 Moody in 2011 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Alvin Moody (1954-04-10)April 10, 1954 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | March 5, 2013(2013-03-05) (aged 58) Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Alma mater | McGill Institute San Antonio College University of South Alabama |
Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Masked Embalmer Mr. X Dr. Rigor Mortis Percival Pringle III[1] Percy Pringle III Paul Bearer[2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[3] |
| Debut | June 1974 |
| Retired | 2012 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1972–1976 |
| Rank |  Sergeant |
| Unit | Keesler Air Force Base |
| Awards |  Air Force Good Conduct Medal |
William AlvinMoody[4] (April 10, 1954 – March 5, 2013) was an Americanprofessional wrestling manager and licensedfuneral director. He is best known for his tenure with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) where he performed under thering name and gimmick ofPaul Bearer,[a] manager and guiding light ofThe Undertaker. As Paul Bearer, he hosted his own talk show segment entitledThe Funeral Parlor.
As Paul Bearer, Moody is also known for managing hisstoryline son/Undertaker's storyline half-brother,Kane, as well as archnemesis of The Undertaker,Mankind.Vader also served as Bearer's protégé for a short period while feuding with The Undertaker.[4][5] Outside WWE, Moody was known by the namePercival "Percy"Pringle III and performed in various regional territories and promotions, as well asWorld Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW).
Moody was born inMobile, Alabama, on April 10, 1954, and attendedSan Antonio College and theUniversity of South Alabama.[4]
Moody enteredprofessional wrestling in his teenage years as a ringside photographer.[4] Afterhigh school, he enlisted in theUnited States Air Force, serving four years on duty; during this time, he often wrestled forindependent promotions during off-duty hours.[4]
In 1979, Moody began managing as Percival "Percy" Pringle III insoutheastern independent promotions; a few years earlier, in June 1974, he wrestled as Mr. X.[4] There had been previous Percy Pringles in wrestling who were not William Moody. He was given the name by booker Frankie Cain.[5] Immediately after his first son's birth, he cut back his involvement in the wrestling business in order to obtain a degree in mortuary science and earn certification as anembalmer andmortician.[4]
In 1984, he resumed full-time involvement in the wrestling business, using his Pringle character inChampionship Wrestling from Florida andWorld Class Championship Wrestling inTexas.[5] During this time, he was WCCW's answer toBobby Heenan by doing "Heenan"-like promos, even looking like Heenan as well with the blonde hair and attire. He served as manager for numerous wrestlers; he notably managedRick Rude,"Stunning" Steve Austin, andMark Calaway in their early careers.[1] As Percy Pringle, he was also associated with the careers ofLex Luger,Eric Embry, andDingo Warrior.[4] Warrior turnedbabyface after falling out with fellow Pringle protegesBuzz Sawyer andMatt Borne following a six-man tag defeat in 1986.
