Requiescat in Pace, Paul Bearer

[Banzai]

William Moody, AKA Paul Bearer (and Percy Pringle for those of us old enough,) died at 58.  No details, but I know he had been fighting rampant diabetes for years, exacerbated by many many many road years.  One of the premier pro-wrestling  personalities, he will be missed.   :'(

[StoneRhino]

This is one of those threads where someone is mentioned that has passed where I actually stopped for a second to think about when I heard the news. I saw it mentioned online this morning and my brother sent me a text when he found out later today.

My brother and I grew up watching WWF/WWE wrestling. One of the biggest deals for us was when we saw the WWE/WWF perform at a local minor league baseball stadium back in the early years of the Undertaker and Paul Bearer storyline. We got to see Paul Bearer leaving out of one of the gates. We used to imitate his tone. The man played his role creepily well, something many pro wrestling personalities need work on.

It sucks to hear about him passing, especially after I thought I saw him coming back into one of the shows, which was cool because it was a return of someone we grew up watching, wondering what he might do to affect the outcome of a match. That and wondering what the story was behind the urn he carried early on. Definitely a big personality within sea of big personalities.

[Banzai]

I got the opportunity to interview some of the wrestlers for a project back in the day. Roddy Piper, who lives up here in Stumptown; Scotty the Body, who eventually became Raven; Hulk Hogan; Rick Martel; The Funk Brothers; and a few others.  It gave me a broader view of the show, both backstage and the cost.  Never got to interview Bill/Paul, but everyone I have ever spoken to never had a bad thing to say about him.  Which, in that business, is incredibly rare.

I just poured him a glass of Temperance Trader Bourbon, along with my own.  Watching a few old matches.  A wake, of a sort, I suppose.

[Snake Eyes]

 :( A sad day indeed for pro wrestling.......i still watch WWF/WWE when i can.

[garhkal]

Same here..  PB and the Undertaker were always one of my fave pairings.. 

[ChrisSymons1981]

As a wrestling fan myself, I can definitely say that something of value has been lost.

[I am Belch II]

When I was watching WWF I really liked Paul Bearer and the Undertaker.  I liked him a lot when he was Brother Love, and had those segments where they would interview some other wrestler and it would end up bad and end up fighting. Loved Piper's Pit!!!

[StoneRhino]

 :o wait, PB was brother love? I remember that skit, those were always pure gold. I'll have to go back and look for some vids of it.

As far as pro wrestling goes,I know a lot of people talk bad about it, but really even if the chokes and punches aren't real there is still a lot of insane timing, agility, planning, and brute force being applied to create a show that is entertaining when you view it as entertainment. Think of all the really bad shows that go on to become famous, such as grey's anatomy, where it is absolute nonsense and impossible to see those people as actually being doctors. Seeing them as janitors is really hard to believe, much less doctors, yet people talk about pro wrestling!

Those men and women have to work hard to put on such a show. It has to take a heck of a toll on the body as well. I'm not sure when the last time most of us chucked another human being was, or hopped up onto a rope and delivered a fast and forceful kick that stops just milimeters from the face of another person;being accurate and controlled, but also able to make it look as though you actually made contact. Not sure the last time either of us volunteered to be in the position to be tossed or almost kicked in the face was. Gotta give them credit for that.

[Banzai]

Brother Love was Bruce Prichard, who is in management for one of the companies now, I don't remember which.

[Mecha82]

This is sad day for pro-wrestling fans every were. 

[garhkal]

Those men and women have to work hard to put on such a show. It has to take a heck of a toll on the body as well. I'm not sure when the last time most of us chucked another human being was, or hopped up onto a rope and delivered a fast and forceful kick that stops just milimeters from the face of another person;being accurate and controlled, but also able to make it look as though you actually made contact. Not sure the last time either of us volunteered to be in the position to be tossed or almost kicked in the face was. Gotta give them credit for that.

Agreed..  Back in the late 80s while i still lived and went to school in england, we had 3 people in the audience that verbally berated the wrestlers saying how fake it was..  They soon shut up, when the manager of one of the wrestlers asked them to go to his training camp for just ONE DAY.