Paul Bearer Released from WWE...again.

[I-Hate-You]

William "Paul Bearer/Percy Pringle III" Moody posted the following on his website today:

Saturday, April 09, 2005
Back To Business...

With great respect and consideration to all of my friends and supporters through the years, I sincerely feel that you should hear the following announcement directly from me. At times information can get misconstrued on the wrestling Internet. I want to ensure that before the anticipated communication leaks occur, that you get the complete truth that you so rightfully deserve.

During a telephone conversation yesterday with John Laurinaitis, from World Wrestling Entertainment Talent Relations, I was informed that the company decided to terminate my booking contract dated October 3, 2003. The contract specifies that the agreement may be terminated for any reason whatsoever by providing me with ninety (90) days advance written notice. My 90-day written notice will be issued by WWE Legal Department on Monday, April 11th.

I would like to say that our conversation was a courtesy, very cordial, and definitely not unexpected. The WWE creative department has not been able to come up with a viable storyline for the Paul Bearer character since he was “buried” in cement at THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH on June 27, 2004.

The last two years have indeed been a blessing, as the company made a major life saving surgery possible for me. I will always treasure the many friendships and memories of my almost 14-year association with The McMahon Family. I will never shut the door on a future relationship with WWE, as you well know anything can happen.

The next 90-days will be very important for me, as I must make some serious career decisions. Once again, I appreciate your thoughts and prayers. For some odd reason I feel like it’s somebody’s birthday around here tomorrow. I know it can’t be mine! Then again, it very well could be. Hehee…

Take care, my friends.
~Percy

----

I'm surprised he still had a job.

[jerichoholic169]

wtf i thought he left after the GAB - being buried alive in cement kind of does that unless you're taker. i thought that was the way that he said goodbye and left the company....oh well. i swear i read him saying EXACTLY the same thing then.

I remember there being a picture of him a few months back where he'd lost a lot of weight after he had an op.

[Marcyo]

The WWE creative department has not been able to come up with a viable storyline for the Paul Bearer character since he was “buried” in cement at THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH on June 27, 2004.

What a surprise. At least they didnt put him in a pregnancy angle where he's pregnant from Heidenreich.

[SuperSlim]

oh. I thought he been gone

[Gertner]

same here

[Kane Knight]

YEah, I had no idea he was still on the payroll.

[LK]

I thought he just came in for a few months for the return of the Undertaker.

[redoneja]

:|

[Pegasus Crawford]

The WWE creative department has not been able to come up with a viable storyline for the Paul Bearer character since he was “buried” in cement at THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH on June 27, 2004.

Since when did the creative team ever took "viable storyline" into consideration?

[I-Hate-You]

What? You mean you weren't hoping for the return of Paul Bearer as a block of cement?

[Gouda]

They should have brought him back as Kane's son. Think about it. It would explain the weight loss. They'd say that he came here from a paralell reality in which Snitsky didn't kill him. He'd show up warning Kane about a grave danger that threatens to tear apart both their worlds.

That threat would of course be.... PAPA SHANGO.

It would result in a long drawn out storyline which would eventually see Kane unite with Snitsky, his mortal enemy, in order to finally defeat Papa Shango.

I smell ratings.

[YOUR Hero]

What? You mean you weren't hoping for the return of Paul Bearer as a block of cement?
...in case you can't picture it.

[Kane Knight]

LOL

[TerranRich]

I smell ratings.

Apparently ratings and shit have similar odors. :p

[PullMyFinger]

That cement shit easily has to be amongst the top 10 stupidest, more embarassing thing ever done in WWE history.

[vampiro03]

The Stupid Files

1. "kane your a murderer"! and we all know what followed.
2. The Red Rooster
3. Big Bossman pulling Bigshows fathers casket around with his truck.
4. Al Wilson
5. Dr. Izacc Yankem dds
6. The Austin/Pillman gun thing.
7. Doink
8. Gobblygooker
9. Mae Young giving birth to a hand
10. Paul Bearer in cement

[KayfabeMan]

Speaking of Paul Bearer, how come WWE never pushed Kane as a second generation WWE superstar? :shifty:

[Kane Knight]

Speaking of Paul Bearer, how come WWE never pushed Kane as a second generation WWE superstar? :shifty:
Paul's not really a SUPERSTAR.

Unless his mom is Mae Young...

[KayfabeMan]

Paul's not really a SUPERSTAR

That's true.

He's a legend. :yes:

It'd be great if when they induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame, if they had a giant block of concrete come out and accept the award / induction :lol:

[I-Hate-You]

Speaking of Paul Bearer, how come WWE never pushed Kane as a second generation WWE superstar? :shifty:
Would you want people to know your dad wrestled under the name Percy Pringle?

