WWE: Paul Bearer Announced For 2014 Hall Of Fame

Whenever somebody gets announced as an inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame, there's always a question of whether or not that person deserves to be in there. When it comes to the late great Paul Bearer, there should be no question. He is definitely a WWE Hall of Famer. It was announced officially on this Monday's edition of Raw that Bearer will be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. As most fans know, Bearer (real name William Moody) passed away on March 5, 2013. It's fitting that nearly on the one year anniversary of his passing that he'll be recognized with an honor like the WWE Hall of Fame. Bearer was known to wrestling fans as the manager, as well as the biggest ally, of The Undertaker. When Undertaker started in WWE, it wasn't with Bearer right away, but they brought him in because he was experienced in the wrestling business and had the right look of a mortician that they could name Paul Bearer. WWE deserves credit for the name Paul Bearer because it was brilliant and fit in perfectly with the gimmick. It's also interesting to know that he had a degree in mortuary science and worked as a mortician in a funeral home before he worked for WWE. For the most part, Bearer was by Undertaker's side as he held the urn up in the air to give Undertaker powers. It was cheesy during a time in the early 1990s when those sorts of things happened all the time, but it was still very cool to see because a wrestler with supernatural powers was unlike anything else we had seen in wrestling. In 1996, after nearly six years by Undertaker's side, Bearer turned on the Deadman by aligning with Mankind aka Mick Foley. A year later, Bearer brought his own son Kane (and the Undertaker's half brother) to WWE. There was an elaborate story behind the Undertaker/Kane/Bearer saga that was considered a major storyline in 1997/1998 and it was at that time when we could really appreciate how good of a performer Bearer was. When he was just standing by Undertaker's side all those years he really didn't get to do too much in terms of promos aside from letting out his customary "oh yes" phrase. It was when he went heel that he really got to let loose as a mean man who seemed to enjoy causing pain to Undertaker even though they were friends for many years. Years later, Undertaker reunited with Bearer at WrestleMania 20 in 2004 when Undertaker faced Kane again. This time, Bearer was on Undertaker's side in the rivalry. Soon after that, Undertaker was forced to bury Bearer in cement He appeared in WWE throughout the 2000s in different angles, some of which were really ridiculous like when Edge kidnapped him and was such a nice kidnapper that he flew Bearer with him from city to city. It was all a part of Edge's feud with Kane, which really wasn't a highlight of either man's career. His last appearance on WWE TV was in 2012 when Kane was feuding with Randy Orton and poor Bearer ended up locked in a freezer. It was silly, but that's pro wrestling! They also used Bearer's death in The Undertaker's WrestleMania 29 story last year as CM Punk dumped ashes from the urn on Undertaker as a way to get heat. Fans were really riled up by it, yet a few months later Punk was being cheered. Once again that's just the silliness of pro wrestling. The video tribute that WWE aired for Bearer was excellent. There were comments from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, Daniel Bryan, Gene Okerlund and others. You can watch the video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igfQ1fQKfnE While we don't know who might induct Bearer in the Hall of Fame, there are rumors that perhaps The Undertaker might do it. He's never inducted somebody before, so it would be historic to have Undertaker speak from the heart about his friend. Congrats to the late Paul Bearer and his family on the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame induction. It is well deserved. Oh yes!