10 of the coolest wrestling mascots

Some wrestlers bring managers to the ring for help with strategy (or help with cheating.)

Other wrestlers bring their wife or girlfriend as a valet (and to help with cheating.)

But sometimes, you need more than just a trusted adviser, business partner, or significant other to back you up in the ring. When you need that special level of moral support that only a pet can provide, you turn to the animal kingdom.

From macaws to snakes to tarantulas, wrestlers have brought a variety of animals to the ring with them. Here are ten of the coolest, most memorable animal mascots.

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#10 Damian - Jake the Snake Roberts

Jake the Snake with Damian. Jake is the one with the moustache

Since the dawn of human history, mankind has been terrified of snakes.

Perhaps it is their primordial physiology, little more than a mouth and a stomach that moves. Or maybe it's something cultural, like the snake that tempted Adam and Eve or the Egyptian god Set. For whatever reason, snakes put people ill at ease most of the time.

That is why Jake the Snake brought out his massive python, Damian to the ring. For that extra psychological edge that would distract his opponent just long enough for a DDT.

Ironically, Jake was actually scared of snakes at first, but quickly warmed to the idea once he saw how over it was with the crowd. Jake the Snake and Damian were a fixture of the 1980s WWF/E, and the python is probably the first animal mascot that people think of when it comes to animal mascots in wrestling.

#9 Poison - Tara (Victoria)

Tara with Poison

Tara is widely regarded as one of the most technically sound, athletic women wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots. Sadly, she was active during a period when most wrestling organizations thought of women as mostly eye candy instead of serious athletes.

She would find some redemption in TNA's Knockouts division, however. In order to make certain her character wouldn't be infringing on trademarks held by the WWE, Tara decided to bring her real-life pet tarantula to the ring with her.

Spiders scare people. Too many legs, too many eyes, and those wicked looking fangs tend to make people nervous or even terrified. Tara bringing Poison to the ring unnerved her foes and gave her the edge she needed to hit her famed Widow's Peak finishing manoeuvre.

#8 Unnamed Grizzlies - Big Josh

Big Josh at WCW Superbrawl

Matt Osborne was a veteran performer who mostly spent his time as enhancement talent --rudely referred to as a jobber -- for bigger stars. WCW decided to take a chance on Osborne and booked him as Big Josh -- in spite of the fact that Osborne is average height for a wrestler.

Nevertheless, WCW put a lot of effort into getting the idea over that Big Josh was a superhumanly strong outdoorsman who could bust out of handcuffs and break axe handles in half with his bare hands. In order to make his PPV entrance special, WCW decided to have him come to the ring with two (muzzled) Grizzly Bears.

The bears were never named, nor were they seen again, but it was a unique mascot moment in pro wrestling.

#7 Vulture - The Undertaker

Undertaker and a harbinger of death

During the build-up to Undertaker's match with Giant Gonzales at Wrestlemania IX, the WWE was faced with a problem.

The match would be taking place in an outdoor arena in broad daylight. For a horror-themed character like The Undertaker, appearing in bright lights could hurt his mystique.

The solution was to have Undertaker escorted to the ring by an unnamed Vulture. Having a bird so closely associated with death accompanying The Deadman was a clever way to retain his character's creepiness even in the light of day.

#6 Komodo Dragon - Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

Ricky Steamboat

Ricky Steamboat is one of the most gifted wrestlers of his -- or any other -- generation.

Mixing a rare blend of pure athleticism and raw charisma, Ricky Steamboat was over with the fans in every promotion he ever wrestled in. Sometimes, however, he would feel the need to get an edge on his opponents. Sometimes this was by breathing fire, and others it was by bringing a real-life dragon to the ring with him.

The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard in the world and has a bizarre bacterial colony living in its mouth that is so complex scientists treat it as a venom. Having a dangerous reptile on a leash certainly threw people off their game, allowing Steamboat to capitalize and hit the flying body press for the win.

#5 Worms - The Boogeyman

The Boogeyman

One of the most unsettling wrestlers of recent memory is unquestionably the Boogeyman.

From his mysterious, smoking staff, gruesome heart trophy necklace, painted face and missing teeth he just screamed horror movie villain.

Worse, the Boogeyman had an additional psychological weapon to unleash; A horde of wriggling, revolting worms. Boogeyman is unique on this list because he actually consumed his mascots both in and out of the ring.

Even more terrifying, he would spit the regurgitated worms onto his opponent after delivering his finishing pump handle slam move.

#4 Tiger - Scott Steiner

Now that's what we call pussycat control!

Scott Steiner began his career as the gee-whiz younger brother of Rick, a college wrestling standout and earnest good guy famous for dazzling wrestling moves.

Then, he morphed into Big Poppa Pump, a sneering, swaggering heel more interested in hooking up with women and putting on a spectacle than amateur wrestling. In order to get a bit of an edge on his opponent, Steiner walked to the ring with a tiger for his entrance on Nitro in 2000.

You'd think a massive mountain of muscle like Steiner would be intimidating enough, but adding a predatory beast over five hundred pounds to the mix must have really put his opponents on edge.

#3 Matilda - The British Bulldogs

The British Bulldogs and Matilda are guests of Jesse Ventura

One of the finest tag teams of all time, Davy Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid were a powerful, hard-hitting force in the WWE during the 1980s.

Because Vince McMahon thought every act in that era needed a little something extra, he suggested the Bulldogs come out to the ring with an actual Bulldog. Matilda accompanied the Bulldogs for most of their WWE run.

Once, the beloved mascot was kidnapped by the Islanders, and was supposedly malnourished after she was rescued. WWE even encouraged fans to write get well letters to the depressed canine.

Though both wrestlers would go on to successful singles careers, no one can forget the sight of the British Bulldogs walking with an actual British bulldog!

#2 Lucifer the cobra - Jake the Snake Roberts

Jake Roberts attacks Macho Man with a cobra in a controversial stunt

That's right, Jake Roberts is on this list twice!

Though Damian was the snake Jake most often brought to the ring, there was a time when he was accompanied by a cobra named Lucifer. The cobra had been de-venomed, but still retained its fangs.

Jake would deploy the cobra on a helpless Macho Man during a WWE segment that ended up being far more gruesome than intended. Jake was supposed to let the cobra bite Savage, then remove it quickly. However, the snake was in full panic mode and latched onto Savage's arm and would not let go.

It took several minutes before Roberts could coax the serpent to release its hold. Many television stations complained and refused to show the sequence unless it was blurred out.

Without a shadow of a doubt, a cobra is the most lethal animal anyone brought to the ring, ever.

#1 Frankie - Koko B. Ware

Koko B. Ware and Frankie. Koko is wearing the sunglasses

As Sweet Brown Sugar, the man who would be known as Koko B. Ware worked primarily as a face, though he sometimes crossed over into heel territory.

When he signed with the then-WWF, his gimmick was tweaked to the Birdman, a happy go lucky musician who always brought his pet macaw, Frankie, to the ring.

The result was one of the most iconic duos wrestling has ever seen. Frankie even made it into Koko's Piledriver music video! It's hard to imagine Koko without Frankie.

There you have it; Ten of the coolest, most iconic animal mascots of all time.