known rescuers who’ve taken in dogs and other animals over the years — the daredevil with the face paint is, off-camera, the guy feeding strays. His brother Matt shares the same streak, which is why “the Hardys love animals” has been fan lore for two decades.

Chris Jericho and Lucy the dog

Chris Jericho has reinvented himself more times than anyone in wrestling, and dog-lovers of a certain age will remember Lucy — the dog written into one of his most infamous early-2000s TV storylines. That Lucy was a scripted pet rather than a household one, but Jericho the actual person is a genuine animal lover who features his pets on social media. We’re keeping the record straight here precisely because the internet keeps inventing dogs he doesn’t have.

Stone Cold Steve Austin and his ranch dogs

Post-retirement, the most hell-raising star to ever grace the squared circle spends his time on his Texas spread with his dogs — the anti-authority icon turned contented ranch owner with pups riding along on the ATV. And for anyone still wondering: Austin 3:16 says “I just loved that dog.”

Edge and Christian, tag-team dog dads

Wrestling’s most quotable Canadian duo had all their best matches together, so it tracks that in real life they’re both dog people. It’s a lighter entry than the rescues above — no charity, no headline — just two lifelong friends who each found their favourite tag-team partner has four legs.

Alexa Bliss and her rescue crew

Alexa Bliss belongs on any wrestling-animals list, with one honest caveat: her most famous rescue is a pig named Larry Steve, not a dog. But Bliss is a full-spectrum animal person — dogs and cats included — and one of WWE’s most active voices for adoption and rescue. We’ll allow the pig. He’s a very good pig.

Honourable mention: Bill Goldberg (a cat guy, respectfully)

We have to be fair. Wrestling legend Bill Goldberg is a devoted cat owner — three of them, named Moe, Larry and Curly — plus a pet goat inevitably called Goatberg. He’s also a longtime supporter of the ASPCA. Not a dog guy, but a genuine animal guy, and this list is big enough to spear one cat person into it.

Know a wrestler-and-dog story we’ve missed, or spot something that’s changed? Tell us — this list gets updated as the roster (and the rescues) grow.