March 5 was a very sad day for WWE fans as news broke that legendary wrestling manager William "Paul Bearer" Moody passed away. Paul Bearer grew to fame as the manager for WWE superstars The Undertaker, Mick Foley and Kane.
Before he was Paul Bearer, Moody made his name in Championship Wrestling from Florida and World Class Championship Wrestling as the evil manager Percy Pringle III. He managed men in World Class such as Ravishing Rick Rude and the Dingo Warrior, a man later known as The Ultimate Warrior.
However, it was when he made his debut in the WWE as the manager for the Undertaker. As the mouth piece for the Dead Man, and the manager who carried the mystical urn, Bearer became one of the most famous characters in the entire WWE.
Later in his tenure in the WWE, he betrayed the Undertaker and brought in the deranged Mankind (Mick Foley) to battle his former charge. These two men carried on one of the most legendary feuds in the WWE, which included deadly Boiler Room battles. It culminated at Hell in a Cell, where Undertaker threw Foley off the top of the cage.
Next up, Bearer brought in Kane, the brother of The Undertaker, who blamed his brother for killing their parents and leaving him for dead. Paul Bearer ended up back with The Undertaker eventually, but soon left the WWE for health reasons.
Moody had gained a tremendous amount of weight and began to suffer from health problems. Over the next decade, Bearer made various appearances and finally left when Undertaker "killed him" by burying him in cement. He turned out to have lived from that and returned one more time during Kane's feud with Edge.
Various WWE stars, both past and present tweeted their condolences to Paul Bearer.
"It’s very sad to hear about the passing of a great & unique performer, Bill Moody-Paul Bearer. My thoughts & prayers go out to his family." - Matt Hardy
"Rest in peace, Paul Bearer. You will never be forgotten. There will never be another. #PaulBearer" - Triple H
"Sad, sad news… Percy my friend, I will always cherish our friendship we shared over the years… Since 88′ you’ve always made me smile From the 1st time we shared our love of country music or our love of this business, you always put that “Perciville perspective” on things.. R I P Percy… Love ya my friend…" - Jeff Jarrett
"Very sad! God be with william moody’s family! God protect the moody family, please. Prayers sent. So sad OMG!! NO! :’-( rest in peace Mr. Moody, may your wife be there to welcome you home. You will be (cont) http://tl.gd/l7r4em" - Goldust
"Just informed via http://wwe.com Paul Bearer aka Percy Pringle passed away earlier today. I have no other details. RIP old friend." - Jim Ross
"This picture was taken 10 days ago…we lost a dear friend today..you will be missed by many, Paul Bearer. pic.twitter.com/ceLtqapzB0" - Jerry Lawler
"Very sad about Paul Bearer,he was a great person and one of the original boys,he was what made wrestling great much love much respect HH" - Hulk Hogan
"Goodbye to a good friend, Paul Bearer. Say hi to Owen for me." - Bret Hart
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