Steve Austin, Rhea Ripley, Jon Moxley, and Rey Mysterio introduce their off-screen tag partners
The real superstars in the lives of pro wrestling’s biggest names
The Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.
Steve Austin: “At night, I’d barbecue, then grab my walking stick and walk the canyons with Hershey”
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin has become synonymous with professional wrestling and ice-cold beer.
And his love of animals.
Austin has developed a cult following for his adventures with his cat Pancho. Long before that love affair, however, Austin fell for a Labrador retriever named Hershey.
“Hershey, she was the dog love of my life,” said Austin. “She was a chocolate lab and I loved her so much. A few years ago, she had a heart tumor and we had to put her down. I still love that dog.”
After years of toiling on the mid-card, Austin ascended to heights only a precious few will ever know in professional wrestling. He developed one of the most captivating personas of all-time as the beer-swilling, foul-mouthed Texas Rattlesnake, a man who couldn’t be trusted–yet knew exactly how to entertain the masses.
Behind the scenes, no matter what was happening in the mind-boggling world of pro wrestling, Austin always felt at ease beside a dog. And none more so than Hershey.
“When I was filming Broken Skull Challenge, I’d stay out on that compound in a big ass trailer with her,” said Austin. “During the day, I’d yell out motivational things to those kids, then at night, I’d barbecue, grab my walking stick, and walk the canyons with Hershey.”
Whether a wrestler plays a protagonist or villain in the ring, oftentimes the most loyal babyface in their life is their pet. CM Punk and his dog/best friend Larry are an extremely popular tandem in pro wrestling, and there are many others who share that tight relationship.
Rhea Ripley makes it all look easy. She is powerful, quick on the microphone, and continues to reach new levels of popularity. She is also a long way from her family, who are back home in Adelaide, South Australia. But ever since joining WWE, Ripley has had a best friend awaiting her return after all of her grueling road trips.
“Maybe six months into my career in WWE, I got Luna,” said Ripley. “She’s the OG. I love her so much. Then I got Barry, a bull terrier. Barry is crazy. He’s also very skittish.”
Ripley is currently building a stable of Bull Terriers.
“I’ve got three now,” said Ripley. “Bella is my puppy, so she’s my baby. Mami has to raise her voice sometimes, so they get me as a babyface and a heel, but I love them so much, too. And they’re the biggest babyfaces you’ll ever meet in your life.”
For the past two years, Rey Mysterio was rivals with Ripley. Despite the heated exchanges in the ring, they share one unbreakable bond: an affinity toward their dogs.
“I love to spend time with them,” said Mysterio, who has two dogs. “I see them before I leave, and they’re waiting for me as soon as I get home.”
“We’ve had a boxer for a long time, and we love her a lot–she’s definitely a fan favorite in the house. We got a beautiful Aussiedoodle for my daughter. How can you not want to be around them?”
Not all pro wrestlers see their pets as babyfaces. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jon Moxley sees his cat as a heel. And that is what he credits for creating the bond between them.
Initially, Moxley didn’t want a cat. But as a devoted, loyal husband, he became a cat guy when wife Renee Paquette added Tommy to the family.
“We love our English bulldog and our little weird rat terrier/chihuahua, and against my wishes, Renee got a cat named Tommy,” said Moxley. “It’s polydactyl, so she has these catcher’s mitt paws.”
A polydactyl cat is born with extra toes on its paws. Tommy’s fighting spirit won over Moxley, who is now in awe of his family cat.
“She’s this sweet little cat, but it’s amazing–her entire genetic makeup is designed to hunt and kill,” said Moxley. “We named her Tommy because we thought she was a boy, then the vet told us Tommy was a girl–but we kept the name. I love watching her hunt, she’s built to do it.”
With exorbitant travel embedded into the pro wrestling lifestyle, not everyone is willing to bring a pet into their lives. AEW star Kazuchika Okada, who still resides in Japan, doesn’t feel right not being home enough to provide the necessary discipline and structure a pet requires.
“I don’t have any pets,” said Okada, speaking through a translator. “I don’t think I ever could.”
Even without a pet in his life, Okada revealed he can still understand the feeling of providing care. He noted with a smile how he fulfilled that role in New Japan Pro-Wrestling when overseeing Ren Narita and Shota Umino.
“I think I’d be too strict of a master to a pet,” said Okada. “Like I was with Narita and Umino when they snapped at me.”