[Kane Knight]

That's true.

He's a legend. :yes:

It'd be great if when they induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame, if they had a giant block of concrete come out and accept the award / induction :lol:
Just chisel his face out. ;)

[Kane Knight]

Would you want people to know your dad wrestled under the name Percy Pringle?
is it really worse than "Isaac Yankem, DDS?"

[Pepsi Man]

It's nice to see they kept paying him. Say what you want about a "lack of contribution" to wrestling, Percy was there for the company for quite a while, and as best as I can tell, he seems like a genuinely nice person, and after his wife's situation, he really needed some help. I'm glad he got it from the WWE.

I personally have thought they could bring him back as a...

oh shit. Actually, just typing this, I thought of this. Now I don't even like this guy I'm going to name, but fuck it. It makes some sense.

Randy's been having his problems with Undertaker leading up to Mania. In this last segment with Kane, Kane said that Orton can't beat what he "can't understand".

When Randy comes back from injury, he can come back on SmackDown! (explain this however the hell you want; guys have switched shows before with no explanation, so whatever), and start talking about Undertaker, then mention his conversations with Kane from this past week.

He can then talk about how Kane was right. Randy DIDN'T understand The Undertaker, and therefore, he couldn't beat him...but that's about to change, because he's been receiving lessons from someone very close to Undertaker.

Hell, maybe Randy could even insinuate that it's Taker's wife Sara. I don't know what that would accomplish, but it just came to me for some reason. It's not vital anyway.

What IS vital is that Paul Bearer comes out and sides with Orton, very, VERY angry about what Taker did to him at the Bash.

Remember, this IS open, as the WWE changed it from "he's dead!" to "Paul was left for dead, but was rushed to the hospital after the show. His career may be over."

[M. Banana]

Who's Paul Bearer?

[Pepsi Man]

Who's Paul Bearer?
Are you being serious? (I ask, because I understand that it's entirely possible, and I can't tell. :$ )

[M. Banana]

Yes, I have no idea who he is.

[M. Banana]

Also, what is this Great American Bash you people speak of?!

[Pepsi Man]

Yes, I have no idea who he is.
Alright. Paul actually started out in wrestling in like the 70s or something. He kept on waiting for his big break, and eventually, Rick Rood (aka Rick Rude...a well known former wrestler, former WWF Intercontinental Champion, and I think WCW US as well as WCW International Champion - had many memorable feuds with guys from Jake Roberts to Ultimate Warrior to Sting) actually got Paul, then known as Percy Pringle III, a job somewhere in some minor promotion or something.

I'm not as familiar with Percy's past as I should be for having browsed his website so much, so there's going to be a big gap between all of that and...

late 1990/early 1991, where he ended up in the WWF, as Undertaker's manager. Undertaker was debuted as Ted DiBiase's mystery tag team partner at the 1990 Survivor Series, and Brother Love was his manager. Eventually, Brother Love turned Undertaker over to Bearer, a "crooked preacher" or something.

Paul would go on to manage Undertaker up until SummerSlam of 1996, in which he turned on Undertaker and cost him his Boiler Room Brawl Match against Mankind. From that point, Paul went on to manage Mankind and eventually Vader as well.

Undertaker won the WWF Title at WrestleMania XIII by defeating Psycho Sid. Bearer forced Undertaker to join him, Vader, and Mankind and do his bidding, because if not, he would reveal some devastating secret about Undertaker's past. "Remember the fire!"

Undertaker reluctantly joined forces with his ex manager for the sake of the secret. Eventually, Undertaker had enough, and so he turned on Bearer and actually attacked him, if I'm not mistaken.

Paul then revealed the "secret". Apparently, as a youth, Undertaker had started a fire that killed his parents and his brother, or so Undertaker thought. Undertaker claimed that it was his brother that had started the fire, and that he knew nothing about it.

Paul claimed Undertaker's brother (named Kane) lived! Bearer taunted Taker for a couple of months, coming out during Undertaker's matches, but no one really seemed to believe Bearer. At the Bad Blood Pay-Per-View in October of 1997, Paul proved that it was true. Kane lives! Kane would rip the door off a Hell in a Cell in the first ever Hell in a Cell Match pitting Undertaker against Shawn Michaels for a shot at the WWF Title at the 1997 Survivor Series.

Kane Tombstoned Undertaker, and Shawn picked up the win. Paul kept having Kane interrupt various matches, hurting all the baby faces and saying it was on Undertaker's head. Kane wanted a match with Undertaker, but Undertaker had apparently made a promise to his parents before they died that he would never fight Kane.

