Paul Bearer

At 58 years old, Paul Bearer has this physical status:

William Alvin "Bill" Moody (April 10, 1954 – March 5, 2013) was an American professional wrestling manager and mortician.

He is best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE), where he appeared as the Undertaker's manager under the ring name Paul Bearer.

Kane was later managed by him as the storyline son of Mankind and Bearer.

Outside of WWE, he was known as Perpetual "Percy" Pringle III and competed in a variety of regional areas and promotions, as well as World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW).

Early life

Moody was born in Mobile, Alabama, on April 10, 1954, and attended San Antonio College and the University of South Alabama.

Personal life

Moody married Dianna McDole in December 1978 and had two sons, Michael and Daniel. As DJ Pringle, Daniel wrestles on the independent circuit. On January 31, 2009, Dianna died as a result of breast cancer complications.

After undergoing gastric bypass surgery, Moody's health improved. He said he had weighed 525 pounds (238 kg) before the operation but that he had decreased to under 300 pounds one year ago.

He conducted three shooting interviews for Ring of Honor in September and October 2005. Both were purely about him, and they were exclusively about him, as well as his wrestling career. Jim Cornette, a fellow wrestler and fellow wrestling manager, was the third one on the third team. In 2006, he returned to his funeral service full time. Moody, along with three others, began promoting Gulf South Wrestling in 2005. He dissolvled the firm in May 2007 after his employees decided not to continue the promotion without him. Michael Leo Varadkar died on September 21, 2014.

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Professional wrestling career

In his youth, Moody became a professional wrestler. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving four years on active service; during this time, he often applied for independent promotions during off-duty hours.

In 1979, Moody began as Perpetual "Percy" Pringle III in southeastern independent employment; a few years ago, he competed as Mr. X; a few years ago, he defeated him as Mr. X. Percy Pringles who were not William Moody had been wrestling veterans who were not William Moody. Frankie Cain, a booker, gave him the name. He cut back his involvement in the wrestling industry in order to obtain a degree in mortuary science and certificate as an embalmer and mortician right away.

In 1984, he returned to full-time wrestling, starring Pringle's Pringle character in Championship Wrestling in Florida and World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas. During this period, he was WCCW's Bobby Heenan by doing "Heenan" like ads, as well as Heenan's blonde hair and attire. Rick Rude, "Incredible" Steve Austin, and Mark Calaway were both wrestlers under his custody; he notably handled them in their early careers. He was also affiliated with Lex Luger, Eric Embry, and The Ultimate Warrior as Percy Pringle.

After being introduced by Rick Rude to WWF founder Vince McMahon, Moody joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on December 22, 1990. McMahon created Paul Bearer, a name given to him by Road Warrior Hawk and a play on the word pallbearer. Bearer's portrayal of a charismatic, screaming voice was often heard in his screebling voice, and he was almost always carrying the word "the urn," his mantra, allowing his main protégé The Undertaker to resurrect, giving him a boost. His keeper-of-the-urn gimmick triggered several plotlines in which The Undertaker's rivals stole his urn, causing The Undertaker's supernatural power to be lost.

Bearer's catch phrase was "Ooooh, yes!"

When Brother Love, who wrote The Undertaker, pleaded down on the Bearer to take over the role as The Undertaker's boss, Moody made his first appearance in February 1991 as a heel. Bearer took on a spooky, ghastly image in response to Undertaker's Deadman gimmick. The Funeral Parlor was the bearer's own WWF talk show segment, which included memorable scenes including the Ultimate Warrior being locked inside a casket. The Undertaker and Bearer turned face when Undertaker blocked former competitor Jake "The Snake" Roberts from ambushing Amanda Savage and Miss Elizabeth with a chair backstage; the Undertaker and Roberts had a match at WrestleMania VIII, which saw Undertaker defeat Undertaker triumph.

The Bearer eventually turned heel by betraying his long-time protege, Mankind, at SummerSlam 1996 to join The Executioner & Vader in order to take out Undertaker. The Undertaker, the retaliation of the Bears, set fire to the Undertaker's face in April 1997. Bearer Burns to his face and was bandaged for a time as a result of The Undertaker's behaviour. Bearer changed his appearance after being revived from the burns, from a ghostly pallor and jet-black hue to his natural strawberry blond hair and less make-up. He became loudmouthed and shrill as he no longer used his ghostly appearance and demeanors.

