10 Things You Didn't Know About Paul Bearer

He's a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, secreted inside a paradox.

By Jack Morrell / February 9, 2016

WWE has a bad habit of retelling stories, and then treating their version of the narrative as the single true one. That extends to presenting their own storylines as actual wrestling history, muddying the distinction between work and shoot still further. Nowhere is their revisionist approach to real life events any more evident than in their refusal to acknowledge the pre-WWE background of many of the people that have performed for them over the years. Last years brilliantly-produced tribute videos for Dusty Rhodes and Roddy Piper showcased clips of their careers outside of the WWF/E, giving credence to the legendary status attributed to them. By contrast, their tribute video for William Moody two years earlier was a whitewash: a montage of the man in his role as Paul Bearer, the Undertakers manager and father figure, and talking head footage of various WWE superstars talking about the characters on-air mannerisms. You'd be forgiven for thinking that WWE had invented Bill Moody, that he'd sprung, fully formed, from Vince McMahon's forehead.Of course, it's still a well-crafted video, and no ones claiming that the WWE executive didnt care about the man. But its not representative of Bill Moodys life or career, and it doesnt begin to hint at the many, many reasons why hes considered (by those in the know) as such an important figure in the history of American professional wrestling in the last few decades. This article is a belated attempt to redress the balance a little. Here are ten things you may not have known about the life and times of William Alvin Moody, may he Rest In Peace.