Okada’s jokes aside, a pet can become a part of a person’s life–and family. And their death can cause grief and sorrow.
Years after his chocolate lab Hershey passed away, Austin did a double take on his phone. He found a dog with an unmistakable likeness to Hershey.
Austin and his wife have a deep connection with labs. At that point, they already had two others–and the chance to add another chocolate lab to his family spoke directly to them.
“I saw a chocolate lab on Instagram a couple years ago, and my wife and I decided we’d rescue the dog,” said Austin. “We weren’t in California any more, but we drove out to LA to track that dog down from the lady who was sponsoring it. My wife did an incredible job finding her. Man, when I tell you we were excited, we were so damn excited to meet her.”
When they finally met, Austin realized he was wrong. This dog was the complete opposite of Hershey. But when they locked eyes, there was no doubt that Brownie was going home with Austin.
“We’d only seen a picture of the dog’s face–but when we were with her, we saw she had lipomas all over, two bald spots, and she was overweight,” said Austin. “We couldn’t believe it. You know, it didn’t matter. She came home with us anyway. A couple years later, there was Brownie, living the life.”
A life as a pro wrestler is a difficult one. The travel is endless, the pay isn’t always what it should be, and your fate is always in someone else’s hands. Yet none of that matters when you’re back home beside a loyal friend.
“They change your whole life,” said Austin. “I know they’ve changed mine.”
This past week…
… Bron Breakker regained the Intercontinental title on Raw, ending Jey Uso’s brief run with the belt. I had issues with the finish–as soon as Raw GM Adam Pearce and crew had Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa removed, it was obvious that either Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu would cost Jey Uso the title–and that is exactly what happened. Uso’s run as champ was too short. Even though he is re-entering this Bloodline feud, the IC title would have helped him stand out even more.
… We saw an outstanding photo of Cody Rhodes, Gunther, and UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in a WWE ring from last week’s UK tour in Manchester, England.
… Jon Moxley explained the M.O. for his new group, and my hope is that he and his crew can wreak havoc in the most realistic ways possible in AEW. And if he promises change throughout the company, then he should be allowed to follow through on it.
… The Motor City Machine Guns finally made their WWE debut on SmackDown. There are many, many people rooting for MCMG to succeed–how do you think their run in WWE will unfold?
The next installment of the High Above Ringside post is live, featuring a “From The Archives” interview with Mike Tyson.
Zack Sabre Jr. made his first title defense as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, defeating Sanada on Sunday at Royal Quest in London.
… Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling had a successful opening night on Friday, then followed it up with an action-packed second night on Saturday. Scott D’Amore’s new promotion already features his trademark: an ability to work with others, featuring talent from multiple promotions. Maple Leaf Pro heavily promoted AEW, and the favor was returned when Ricochet unexpectedly arrived to attack Konosuke Takeshita.
… Samantha Irvin left WWE. It was odd not to hear her voice on Raw on Monday–and in a short amount of time, she made a lasting impression in WWE.
The Undertaker and Kane endorse Donald Trump–Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, and Dave Batista do not
Pro wrestling has become a battleground for politics.
How in the world did we arrive here?
Hulk Hogan spoke at the Republican National Convention this summer.
Dave Bautista has rallied behind Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election.
Now the latest: former United States President Donald Trump–who just so happens to be a WWE Hall of Famer–appeared on The Undertaker’s podcast.
In response, Mick Foley and Kevin Nash–two of Taker’s most famed opponents–responded with their support of Harris.
Yes, you read all that correctly.
Covering pro wrestling for more than a dozen years, I’ve developed an ability to separate the art from the artist. Not everyone we see playing a babyface on-screen is actually a babyface in real life, and there are plenty of despicable heels who are genuinely good people. So Taker and Kane supporting Trump–or Foley and Nash backing Harris–doesn’t change my opinion about their careers. It only reminds me that they are humans with strong opinions.
Regardless of your political views, if you’re reading this, you’re likely a wrestling fan. For a multi-decade fan like myself, it is almost unfathomable to see how pro wrestling has finally been able to penetrate the mainstream. There was once a time when people hid their fandom, as well as their political leanings. Now, The Undertaker is interviewing Trump on his podcast.
Sometimes, fact is stranger than fiction.
Tweet of the Week
Like Corey Graves said on SmackDown, they’re your favorite tag team’s favorite tag team.