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WWE's 15 Best Animal Mascots of All Time

Posted: Feb 11th 2012 By: mikeiles

There are plenty of characters that have come into the WWE over a number of years. They range from the comedic to the strange. They can even be terrible.

There is no way of knowing how a gimmick will be received so the only way to find the right formula is to keep trying.

One theme that has been used through the decades is the animal mascot. From trying to incorporate a feeling with a certain wrestler to making a nickname stand out, animals have been used by the WWE to get a certain gimmick over.

Most of the animals on this list are real, but all of them were entertaining.

Torrie Wilson-Chloe

Torrie Wilson was one of the more noticeable female wrestlers to have ever come out of the WWE. She fit the stereotype of the blond, beautiful female that the company looks for.

What makes her mascot, Chloe, memorable is that she was also a stereotype. The beautiful woman with the small dog was something that fans had seen in real life. The WWE was able to take it and spin it into something that fans could cheer for.

That is something that could only happen in wrestling.

Undertaker-Vulture

At WrestleMania IX, the Undertaker came out to face Giant Gonzalez. The Deadman came out in broad daylight, which seemed rare for his character.

It might have affected how people saw him, except for one thing. He had a vulture with him that stood by his side as he was carted to the ring.

Having one of nature's scavengers closely connected with the Undertaker just further cemented his status as the Deadman and a WrestleMania icon.

Al Snow-Pepper

Al Snow was famous for talking to a mannequin head but, at a certain point, he decided to start talking to a chihuahua instead.

After all, if it worked for Torrie Wilson, it could work for him. The dog even became the focal point of a feud between him and the Boss Man, who stole Pepper and fed him to Snow.

It may be one of the stranger angles the WWE has ever taken with an animal but it worked.

Koko B. Ware-Frankie

Koko B. Ware was a colorful character. Dressed in thick sunglasses and wacky ensembles, he was a persona that came straight out of a cartoon.

He just needed a little bit more to put him over and his parrot, Frankie, did just that. Ware would walk to the ring with the bird perched on his arm.

The mixture of bird and man took Ware from a decent wrestler to a superstar.

Jack Swagger-Eagle

Many fans were offended when Chavo Guerrero donned the eagle suit as a mascot for Jack Swagger. It may not have been the best way to use an accomplished wrestler like Guerrero, but it gave the man a chance to earn a living.

Swagger was a bit ridiculous. So was the eagle mascot. While it now may be part of what is hurting his career, at the time, it was able to push him to the top.

It also gave him heat with serious fans because of the use of Guerrero.

Jake Roberts-Cobra

Roberts will appear multiple times on this list. That is because each snake constitutes a different use and a different character that Roberts portrayed.

He was able to incorporate the snake into himself. The cobra was meant more to scare people with the idea of bringing a poisonous animal into the ring then emulating the size of the other snakes Roberts had at other times in his career.

Roberts's psychology was brilliant. Even though the cobra doesn't have a name, it still is a reminder of what the man could do to an audience with one animal.

George Steele-Mine

Swagger's eagle mascot isn't the only one to make the list.

Including Mine could bring about an argument that the list should also include Moppy or Mr. Socko. Mine at least looked the part of an animal to begin with.

What was Mine? Hard to say. Paring him with a wrestler like George Steele made it so that fans wouldn't push the question to far.

After all, Steele was a bit of an enigma himself.

Ricky Steamboat-Komodo Dragon

There is no proper order for this list. Ricky Steamboat and his Komodo dragon prove it. Steamboat was so talented that he didn't need to have an animal with him.

He was someone who could make a five-star match with almost anyone. He was known for having great matches with Ric Flair and a legendary match with Randy Savage at WrestleMania.

The Komodo dragon might not have done much for his career but that was because he didn't need it to.

British Bulldogs-Matilda

The British Bulldogs, comprised of the Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith, were known to be great wrestlers and were some of the top performers in the WWE.

Sadly, both men suffered effects from performance enhancing drugs, with Smith even dying from them.

However, in the 1980s, they were one of the biggest tag teams. They made their name more then just a symbol when they brought in Matilda, an actual bulldog.

It might have been campy, but it certainly didn't hurt them in the long run.

Jake Roberts-Revelations

Roberts went through several snakes while in the WWE, each representing a form of his character. His snake, Revelations, represented his time when he was pretending to be a Christian in 1996.

While that gimmick would mean nothing nowadays, it was controversial then.

The only way for it to work was for Roberts to have an animal that represented light. That wasn't possible with a snake. Revelations came closest, eschewing the dark energy and changing Roberts's character.

Boogeyman-Worms

This may be stretching it, but, in many ways, Boogeyman's animal mascot was the night crawlers he munched on. It may have been part of his central gimmick, but that is what all the animals on this list were used for.

Many fans cringed while they watched him chomp on the bugs and some may have even turned away.

Mankind-George

Mick Foley is a character.

In fact, he was three.

Mankind might have been the most interesting.

He also had a rat named George. The creature didn't take because Foley didn't really need him.

No matter how short it was, he was a part of Mick Foley's career and makes the list.

Santino Marella-Cobra

Technically, it isn't a real cobra, like Jake Roberts's, but that doesn't make it any less iconic.

Marella has somehow gotten over the fact that he has a cobra. Even though it doesn't really exist, he has gotten the crowd to cheer it and him.

He has even gotten the "animal" mascot to do the most important thing in the WWE, which is to sell merchandise and make money.

If nothing else, that should give Marella and his cobra a pass.

Sting-Vulture

Technically, Sting isn't a part of the WWE, but his promo with the vulture was so iconic and had such an impact in wrestling that it would be a shame not to include it.

There is no way of knowing how the promo would have gone down without the animal perched on Sting's arm. Having it then appear in the ring with the NWO was huge and sent a message.

This was a new Sting.

It also vaulted WCW to even higher levels, and to the point where it should get an honorary spot on this list.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts-Damien

While these slides may not be in any particular order, only one man could have the last slide.

Damien was Roberts's first mascot. Never has a wrestler used an animal gimmick more masterfully then Roberts.

He knew how to scare wrestlers and make the very crowd that watched afraid that they would get bitten too.

Even if they were watching from the safety of their home.

It made his career and it can't be underestimated how important it was on his career.