Moody joined theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) on December 22, 1990, after being mentioned by Rick Rude to WWF ownerVince McMahon.[4] McMahon used Moody's real-life involvement in thefuneral industry to create the character of Paul Bearer, a name given to him byRoad Warrior Hawk and a play on the termpallbearer. In his portrayal of a veryhistrionic, ghostly manager, Bearer regularly communicated in his shaky, high-pitched, wailing voice and was almost always seen bearing anurn, which led to his mantra, "the power of the urn," allowing his main protégé The Undertaker to revive strength. His keeper-of-the-urn gimmick led to several storylines in which The Undertaker's antagonists stole his urn, causing The Undertaker to lose much of his supernatural strength. Bearer's leading catch phrase was "Ohhhh, yes!"[5]
Moody made his first appearance in February 1991, as a heel, whenBrother Love, who originally managedThe Undertaker, delegated Bearer to take on the role of The Undertaker's manager. Complementing The Undertaker's Deadman gimmick, Bearer took on a spooky, ghastly character.[5] Bearer hosted his own WWFtalk show segment entitledThe Funeral Parlor, which included memorable moments such as theUltimate Warrior being locked inside a casket, among others. In late 1991, Bearer managed The Undertaker to theWWF Championship when The Undertaker defeatedHulk Hogan at that year'sSurvivor Series, though The Undertaker would lose the title back to Hogan six days later atThis Tuesday in Texas. In early 1992, The Undertaker and Bearer turnedface when The Undertaker stopped former allyJake "The Snake" Roberts from ambushingRandy Savage andMiss Elizabeth with a chair backstage;[5] The Undertaker and Roberts had a match atWrestleMania VIII, which saw The Undertaker win.[6]
Eventually Bearer turned heel again by betraying his long-time protege atSummerSlam 1996 to align himself with The Undertaker's arch-enemies,Mankind andGoldust, According to Moody, the WWF wanted Bearer to turn on The Undertaker for him to get ready for the storyline withKane the following year.[5] AtIn Your House 11: Buried Alive, Bearer broughtThe Executioner to help Mankind and other wrestlers bury The Undertaker and Bearer managed The Executioner for two months until Bearer fired him and atRoyal Rumble, Bearer became the new manager ofBig Van Vader. In April 1997 atIn Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, The Undertaker set Bearer's face ablaze using afireball, which was done in retaliation for Bearer having Mankind set a fireball to The Undertaker's face several weeks prior. Resulting from The Undertaker's actions, Bearer suffered (kayfabe) burns to his face and wasbandaged for a time. Once healed from the burns, Bearer changed his looks, shedding the makeup of ghostly pallor and jet-black color to his natural strawberry blond hair and less make-up. No longer using his ghostly appearance and mannerisms, he became loudmouthed and shrill and often delivered ranting, raving promos.
Around mid-1997, Paul Bearercoerced The Undertaker (WWF Champion at the time) into being his protégé again with theultimatum of revealing a deep, dark secret from their past. During this time, Bearer made references to the "fires ofhell," likening The Undertaker's dark secret to The Undertaker's act of setting fire to his face. Under duress, The Undertaker accepted after several weeks of resistance. While "managing" The Undertaker this time around, Bearer engaged in tyrannical behaviors towards him, harassing him constantly. Eventually, The Undertaker lost his patience and refused to allow Bearer to continue being his manager, leading Bearer to reveal the secret.
The dark secret suggested that Bearer had a disturbingly traumatic past with The Undertaker which long preceded Brother Love's joining the two in January 1991. The dark secret dates back to The Undertaker's youth and involves domestic matters: Paul Bearer, while working for The Undertaker's parents as an apprenticemortician in their familyfuneral home business, witnessed afelony act during The Undertaker's adolescence. Bearer claimed that The Undertaker had committed anarson murder, burning down his parents' family funeral home, in the process, killing them. This act also killed The Undertaker's younger "brother"—or so The Undertaker long thought. Bearer, who claimed to be attending a mortuary science college course at the time of the fire, hid Kane in amental asylum during the rest of Kane's youth into adulthood. At the time throughout mid to late 1997, The Undertaker denied all this, claiming it was his younger brother's fault. Bearer, blaming The Undertaker, accused him of being an "arsonist", "murderer", and "liar." (Connected to these accounts, it was later revealed approximately six months after Kane's WWF debut that he was actually the half-brother of The Undertaker. The Undertaker's mother had an affair with Bearer and, as a result, gave birth to Kane. Bearer unintentionally (kayfabe) revealed to aRaw audience that he was actually Kane's father. This came to light when Bearer informedJerry Lawler onMonday Night Raw, at a point in which he thought cameras had stopped rolling for a commercial break but were still on. Up until that point, The Undertaker was under the impression that Kane was fully related to him and his family. Presumably, The Undertaker's deceased father lived his entire life under the same impression).[7] Because of the fire, The Undertaker thought Kane had been dead for all those years, claiming he was a "pyromaniac", obsessed with starting fires and, due to the incident, couldn't possibly be alive. However, Bearer introduced the vengeful, fire-personifiedKane in October 1997 atBadd Blood: In Your House. In this first appearance for the character, Kane cost The Undertaker aHell in a Cell match to determine the #1 contendership for the WWF title againstShawn Michaels.[7][8] This led to a bitter rivalry between The Undertaker and Kane and Bearer. Kane was not revealed as Bearer's son until April 27, 1998, onRaw is War, a day after the firstInferno Match, atUnforgiven, where Kane was set on fire. The Undertaker was shown to have also been unaware of this at that time, and helped to build the feud up further, as The Undertaker initially refused to believe the story until an in-story DNA test proved it to be true. The feud lasted into summer of 1998, when Kane seemingly abandoned Bearer to side with The Undertaker, beginning a face turn.