Paul Bearer coerced Undertaker (WWF Champion at the time) to become his protégé once more with the promise of revealing a deep, mysterious mystery from their previous lives around mid-1997. Bearer referred to the "fires of hell" during this period, likening The Undertaker's dark secret to The Undertaker's act of setting fire to his face. The Undertaker accepted after several weeks of resistance, despite being under duress. Bearer began to engage in derogatory conduct towards him this time around, bullying him on a regular basis. Undertaker eventually lost his patience and refused to allow Bearer to continue to be his boss, prompting the Bears to reveal the truth.

Bearer had a troublingly painful history with The Undertaker, which long before Brother Love's joining the two teams in January 1991. The dark mystery goes back to The Undertaker's youth and involves domestic issues: Paul Bearer, who was employed by The Undertaker's parents in their family funeral home industry, witnessed a criminal act during The Undertaker's youth. In the process, the Undertaker committed an arson murder by burning down his parents' funeral home and killing them. This act also killed The Undertaker's younger "brother" — or rather The Undertaker's younger brother. During the remainder of Kane's youth into adulthood, the bearer, who was not in the fire, kept Kane in a mental hospital. The Undertaker denied all this from mid-to-late 1997, claiming it was his younger half-brother's fault. Bearer, blaming The Undertaker, accused him of being a "arsonist," "murderer," and "liar." (According to these reports, Kane had already revealed that he was actually a half-brother to The Undertaker.) The Undertaker's mother had an affair with the Bearers and, as a result, gave birth to Kane. To a Raw audience, the bearer mistakenly (kayfabe) revealed that he was really Kane's father. On Monday Night Raw, a Bearer alerted Jerry Lawler, a point in which he thought cameras had been frozen for a commercial break but that they were still on. Kane's family was closely linked to him and his family up until that point. Presumably, the Undertaker's deceased father died during his entire life under the same circumstances. Because of the firefighter's death, the Undertaker believed his "brother" had been dead for years, claiming he was "pyromaniac" obsessed with starting fires, but he may not even be alive. In contrast, the Bearer introduced the vengeful, fire-personified Kane in October 1997 at Badd Blood: In Your House. In a Cell match against Shawn Michaels, Kane cost the Undertaker a Hell. This culminated in a tense rivalry between The Undertaker and Kane and Bearer. On Monday Night Raw, a day after the first Inferno Match, where Kane was set on fire, Kane was not revealed as the Bearer's son until April 27, 1998. The Undertaker was shown to have been unaware of this at the time and even helped fuel the feud even more, as Undertaker refused to believe the tale until an in-story DNA test confirmed it to be true. Kane, evidently abandoned Bearer to side with The Undertaker in the summer of 1998, causing a face turn.

When the Bearer betrayed his own son, Kane, in favour of coping The Undertaker once more, the Bearer and The Undertaker became a heel team again, around the end of 1998. The Undertaker, who had formerly been a heel for the Bears, has shamelessly admitted to starting the funeral home a fire that he had not anticipated or blamed Kane. Bearer (returning to his signature black hair and mustache in early 1999), but wearing a buttoned jacket and black overcoat, without the use of pasty white makeup, and speaking in the same voice as his 1997 predecessor) and The Undertaker established the Ministry of Darkness shortly after. Both he and The Undertaker underwent a hiatus from the WWF in September 1999 as a result of The Undertaker's injury.

In February 2000, the Bearer, who had briefly appeared on television as Kane's boss, assisting his son in his fight against D-Generation X, but soon after WrestleMania 2000, the Bearer returned to WWF television as Kane's boss (now sporting a red overcoat), but soon after returning from on-screen performances. He returnedstage to work as a WWF road agent, stage manager, and talent hunter later this year. He began working with WWE on October 14, 2002.

Moody spent the next year with NWA Total Nonstop Action (NWA TNA), based on the word Percy Pringle III.

He began a new three-year deal with WWE in October 2003. Paul initially declined the bid when Jim Ross contacted him about returning to the firm, but Ross called back with a contract. At the time, he was suffering from health issues and depression owing to his obesity, and he underwent gastric bypass surgery in November 2003. WWE decided to pay for the surgery as a signing bonus, as Ross promised.

After recovering, he appeared at WrestleMania XX in March 2004, alongside Undertaker in a match against Kane.

Paul Bearer was kidnapped by The Dudley Boys under Paul Heyman's direction in spring 2004; this was done in order to temporarily write Bearer out of WWE story lines due to a common side effect of gastric bypass surgery.

