Life and Career of Paul Bearer Explored in Latest WWE Network Special

WWE announced on Friday that The Undertaker’s “Final Farewell” will take place at this year’s Survivor Series. In honor of a career that continues to feature false finishes and multiple comebacks, The Undertaker is taking a page out of the playbook of longtime manager Paul Bearer, who closed out his career with sporadic appearances that brought excitement to WWE programming.

The WWE Network released The Mortician: The Story of Paul Bearer on Saturday, which is must-see viewing for anyone that spent their formative years watching the World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s.

A real-life mortician, the documentary looks at the life of Bill Moody, who found his calling in wrestling as Paul Bearer. The story begins with a look at how the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy helped shape the future of an indispensable piece of wrestling history, as that was the event that caused the nine-year-old Moody to become infatuated with death.

Courtesy of WWE

Using footage from an interview that took place two years before his passing, Moody shared that he had two dreams as a child in Mobile. First, he wanted to become a funeral director, and the second was to become a pro wrestler. The Mortician tells a compelling story of Moody’s evolution from a wrestler—paying homage to his past as the Masked Embalmer—to manager as the cocky, fast-talking Percival “Percy” Pringle III.

As Pringle, he managed a number of wrestlers, like “Ravishing” Rick Rude and Lex Luger, that went on to become big stars in the industry. He was also serendipitously paired with a masked wrestler named Texas Red in June of 1987. The match, which took place under the World Class Championship Wrestling banner, saw the iconic Bruiser Brody make quick work of the nondescript masked big man. As fate would have it, Texas Red and Percy Pringle were reunited on a much grander platform, playing key roles in Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation—with Texas Red finding much more success as The Undertaker.

Moody shares the excitement and joy of a phone call he received from McMahon, explaining the way that Paul Bearer was first established. In addition to hearing directly from Moody, the documentary greatly benefits from interviews with Bruce Prichard, Glenn Jacobs and Mick Foley, as well as the unique perspective of Mark Calaway, who continues to star as The Undertaker.

A veteran of the United States Air Force, the story also delves into the personal story of Moody. This includes the love he held for his wife Dianna over the course of their 30-year marriage, which was cruelly interrupted in 2009 due to her fight against breast cancer. Moody dealt with weight issues, especially after his wife’s passing, increasing to an extremely unhealthy 525 pounds in 2003. This was particularly relevant for WWE, as there was interest in resurrecting the Paul Bearer character for WrestleMania XX at Madison Square Garden in 2004. Moody eventually returned to the company for the event, but he was in such poor condition following a gastric bypass surgery that he was unable to enter the ring for his customary spot holding the urn high above the kneeling Undertaker.

Longtime wrestling fans will enjoy Michael Hayes’s stories about Moody from the Mississippi wrestling territory. In 2013, when Moody passed away following a heart attack at only 58, it was Hayes who phoned Calaway to inform him that their friend was no longer with them.

It is not out of the ordinary for WWE programming to revise or even omit important parts of history, but that did not happen when reflecting back on the WrestleMania 29 storyline pitting The Undertaker against CM Punk.

Moody passed away in March of 2013, which was only weeks prior to WrestleMania 29, and his death was almost immediately worked into the Punk-Undertaker storyline. This likely only applies within the realm of pro wrestling, but including him as a part of the match, even when he was disparaged by Punk and Paul Heyman, added a tremendous amount of value to the match—and paid him a fitting tribute.

Punk did a tremendous job of mocking Paul Bearer. Although this could have been perceived as disrespectful, Calaway shared the reasoning behind it, as well as his belief that Moody would have delighted in knowing that he was still playing a major role at WrestleMania. A year later, Moody was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, which included an acceptance speech from his two sons as well as a tribute from The Undertaker.

Forever a piece of WWE lore, The Mortician paid proper respect to the unsung hero amidst all of The Undertaker’s success, perfectly capturing the story of Paul Bearer.

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.