Well, of course Kane and Paul Bearer proceeded to burn Undertaker alive, or so it seemed, at the 1998 Royal Rumble. Undertaker was challenging Shawn Michaels for the WWF Title in a Casket Match. Many heels interfered, but ultimately, it was Kane that cost Undertaker the match, and then they lit the casket on fire.

Undertaker was dead. The end. Right? No. Leading up to WrestleMania XIV, Undertaker showed back up, and he would go on to defeat Kane at Mania that year. He apologized to his parents at their grave for fighting Kane, but basically said he didn't have a choice. Also, in the buildup to the said Mania match, it was revealed through DNA testing that Paul Bearer was actually Kane's father. Jerry the King Lawler made a comment about that, and paid for it with a beating on Raw.

Mankind would go on to team with Kane, and in the process, end back up under Bearer's wing.

August of 1998, leading up to SummerSlam, there was speculation that Undertaker and Kane were in collusion. In a Triple Threat Match, Undertaker was to take on Kane and Mankind on an edition of Raw. This is what got Undertaker that SummerSlam Title shot, but not in the way you would think.

Undertaker never showed up for the match. Vince McMahon even ordered ring announcer Tony Chimel to announce, "The Undertaker is not here, because he is a chicken shit." Mankind had refused to strike his "good friend" Kane, but Kane had no reservations about beating the Hell out of Mankind, then pinning him. Kane ripped off his mask that night, only to reveal that he was actually The Undertaker!

There was a lot of debate as to whether or not that was Taker and Kane in cohoots or what, but that ended on an edition of Raw in August. Vince McMahon for whatever reason "forced" Undertaker and Kane to clarify their relationship, and they revealed that they were indeed in cohoots. Kane turned his back, allowing Undertaker to beat up Kane's own dad, and then they beat up Mankind.

Undertaker refused Kane's help during his title match at SummerSlam, though. He wanted to prove that he could beat Stone Cold Steve Austin fair and square, man to man. Kane came out, only to be sent away by Undertaker. Stone Cold got the win following the Stone Cold Stunner.

Vince McMahon was not happy. He thought that this union of Undertaker and Kane would've meant for SURE that Austin would've lost the title, and so he actually called Undertaker and Kane a couple of "putrid pussies". This got Undertaker and Kane to attack the entire roster that night, face and heel. They were out to prove a point, and a point they proved.

Vince had a hell of an idea. At the September Pay-Per-View in 2000, which I think was known as Breakdown, it would be Undertaker vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, vs. Kane. After all, Vince had said to Austin, "I'm damn sick and tired of watching you walk around with that WWF Championship belt!" The match had a unique stipulation, too. Kane couldn't win by pinning Undertaker, and Undertaker couldn't win by pinning Kane. Kane and Undertaker simultaneously pinned Austin following a Double Chokeslam.

Vince ruled that the men would have to fight each other for the title at the October Pay-Per-View, which I think was Unforgiven, but then again, maybe it was No Mercy. I can't think right now. Anyway, it was to be Undertaker vs. Kane, with Steve Austin as the special referee, and if Austin didn't declare a winner, he would be fired on the spot!

During the match, Paul Bearer came out seemingly to assist Kane, but instead, he turned on Kane, attacking him with a chair, I think, and seemingly costing him the match. Of course, a couple of Stone Cold Stunners later, and both men were down, and Austin banged his hand on the mat three times, then declared himself the winner.

He then asked if McMahon had the balls to fire him, and much to Austin's shock, Vince DID indeed fire him, and he had a masked body guard with him, just in case. This man turned out to be a returning Big Boss Man, who had spent the previous four or five years in WCW.

Anyway, Paul would once again manage Undertaker, now with Undertaker admitting he DID set the fire during the boys' childhood. Paul would help Undertaker assemble a "Ministry of Darkness", which would later be aligned with Vince McMahon's "Corporation" as the "Corporate Ministry". Paul helped Undertaker get back the WWF Title briefly from Austin in 1999, but Austin ultimately won it back.

In September of 1999, Undertaker decided that he was going to start doing what he wanted, when he wanted, and when he refused to take on Triple H in a Casket Match on SmackDown!, Vince fired him or indefinitely suspended him. They weren't very clear, but that was no more Undertaker, and no more Paul Bearer, until...

Kane's running buddy X-Pac had turned on him to rejoin D-Generation X in November of 1999. Kane then only had his girlfriend Tori (not Torrie Wilson) as a "friend" or whatever. Mind you that during this entire point, Kane always had to have someone to help control him. Even when it wasn't Paul Bearer, it was someone, be it Chyna, be it Shane McMahon, Vince himself, WHATEVER.