A match pitting The Undertaker against both of The Dudley Boyz was scheduled for the Great American Bash on June 27, 2004. At ringside, Paul Bearer was encased in a glass "crypt" and covered up to his chest in cement. Heyman ordered that The Undertakers win the match or the Bearer would be suffocated in cement.

The Undertaker won the match but then proceeded to pull the lever that had sent cement into the crypt, burying Paul Bearer completely. Bearer was said to be alive but heavily wounded for storyline purposes; the rehearsal taping, however, was interrupted by accident in several of the television markets; Undertaker was ad-libbing and only half of the show complete. Bearer was hired as a booker for the company up until WWE decided to terminate his employment on April 11, 2005, but he had two years on his deal.

On June 10, 2005, the Bearer announced that he had signed a new contract with WWE, allowing the brand to advertise his image and requiring him to attend autograph sessions, make promotional appearances, and occasionally work television and house shows. Bearer appeared at a SmackDown!/ECW house show in Mobile, Alabama, in late January 2007, carrying the original urn.

After four years as top heel manager and "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal in the Sheik's retirement match on April 24, 2010, the Bearer returned to the Boston-based Millennium Wrestling Federation as top heel manager, as well as John "Bradshaw" Layfield.

On October 12, 2012, the Bearer battled Rikishi at Pro Wrestling Syndicate in Rahway, New Jersey.

Bearer made his first on-screen appearance in six years on September 24, 2010, the first time he was taken out in a casket. With the urn, he helped The Undertaker, who was feuding with Kane over the World Heavyweight Championship, by restoring Undertaker's power. The Bearer later became Undertaker's boss by accompanying him to the ring for his match against Kane for the title at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. Bearer The Bearer appeared to Undertaker once more during the match after shining a light in his eyes as he approached Tombstone Kane. Kane then helped him win by smashing Undertaker with the urn. Bearer challenged Undertaker to face Kane in a Buried Alive Match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Bragging Rights on October 15, which Undertaker accepted by attacking Kane. Kane defeated Undertaker once more at Bragging Rights after being nearly thrown in the grave by Undertaker and The Nexus, who helped Bearer and Kane bury Undertaker.

After being named the new challenger to Kane's World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series, Kane then entered a feud with Edge. Kane cost Edge his match against Nexus member David Otunga on November 12 of SmackDown. Edge escorted Bearer from the game by strapping him in a wheelchair. Edge cost Kane his match against the Big Show later that night. Edge tortured the Bearer through the night by tossing a dodgeball at him and then yelling and throwing pizza all over him. Edge called for Kane in the parking lot, but Kane was unable to reach the Bearer in time when Edge assaulted him and drove away with Bearer. Edge used an empty wheelchair at the Survivor Series, causing Kane to go mad trying to question him about where Bearer was detained. Despite the fact that the match came to a conclusion, Kane was unable to locate Bearer as Edge wheeled his enemy into a barricade. Kane begged Edge to let the Bearer go, but Edge refused. Kane tried to locate the Bearer but was unable to locate him. Kane fired Edge for his second title shot but kept Bearer with him. Edge lured Kane to the parking lot, where Edge drove over a dummy Paul Bearer with the real Paul Bearer in the backseat. Edge continued his mind games with Kane by dragging a dummy Paul Bearer down some stairs on the December 3 episode of SmackDown. Edge had a lookalike in a non-title match against Kane, and he brought out a Paul Bearer lookalike. Kane went back to look for Bearer again, but Edge got stuck in a pickup with a Bearer tied up on the back. Kane begged Edge to return Bearer next week, but Edge refused once more. Kane later declined to attend the main event that night and began looking for Bearer. Kane pushed them over after seeing what seemed to be a dummy Paul Bearer on top of two ladders. Kane then saw that he pushed the true Paul Bearer off the ladders onto the concrete floor, thereby injuring him and writing him out of the storyline.

Bearer returned to Kane in April 2012 for a brief stint as part of the ongoing feud with Randy Orton. Orton kidnapped him and then ended up in a storage freezer when strapped to a wheelchair. Kane returned to Bear after him, but only to pull him out of the freezer and say, "I'm saving you... from me." This will be the Bearer's last appearance in WWE. In July 2012, Bearer was supposed to return to The Undertaker and Kane on WWE Raw 1000, but he was unable to attend due to scheduling and travel restrictions.

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Awards and accomplishments

• Cauliflower Alley Club
  • Lou Thesz Award (2013)
• Gulf Coast Wrestlers Reunion
  • Lee Fields Gulf Coast Wrestling Hall of Fame (2014)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Manager of the Year (1998)
• WWE
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2014)