On this day in 2013, the man formally known as William Alvin Moody, though informally as Mr. X, Dr. Rigor Mortis, Percival "Percy" Pringle III, and most famously Paul Bearer, passed away.
Moody was just a teenager when he first got tangled up in the wrestling business, making a humble start as a ringside photographer whilst still in high school. He briefly left the glitz and glamour of the ring behind however upon finishing school, shipping off for four years of active duty with the US Air Force, however even during this time he partook in a little bit of wrestling on an independent circuit in his downtime. Following the end of his time in the Air Force however he seemed interested in dipping his toes in the business as a career once more, acting as an manager for wrestlers on the independent circuit under the moniker Percy Pringles, though following the birth of his first son he once again stepped away from the ring, opting this time to take up a degree in hopes of earning a job that could better support his growing family.
What degree did he get? Mortuary science, and from it he earnt a certification as a embalmer and mortician.
By 1984, Moody had clearly come to the realisation that he could not be far away from the wacky world of wrastlin' for too long, as he once again made his third and final return to the business, once again donning the title of Pringles to manage a bunch of wrestlers for championship wrestling circuits in Florida and Texas, during which time he worked with the likes of Rick Rude, Lex Luger, The Ultimate Warrior, and a then small-time wrestler going by the name "Stunning" Steve Austen. He would also work with a wrestler early in his career by the name of Mark Calaway, but there'll be more on that later...
In 1990 Moody was brought on board the good ship the WWF, after his prior associate Rick Rude put in a good work for him to the head honcho Vince McMahon. Vince saw a potential in using Moody's prior experience in the funeral industry to give him a brand new alias, Paul Bearer, an obvious play on of the term pallbearer - a backstory and title that would place him quite nicely alongside his soon to be most famous associate in 1991, The Undertaker - or Mark Calaway as his driving license would say. As Paul Bearer Moody became a fan favourite and icon of the WWF, always seen in ghostly white makeup, jet black hair, suit, and carrying his signature urn, which contained the source of The 'Taker's power, allowing Paul to hold it aloft in the event of Undertaker taking a beating, or using it to refocus him if he got too out of control. The urn was also the subject of many a storyline in which a rival wrestler would steal the urn, and it would become a mission for Paul and The Undertaker to retrieve it, and in one instance Hulk Hogan poured the contents of the urn onto the Undertaker before defeating him in his first ever loss.
Paul Bearer was also fondly loved by fans for his eccentric and theatrical behaviour and mannerisms, often hamming up heavily for promos, and even getting his own talkshow segment entitled The Funeral Parlour. After a year of tormenting and haunting the wrestlers of the WWF as a heel force to be reckoned with, Paul and 'Taker then made a brief switch to face characters, however just five years later Paul alone would turn heel to betray his partner by forming an alliance with his nemesis at the time, Mankind. Following this fallout, which came to a head when The Undertaker set Paul ablaze with a fireball, Paul once again took on managerial responsibility of The Undertaker, though under sinister and mysterious pretences that would go on to form one of the greatest storylines of the duo.
In 1997, after quickly growing tired of being Paul's lapdog, The Undertaker finally snapped and refused to work with him anymore, forcing Paul to reveal a bombshell of a tale to 'Taker and fans alike - Paul revealed that The Undertaker's mother had had an affair with him whilst working at his family's funeral parlour, and the product of that affair was The Undertaker's half-brother - Kane. This led to further double-crossings and betrayals between the three, with everything returning to the good old days of The Undertaker and Paul Bearer as a heel duo until 1999, before Moody would then cease his on-screen performances for the company for a brief time from 2000, working behind the scenes as a talent scout and stage manager instead.
When his contract with the WWF (by this point the WWE) ended in 2002, Moody jumped shipped for a brief stint with TNA once again under the Pringles name, which lasted about a year. Then in 2003, after an urging from Jim Ross, Moody returned to the WWE once again, under the promise of the company paying for gastric bypass surgery he was in need of due to health problems. Following sporadic on-screen appearances and behind the scenes work, Paul made his final on-screen appearance in April 2012, when Kane locked him in a walk in freezer. During this time Moody had returned full time to funeral director work, and had even set up a brief independent promotion business, which ran for two years.
During the 00s Moody unfortunately fell afoul to a number of health issues, many of which stemmed from his obesity, which also left him with severe depression which was another factor that made him initially hesitant to return to the WWE. During an event on the 2nd March 2013, friends and colleagues noticed Moody was coughing heavily and was having issues with his breathing, which he told them he would be seeking help for shortly. Just three days later however, Moody sadly passed away on the 5th March 2013 aged 58, his cause of death being a heart attack.
Amazingly just six days later, Moody's death had been written into a a WWE Raw storyline, in which CM Punk essentially mocked and taunted The Undertaker and Kane over the passing of Paul Bearer (rather than the actor, William Moody), which dances such a bizarre and thin line between respect and offence and blurs the line of the man and the character so finely its crazy. The following year however, the WWE made a far more fitting gesture towards Moody, when they inducted his character of Paul Bearer into the WWE Hall of Fame, with his sons Michael and Daniel in attendance to accept the award. Six months following the event, Moody's son Michael also passed away.
So that's that folks, the life and times of one of wrestling's most iconic and much-loved wrestling managers, the one and only Paul Bearer. Oh Yes.
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