Tori eventually turned on Kane and joined X-Pac. X-Pac had beaten Kane in some match where if X-Pac won, Tori had to spend the holidays with him or something. Tori came back from that claiming X-Pac was a gentlemen, but then, when Kane least expected it, she turned on him. Kane had nobody.

With no one to control the monsterous Kane, Kane was going to be sent to a mental institution, but Paul Bearer came out and changed all of that. He was back in his son's corner, and he would manage Kane for a while again, and then he just randomly disappeared and wouldn't be heard from again, until...

WrestleMania XX, when Undertaker was set to take on Kane. See, Undertaker had almost become mortal. He was now a biker redneck, chewing tobacco all the time, modifying his ring style, and generally was just a different guy. Kane changed that in November of 2003, by helping Vince McMahon defeat The Undertaker in a Buried Alive Match, at the 2003 Survivor Series.

Starting at the Royal Rumble, in January of '04, the lights would go out, and a bell could be heard tolling. Kane was SURE Undertaker was dead, long gone, and so was Vince McMahon, but damn it, somehow it just didn't seem that way. Vince went ahead and made the match, even though Undertaker STILL had never been seen physically since the Buried Alive Match.

Just before Undertaker came out, Paul Bearer came out and proclaimed to Kane, "You're no son of mine!" Bearer would go on to manage Undertaker, until he was kidnapped by the Dudley Boyz, who were trying to make a good impression on Paul Heyman. Heyman kept Bearer hostage for a month and made Undertaker do his bidding, constantly threatening Bearer's life. At the Great American Bash in 2004, there was a "Do or Die Handicapped Match". It would be Undertaker vs. the Dudley Boyz, and if Undertaker did the "right thing", Paul Bearer would be released. If not, Bearer would be crushed by cement pouring onto him in a tank that Heyman had constructed.

It started bad when Undertaker refused to lay down for the Dudley Boyz, which is apparently what Heyman had ordered. Heyman kept on releasing cement into the tank, more and more with each offensive move by Undertaker. Undertaker won the match, chased off Heyman, and got control of the mechanism. Bearer was up to his neck in cement, but he had a smile on his face. "You can save me now, Undertaker. Ohh yeeeees. You can save me now."

Taker got down on one knee, then talked into the microphone. "Paul, it has to be this way. I have no other choice. Rest...in...peace." With that, Undertaker finished the job himself, filling the tank with cement and leaving Bearer for dead. That was the last Paul Bearer appeared on WWE television.

[M. Banana]

You could have just said he did stuff with Taker, Kane, etc..

I didn't need a biography.

[Pepsi Man]

You could have just said he did stuff with Taker, Kane, etc..

I didn't need a biography.
Well I'm an Undertaker mark, and I also like Paul Bearer, or Percy Pringle, whatever he prefers being called these days. The guy ran a message board of his own once, and I'd try to post occasionally, and he'd always have nice answers and thank the users for using his board. He constantly thanked the fans of pro wrestling for everything he got in his career.

Therefore, I couldn't help but offer what I could on his career to someone who had never heard of him. :o

[KayfabeMan]

You're just lucky you didn't ask me a question about someone.

Or you could of wound up with a biography longer than that one :lol:

[Pepsi Man]

You're just lucky you didn't ask me a question about someone.

Or you could of wound up with a biography longer than that one :lol:
Easily, I'm sure. What is it with some of these kids? No respect for learning the heritage. :nono:

[M. Banana]

KayfabeMan, who's that guy in your avatar?

[Pepsi Man]

KayfabeMan, who's that guy in your avatar?
I'm not KayfabeMan, but if I'm right, that's Conan O'Brien, who has a late night talk show on NBC following Jay Leno on weeknights.

[Kane Knight]

Are you being serious? (I ask, because I understand that it's entirely possible, and I can't tell. :$ )
He's being sarcastic. Everyone knows the guy from the Pringles can. :D

[tucsonspeed6]

Ok, now a tough one! Guess the guy in my avatar....yeah I know it's obscure and he hasn't been on TV in 9 years I think, but I think somebody might get it

[Kane Knight]

He's Booker T's partner from Harlem Heat, right?

[Gouda]

Great trip down memory lane right there...

[Kane Knight]

I think I tripped over memory lane.

[PullMyFinger]

I still wonder why in the fuck they did that cement shit.

[Gouda]

I think I tripped over memory lane.

You must have fell into one of the plotholes. Gotta watch out for those. Pretty dangerous.