Bearer and The Undertaker became a heel team again toward theend of 1998 when Bearer betrayed his own son, Kane, in favor of managing The Undertaker once again. Once becoming a heel with Bearer, The Undertaker shamelessly admitted to setting the funeral home ablaze for which he had initially claimed was an accident or blamed Kane. Shortly thereafter, Bearer (returning in early 1999 to his signature black hair and mustache, but wearing a buttoned sweater and black overcoat, without the pasty white makeup and speaking in the same voice as his 1997 predecessor) and The Undertaker formed theMinistry of Darkness. Both he and The Undertaker took a hiatus from the WWF unceremoniously in September 1999 as a result of The Undertaker suffering an injury.
In February 2000, Bearer, who turned face once more briefly, returned to WWF television as Kane's manager (now wearing a red overcoat), aiding and assisting his son in his war againstD-Generation X (DX), but retired from on-screen performing shortly afterWrestleMania 2000. Later that year, he went backstage to serve as a WWFroad agent, stage manager, and talent scout. His contract with WWE ended on October 14, 2002.[5]
Moody spent the next year working withNWA Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (NWA-TNA) under the ring name Percy Pringle III.[5]
On October 3, 2003, he signed a new three-year contract with WWE.[4] WhenJim Ross contacted him about rejoining the company, Bearer at first refused the offer, but Ross then called again with an offer. At that time, he was suffering from health problems and depression related to hisobesity and underwentgastric bypass surgery on November 25, 2003. As a signing bonus, WWE agreed to pay for the surgery, as Ross promised.[9]
After recovering, he reappeared as Paul Bearer on March 14, 2004, atWrestleMania XX, alongside Undertaker in a match against Kane.[10]
In spring of 2004, Paul Bearer was kidnapped byThe Dudley Boyz under the direction ofPaul Heyman; this was set up in order to temporarily write Bearer out of WWE story lines because he had to undergo emergencygallbladder surgery on May 24, 2004, after suddenly developinggallstones, a common side effect of gastric bypass surgery.[5]
For the June 27, 2004, pay-per-viewThe Great American Bash, a match pitting The Undertaker against both of The Dudley Boyz wasbooked.[11] Paul Bearer was encased in a glass "crypt" at ringside, covered up to his chest in cement.[4] Heyman demanded The Undertaker throw the match or Bearer would be suffocated in cement.[4]
The Undertaker won the match[11] but proceeded afterwards to pull the lever that sent cement into the crypt, completely burying Paul Bearer, suffocating him.[4] On the following week'sSmackDown!, Bearer was acknowledged to be alive, although gravely injured, for storyline purposes; the rehearsal taping earlier in the day of The Great American Bash – with The Undertaker ad-libbing and only half of the stunt complete, in an empty arena – was leaked onto the internet dirt sheets and actually broadcast live by accident in many of the television markets.[12] As he had two years remaining on his contract, however, Bearer was used as a booker for the company up until WWE decided to terminate his contract on April 11, 2005.[5]
On June 10, 2005, Bearer announced that he had signed a new deal with WWE, allowing it to market his personality and requiring he attend autograph sessions, make promotional appearances and occasionally work television and house shows. In late January 2007, at aSmackDown!/ECW house show inMobile, Alabama, Bearer joinedThe Brothers of Destruction at ringside, carrying the original urn.[13]
Bearer returned to the Boston-basedMillennium Wrestling Federation as top heel manager along withJohn "Bradshaw" Layfield after four years, leading "Stalker" Dylan Kage at Soul Survivor VI againstThe Iron Sheik and"Black Machismo" Jay Lethal in the Sheik's retirement match on April 24, 2010.[5] On October 12, 2012, Bearer managed Vader against Rikishi at Pro Wrestling Syndicate inRahway, New Jersey.[14]
The final wrestler managed by Bearer on the independent circuit was Shaun Ricker, who would later become widely known in WWE under the ring nameLA Knight.[15]
