In the last few years, the popularity of plant-based diets has grown especially when it's come to athletes. While it might be seen as sacrilege to the notorious carnivore known as Vince McMahon, plenty of wrestlers on his roster abstain from eating meat and/or animal products. Athletes, including WWE Superstars, are incredibly cautious of what they put into their bodies as they need to maintain high fitness levels.RELATED: 10 Wrestlers Who Got Engaged In 2021As a result of the growing movement of athletes that are averse to eating animal products, nutritional supplement companies have sought to create various supplements that are free from animal products.Updated on December 1st, 2021, by Andrew Kelly: In the modern and changing world, more and more people are opting for a healthier, more sustainable, and planet-friendly vegetarian or vegan diet, and professional wrestlers are no different. Due to the caliber of talent both past and present who are changing their lifestyle, it proves that it is no less effective in maintaining a high level of fitness without meat acting as a source of protein in the diet. Some wrestlers are more under or overstated when it comes to professing their dietary habits, with some actively advertising that way of life, whilst others have only let slip in interviews here and there.
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14 * Batista
Despite officially retiring a few years ago, Batista remains in shape due to his busy schedule with a lot of Hollywood commitments. Despite initially just cutting out red meat from his diet, he eventually went all the way in becoming vegetarian both for the reasons of animal safety and health benefits.
The former WWE Champion aims to become a full vegan eventually, with his transition into the diet being a casual process, taking place over a longer period of time. To uphold his physique, he has undertaken several strict regimes in order to maintain muscle, whilst not eating meat.
13 * Allie
The AEW wrestler, currently acting as part of the Hardy Family Office alongside The Butcher and The Blade, has been a vegetarian since her early teenage years, making the choice early into her life to opt out of eating meat at just fourteen years of age.
After years of being a vegetarian, Allie eventually became a vegan, speaking openly and freely about her go-to meals and protein sources. Despite not being close to challenging for many titles in AEW, she is a well-traveled and successful athlete within the wrestling world, with multiple championship victories in different promotions.
12 * Brie Bella
The Bella Twins have consistently been through the rumor mill in terms of a return to the ring at some point, and whilst neither have officially retired, they are now Hall of Famers and parents, cementing more and more that their wrestling careers may be behind them for good after a successful career in WWE.
Similar to her husband, Bryan Danielson, she has undertaken a meat-free diet, which is spoken about openly in interviews and on social media. It’s easy to see why she would opt for this lifestyle when living with one of the more famous meat-free wrestlers in the world today, so much that it was even incorporated into his heel run in 2019.
11 * Eva Marie
Eva Marie’s career as a professional wrestler going forwards is currently up in air due to being included in WWE’s 2021 releases, despite only returning to TV just a few months prior to her latest departure. Marie achieved prominence in WWE by appearing in the Total Divas reality TV series, with much of her personal life being made public.
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Being in the public eye, many became aware of Marie becoming a vegan after successfully taking part in Veganuary – completing a month-long vegan diet, which convinced her to make the full-time switch to changing up her lifestyle.
10 * Zack Sabre Jr
Zack Sabre Jr is steadily becoming one of the hottest talents in the world, traveling around different promotions and making a huge name for himself outside of the top two American wrestling companies. Winning titles in NJPW, Evolve, PWG, and wXw, he is constantly adding to his résumé.
He became a vegan after watching the documentary Forks Over Knives, with his decision being made due to a mixture of both health and ethical reasons, with a desire to push this lifestyle to more and more people around the globe.
9 Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn is well known for supporting a variety of progressive causes. Sami created his charity, Sami for Syria, to provide much-needed aim to his family's home country. The former Intercontinental Champion has also been vocal in his support for the candidacy of Bernie Sanders during the Democratic Primaries and criticized conservative politicians.
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Aside from political posts on Twitter, Zayn is also a vegan and has made mention of his choice in interviews and podcasts. Zayn spoke about the difficulty of being Vegan in his early days as WWE catering often didn't provide an option.
8 Bryan Danielson
While many people adopt a gimmick that isn't real, Bryan Danielson's former eco-warrior gimmick isn't far from Danielson's true beliefs. While he isn't as preachy as the character he played was, he still believes and supports environmental causes.
Danielson and his wife Brie Bella both grow organic crops in their home, and both adhere to a primarily plant-based diet. Bryan has stated that he is no longer a vegan due to developing an intolerance to soy.
7 Zelina Vega
Zelina Vega might be known now as the rebel leading the cause for a potential union in WWE, but for many years she was a wrestler and a manager in TNA and WWE. Since her speaking against WWE, she re-signed, achieving some success winning the Queen's Crown Tournament.
Vega has spoken publicly about her vegan lifestyle, referring to herself as a "vegan athlete" on a post on Instagram. She's also spoken about maintaining a vegan diet on her YouTube and Twitch channels.
6 Malakai Black
Unlike his real-life wife, Zelina Vega, Malakai Black has not completely given up on animal products altogether. However, his relationship has inspired him to cut down on the animal products that he eats and has cut out meat altogether.
Like Vega, one of AEW's newest stars has spoken about plant-based nutrition during his workout streams on Twitch. Black has refrained from preaching for others to copy what he does, insisting that people need to find what works for them. However, Black has stated that he feels switching to a more plant-based diet has been beneficial.
5 Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston is a multiple-time Tag Team champion and former WWE Champion. Kingston is also a part of the popular New Day stable alongside Big E and Xavier Woods. Kingston has worked for WWE since 2008, getting started on WWE's version of ECW.
In 2020, Kingston revealed in an interview with Muscle and Fitness that he had stopped eating meat. Kingston also spoke about how he had also stopped eating dairy well, making him almost a vegan. Kingston also spoke to Sami Zayn about veganism on the New Day podcast.
4 Maryse
Maryse first came to WWE via the Diva search and held the Divas title in 2008 and 2010. Maryse then began managing Ted DiBiase Jr and The Miz. Maryse would also marry the Miz in 2014 before giving birth to their two children, Monroe Sky, and Maidson Jade.
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Maryse has posted on Twitter her support for animal-rights organization PETA. In 2015 the former Divas Champion confirmed via Twitter that she maintains a 100% vegan lifestyle. On an episode of Total Divas, Maryse challenged The Miz to try and reduce his meat-eating habits.
3 Pete Dunne
Pete Dunne made a massive impact in WWE during the inaugural tournament for the WWE United Kingdom title. Despite the fact that Dunne lost in the final, he made an impact after attacking Sam Gradwell on the first night of the tournament.
Pete Dunne has also confirmed that he doesn't eat meat or animal products as a part of an interview with Muscle and Fitness. Dunne also spoke about the large number of British Wrestlers that don't eat meat on the UK morning show Good Morning Britain.
2 Tyler Bate
Tyler Bate was the first-ever WWE United Kingdom Champion after winning the title at the 2017 United Kingdom Tournament. Bate also held the NXT Tag Team Titles alongside Mustache Mountain.
Bate appeared alongside Pete Dunne and Trent Seven on Good Morning Britain to discuss vegan professional wrestlers. Bat has also spoken to GQ magazine and Men's Health about maintaining a vegan diet alongside being a professional wrestler.
1 WALTER
WALTER doesn't look like the typical vegan wrestler. Most of the other wrestlers on the list fit into the smaller sized wrestler, but WALTER fits into the heavyweight division. Despite his popularity, the Austrian is determined to stay in Europe, although recent reports suggest that this could change in the near future.
The former NXT UK Champion has identified as a vegan for several years with articles about his vegan diet. WALTER followed a trend after the first two NXT UK Champions were also vegan.