Paul Perschmann, also known as Playboy Buddy Rose, was one of the most consummate pros in wrestling. Though he never achieved any major success in WWE, he was lauded regularly for his commitment to wrestling. This commitment showed itself in a number of ways, including when he began portraying an overweight comedy heel. He was still very versatile, and managed to work a decent opener for the inaugural WrestleMania against Tito Santana. Perschmann died on April 28, 2009, four years after having retired from wrestling. He passed away from natural causes, though it was believed to have had some relation to the weight problems he had been suffering from since the 1980s.