Clark Connors and David Finlay discuss name change to The Dogs
Cageside Seats • 2 min read • Latest: Oct 21, 2026, 10:05 PM
Last updated Oct 21, 2026

Clark Connors and David Finlay appeared on Tony Schiavone’s podcast to discuss their new wrestling name, The Dogs. Previously part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Bullet Club sub-group War Dogs, they revealed that their first idea for a name was Raw Dogs. Connors mentioned potential issues with the original name idea, referencing past WWE naming conventions and indicating that AEW's branding leans towards edginess. Despite the initial idea, they expressed satisfaction with The Dogs, noting its uniqueness in wrestling history.
- •Connors and Finlay were guests on Tony Schiavone’s podcast on October 21.
- •They were previously known as part of War Dogs in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
- •The duo proposed the name Raw Dogs before settling on The Dogs.
- •Connors noted potential issues with the name due to WWE history.
- 10:05 PMCageside Seats — WWE, AEW and WBD all could have vetoed The Dogs’ original pitch for their AEW name
"Clark Connors and David Finlay were Tony Schiavone’s guests on the latest episode of the AEW announcer & executive’s What Happened When podcast. Now known as The Dogs, when they were in New Japan Pro-Wrestling Connors and Finlay were part of the Bullet Club sub-group War Dogs. They’re happy with their new name, but Connors told Schiavone it wasn’t their first idea. Clark correctly identifies one issue with it, but he also might want to do a little research on WWE’s short-lived original name for Paige, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch’s “Divas Revolution Era” stable: “When we came over here, we just became The Dogs, but we really wanted to pitch the name Raw Dogs, but I think there’s an issue with that whole Monday Night thing, but it sounds cool because we’re raw fucking dogs, you know? “But The Dogs also is a sick name. It’s just no one’s ever done it before. No one’s been The Dogs.” There have been other names that incorporate “dogs” — Perros del Mal, past and present, come to mind. But I can’t think of another “The Dogs”. Otherwise, I’m not gonna say much about Connors and Finlay’s first choice. AEW is a little more edgy than the industry leader its challenging, but even though “rawdog” is in the dictionary now and has been somewhat normalized from its condom-less sex roots, I don’t think there’s enough double in that entendre for Tony Khan & team or his media rights partners. What do you think?
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