Paul Bearer

Real Name: William Moody

Stage Name: Percy Pringle III, Paul Bearer

Date of Birth: April 10 1953        Home Town: Mobile Alabama

Height:         Weight: .

Brief Bio:

Paul's first interest in pro wrestling was found in his home town of Mobile when his parents took him to a taping of a show called, "Wrestling Live on Channel 5" when he was 6 years old. It was the start of an interest that grew more heavy as he got older, and would attend the Gufl Coast Wrestling live shows, ringside everytime the sport was in town.

William also had interest in photography, this ended up being his big ticket inside the sport. Rather than being ringside, he was offered to take pictures of the live shows and fed newspapers and magazines alike, his works.

During his time around the sport, he was later taught some techniques by some of the big names of the time like: RICKY FIELDS, KEN LUCAS, TERRY LATHAM, and "COWBOY" BOB KELLY.

Althought joining the U.S airforce shortly after finishing high school, William kept his connections with the Gulf Coast promotion and even became a wrestler himself entering the ring under such names as:"the Embalmer" in 1975 and then another as "Dr. Rigor Mortis".

Leaving the Air force in 1976 with a honorable discharge, William began working as a mortician at Higgans Funeral Parlor in his home town of Mobile.

His big break into the sport of Wrestling finally happened during April 1978, a replacement was being sought for in a match against "Dr. X" ( Played by Jim Osbourne). Happening in Vicksburg, William snatched the chance and impressed the man in charge, Frankie Chan, who asked Moody to become a manager.

William, who thought he didn't stand a chance to make it, had would suddenly turn into what can only be considered as one of wrestling's most memorable characters in the sport's history...the role of the "Delicate Flower of the Sunny Southland", Percy Pringle III.

As Percy, William, with his often flashy & over-flamboyant suits and dramatic ruffled shirts -complete with his ever present (and weapon for when the referee wasn't looking) walking stick, exploded onto the scene with a tag team called, The Mongolians.

Moody took up more names under his care: Oki Shilkina, Don "The Spoiler" Jardine and a guy he would meet again later as Paul Bearer, "Ugly Bear Harris" (or, as you may know him better, "Kamala", who was treated to WWF's very first casket match at in 1992).

With his stable set, Pringle toured Japan in the summer of 1979 with his Mongolian tag-team.

By 1984, though, the sport was erging him back. He once more returned to the squared circle as "Percy Pringle" which this time around, turned him into more of a household name than before with a stable called, "The Pringle Dynasty".

Working for the organization man, Eddie Graham in Florida, Moody carried most all of wrestling's greatest stars under his contract: "Ravishing" Rick Rude, Eric Embory, PYT Express (Norvel Austin & Koko B. Ware), "The Assassin" (Jody Hamilton), "The Missing Link" (Dewey Robertson) and Jesse Barr amongst others.

With his legion, Moody jumped to the local Texas promotion which the famous Von Eric called home. Here "Alabama's favorite son", Pringle, managed to get his name on the contracts of more stars having a eye for talent that no one else seemed able to as though he was reading their future. All young guns that others said didn't stand a chance. "Nameless" faces like: Lex Luger, Blackjack Mulligan, and The Great Kabuki....the list was always vast as it was incredible. Most of it was a brush of shoulders though. Paul liked to keep his roster clean with new talent and many stars came and went.

It was while in Texas, though, where of all he had, William would hold his interest for years to come and deepest pride for....a young, unknown wrestler-in-practice billed as the "Texas Red"...a fresh out of college, Mark Callaway. As "Percy Pringle III", Bearer would brush shoulders w/ the new Houston born redhead more than once over the course of the next years pre-Undertaker Era. Mark Callaway, left the promotion. He would returned briefly into Moody's life with Gen. Skandor Akbar as the, "Punisher", but even that didn't last for very long before he left to surface eventually in CWA as "Master of Pain" with "Dirty" Dutch Mantel.

As Percy Pringle, Moody already was a hit and large names flocked for his guidance. Mark, on the other hand, was still struggling and wanted to ensure his imprint was left in multiple areas.
With Callaway seemingly out of the way, William gunned himself back into his work at the WWC (Wresting World Class) and became larger as well as more hated.

In the early 1990's a fued with the Dingo Warrior better known now as the, ULTIMATE WARRIOR   entered the ring under the guidance of Gary Hart.

Hart, at one time had been side by side with Pringle, but split on rather angry terms, so as Dingo pushed into a 6 man tag team with partners, Matt Borne and Buzz Sawyer to face Von Eric's Kevin, Mike and Lance, It seemed straining to begin with seeing that Brone and Sawyer were connected with Pringle and with the Warrior being the seat of the fued of manager and manager.
Both urged on by Pringle, Borne and Sawyer turned their backs on Warrior refusing to tag him out and Dingo ended up being used as a mop by the Von Erics.

Pringle who normally avoids the treading on thin ice -entered the ring and began belittling and verbally abusing a very beaten Warrior. Dingo Warrioir was enraged and showed it by grabbing William's trademark walking stick and unmercifully beat him severely about the legs, feet and toes. The crowd roared as Percy danced around the ring fighting to keep his body intact before Warrior broke the stick over his knee and treated the hated manager to a clothesline.

Undoubtedly, Pringle was the puppet of other antics. Shortly after his fued with the Dingo, Percy ended up in another with the monsterous, very Luna-like, female wrestler by the name of Mad Maxine who ended up beating Pringle within a inch of his life. A Dynasty was coming to a close.

At the Survivor Series on November 22nd. 1990, Mark Callaway, the Undertaker, exploded onto the World Wrestling Federation scene originally lead to the ring by the likes of "Brother Love" (Played by current WWF Official, Bruce Pritchard)

January 28th 1991 -just shortly following the Royal Rumble - Brother Love "decided" that he could no longer offer the type of attention he felt that his man. William had prior in-depth knowledge of the funeral business that would suit Callaway's current needs and most certainly a important factor to his being hired. Laying "Percy Pringle" to rest, Moody dyed his hair pitch black, heightened his vocal chords and DR. PAUL BEARER sprung into life.

As Bearer, the stables and dynasties became a thing of the past. Paul Bearer with his beloved Undertaker and trusty sacred urn would headline WWF event for nearly six solid years before their "break-up" in August 1996.

The Paul Bearer revealed to the world that the Undertaker killed his parents and attempted to murder his younger brother, by igniting their family-owned funeral parlor into a raging inferno. Proving to the world that the brother, Kane, did survive the fire, Bearer unleashed the seven-foot monster to the world. For the past twenty years, the malicious manager has been telling Kane that his brother is the one who set the fire that destroyed his family.

Celebrating over 25th year in the sport, William Moody still calls Alabama, and he still has his funeral license. Paul Bearing is currently writing for the WWF web site, and is expected to grace us with his presents in the squared circle in the next few months.

Links:

http://www.geocities.com/ladykandle2/main2.html
http://www.wwf.com