On the September 24, 2010, episode ofSmackDown, Bearer made his first on-screen appearance in six years after being brought out in acasket. He helpedThe Undertaker, who was feuding withKane over theWorld Heavyweight Championship, by restoring The Undertaker's powers with the urn.[16] Bearer officially became The Undertaker's manager again by accompanying him to the ring for his match against Kane for the title at theHell in a Cell pay-per-view. During the match, Bearer once again turned on The Undertaker, after shining a light in his eyes when he was about to Tombstone Kane. He then let Kane hit The Undertaker with the urn to help him win.[17] On the October 15 episode ofSmackDown, Bearer challenged The Undertaker to face Kane in aBuried Alive Match for the World Heavyweight Championship atBragging Rights, to which The Undertaker accepted by attacking Kane. At Bragging Rights, Kane once again defeated The Undertaker after interference by Bearer, who was almost thrown in the grave by The Undertaker, andThe Nexus, who helped Bearer and Kane bury The Undertaker.
Kane then entered a feud withEdge, after he was named the new challenger to Kane's World Heavyweight Championship atSurvivor Series. On the November 12 episode ofSmackDown, Kane cost Edge his match against Nexus memberDavid Otunga. After the match, Edge kidnapped Bearer by strapping him in a wheelchair. Later that night, Edge used Bearer to cost Kane his match againstBig Show. The following week, Edge tormented Bearer throughout the night by throwing adodgeball at him and force feeding and throwingpizza all over him. Edge then used Bearer to call for Kane in the parking lot, but Kane wasn't able to get Bearer in time as Edge attacked him and drove off with Bearer. At Survivor Series, Edge brought an empty wheelchair causing Kane to go mad frantically trying to interrogate him on where Bearer was held. Even though the match ended in a draw, Kane was unable to find Bearer as Edge wheeled his enemy into a barricade. On the November 26 episode ofSmackDown, Kane demanded that Edge to let Bearer go, but Edge refused. Kane attempted to track down Bearer, but was unable to find him. Kane offered a second title shot to Edge, which he accepted, but continued to keep Bearer with him. At the end of the night, Edge lured Kane to the parking lot, where Edge drove over a dummy version of Paul Bearer, with the actual Paul Bearer in the backseat of the car. On the December 3 episode ofSmackDown, Edge continued his mind games with Kane by pushing a dummy version of Paul Bearer down some stairs. Then, after Edge defeated Kane in a non-title match, he brought out a Paul Bearer lookalike. Kane then went to search for Bearer again, but Edge drove away in a truck with Bearer tied up on the back. The following week, Kane begged Edge to return Bearer, but Edge once again refused. Kane then refused to participate in the main event that night and once again searched for Bearer. After seeing what he thought was a dummy version of Paul Bearer on top of two ladders, Kane pushed them over. Afterward, Kane saw that he pushed the actual Paul Bearer off the ladders onto the concrete floor, thus,injuring him and writing him out of the storyline.[18]
In April 2012, Bearer returned for a brief stint as a part of Kane's ongoing feud withRandy Orton. He was kidnapped by Orton and then stuck in a storage freezer while strapped to a wheelchair. Kane later came for Bearer, only to roll him back into the freezer and saying, "I'm saving you... from me". This would mark Bearer's final appearance in WWE.[19] Bearer was advertised to reunite with The Undertaker and Kane onWWE Raw 1000 in July 2012, but could not make the event due to scheduling and travel conflicts.[20]
Paul Bearer has been a playable character in at least five WWE-licensed video games:WWF Attitude,WWF WrestleMania 2000,WWF SmackDown!,WWF No Mercy, andWWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role. Bearer was also featured as a manager in theTHQ video gameWWE Legends of WrestleMania in 2009 (depending on whether or not he's paired with The Undertaker, he enters with or without his signature urn).[21] In 2010, Moody did voice over work as Paul Bearer for the game,WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, where he was featured in one of theRoad To WrestleMania storylines for the game, as well as a selectable manager.[22] He was also inWWE All Stars (during The Undertaker's "Path of Champions", voiced again by Moody),[23]WWE '13,[24] andWWE 2K14 as a selectable manager and part of the Attitude Era single-player mode, and 30 Years of WrestleMania mode respectively representing The Brothers of Destruction.[25] Bearer further appeared as a manager inWWE 2K15 (from the "Path of the Warrior" Showcase DLC),WWE 2K16 (as part of the "Austin 3:16" Showcase),WWE 2K24, andWWE 2K25 (unlocked via VC).
