Now, WWE famously loves to write their own narrative, giving new names to new performers. The company prefers to own the trademarks and copyrights to characters they get over, to ensure that the men and women who bring them to life cant nip off to a rival promotion and bring them to life somewhere else. That makes sense in cases like this, where the Undertaker and Paul Bearer characters were wholly WWF/E creations. Of course, Paul Bearer wasnt the first time Bill Moody had appeared in front of a crowd representing a wrestler: there was a reason hed got the job, and that reason was Percival Pringle III. The polar opposite of Paul Bearer, Percy Pringle was a loudmouthed flashy dresser, all bleached blond hair and pastel coloured clothing, your typical cheating heel manager. And despite his worldwide fame amongst casual wrestling fans as the pallid, ghoulish Paul Bearer, the vast majority of his friends and co-workers called him Percy - so to did his wife of thirty years. It was probably a toss-up as to which of the two characters Moody got more out of, in the end. Bearer would see him fawn and cringe and moan on camera to millions, managing the greatest and most successful professional wrestling gimmick in history, worn by one of the best big men in the business. But Percy Pringle was the working heel that earned him the respect of his peers, the brilliant promos and the investment in his performance that got him the big gig in the first place.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
