10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 20 Facts
2. WWE Paid For Paul Bearer To Have Gastric Bypass Surgery To Convince Him To Return
The real-life William Moody had critical weight issues that became apparent as his WWE tenure progressed. While Moody shed quite a few pounds at the turn of the millennium (documented in a Raw Magazine article of the time), he soon put it back on, and would balloon to further immoderate levels. Moody admits in a shoot interview with Jim Cornette that by August 2003, he was up to 545 lbs.
It was at that time that Jim Ross contacted Moody with a long-term plan for a WWE return as Undertaker's manager once more. Moody, ashamed of his appearance and battling other personal crises, could barely confide his situation to Ross. Once he'd done so, Ross and Vince McMahon came up with a plan to offer Moody a contract with a signing bonus that would cover gastric bypass surgery, getting him back down to a manageable weight.
Paul Bearer re-emerged at WrestleMania 20 still rather rotund, but at least a bit healthier compared to the previous year. Moody continued to drop weight long after his WWE return, and wrote in August 2004 that he had reached 200 pounds lost.