Moody married Dianna McDole in December 1978 and had two sons, Michael and Daniel.[4] Daniel wrestled on the independent circuit as DJ Pringle.[5] Dianna died due to complications resulting frombreast cancer on January 31, 2009.[26] On September 21, 2014, his son Michael died.[27]
In November 2003, WWE assisted Moody with $35,000 forgastric bypass surgery as a signing bonus.[28] Moody's health improved with him eventually dropping around 240 pounds. He admitted that prior to the operation, he had weighed 525 pounds (238 kg) and had difficulty walking.[29]
In 2005, Moody, with three business partners started his own independent promotion known asGulf South Wrestling. He dissolved the company in May 2007 after learning that his partners wanted to force him out of the promotion and operate it without him.[30] He returned full-time to his funeral business in 2006.
On March 2, 2013, Moody attended the annual Gulf Coast Wrestlers Reunion in Mobile, Alabama, riding a wheelchair. According to club board member "Cowboy" Bob Kelly, Moody was having breathing difficulties at the event.[31] He was coughing, and told friends he was going to seek treatment for respiratory problems as he had trouble standing at the time.[31] Kelly said that Moody was treated for ablood clot after the reunion.[31] On March 5, 2013, Moody died inMobile, Alabama, at the age of 58 due to aheart attack.[32] The cause of the heart attack wassupraventricular tachycardia, which causes a dangerously high heart rate.[32] He is interred beside his wife at Serenity Memorial Gardens Cemetery inTheodore, Alabama.[33]
Following his death, Moody became a driving point in WWE storylines; the March 11 episode ofRaw was held as a tribute to Bearer.[34]The Undertaker paid tribute but was interrupted byCM Punk, hisWrestleMania 29 opponent.[34] Punk then mocked Bearer over the next few weeks against both The Undertaker andKane, including stealing his urn and attacking Kane with it.[34][35][36] On the April 1 episode ofRaw,Paul Heyman dressed up as Paul Bearer and Punk poured the ashes of the urn onto The Undertaker after attacking him.[37] At WrestleMania 29, The Undertaker defeated Punk and took back the urn, dedicating his victory to Paul Bearer.[38]
On the March 3, 2014, episode ofRaw it was announced that Paul Bearer would be inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame.[39][40] At the ceremony itself, Kane inducted Bearer, and his sons Michael and Daniel Moody accepted the induction; afterwards, The Undertaker came out in character and paid tribute.[41] Bearer's family was also presented a Hall of Fame ring, which was later featured in a 2016 episode ofPawn Stars; the seller stated his ring was given to him by his family, but he declined show hostRick Harrison's $4,000 offer. Bearer's son Daniel later stated that the ring was a fake.[42]
On November 22, 2020, a transparent image of Paul Bearer appeared for The Undertaker's final farewell atSurvivor Series while The Undertaker performed his trademark kneeling pose.[43][44][45]
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
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