Tommy Dreamer says WWE once dropped the banhammer on bringing pets to work.
WWE, at one point, had many superstars who were known for their animal mascots. Whether it was Damien the snake, Frankie the bird, Matilda the bulldog, or George Steele WWE in the 1980s could have very well been a zoo backstage.
In the mid-2000s, as Paris Hilton’s chihuahua, Tinkerbell was becoming a star, some WWE Superstars began to bring their pets to work. In the case of Torrie Wilson’s dog, Chloe, she was even on TV and had a profile page on WWE.com. Nowadays, not only do professional wrestlers have pets, but some of the pets even have their own social media accounts and fan followings.
Speaking to Jordynne Grace on his podcast about the possibility of IMPACT Wrestling stars upsetting Scott D'Amore by bringing in their pets for a taping, Tommy Dreamer reveals that there was a point where WWE banned animals from being backstage because of the mess that would be made in locker rooms and the crappy souvenirs the pets would leave behind.
“In WWE, there became a point where they banned animals from the back because -- it was funny -- it was always the women and there were locker rooms that were left horrible. There was one where they finally complained because there was poop left in the locker room, there was pee. At one point, it was like a zoo. I think four of the girls had animals and then one of the boys brought in one of his dogs and WWE banned them,” Tommy recalled.
Dreamer concluded the story by mimicking one of the higher-ups, saying, “You can't have fun. You are at work, dammit!”
While Tommy Dreamer does not specify at what point in time this edict was put in place, they must have softened up their stance on animals in recent years as Sasha Banks had her dog, Ryu Maivia, as part of her entrance in 2020 at the NXT Great American Bash event.
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart recently told Sean Ross Sapp that he had an idea to bring his cat with him to ringside during his run at WCW. Learn more at this link.
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