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Catching up with the WWE's Paul Bearer, a real life mortician, who will appear in Jackson on Saturday

Posted: Nov 2nd 2011 By: mikeiles

Wrestling fans know William Moody as ghostly white mortician who carries an urn and has accompanied The Undertaker ? one of the most popular figures in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) history ? to the ring off and on for the past 20 years.

That character, of course, is Paul Bearer.

Bearer is just one of several stage names Moody has used in his 30-plus years in professional wrestling. He commonly goes by Percy Pringle, which is the name of his website.

Paul Bearer, now 57, is coming to Jackson later this week to take part in Smack Down in Jacktown 2 at Jackson High School on Saturday, a fundraiser for the Jackson High School softball team. The bill also features the Mongolian Butcher, Kongo Kong and Legion.

Moody?s wrestling persona as Paul Bearer the mortician ? an idea of Vince McMahon ? is based on reality, as Moody is a licensed and practicing funeral director and mortician in his hometown of Mobile, Ala.

Semi-retired, Bearer maintains a ?Legends? contract with WWE, which allows him to work at his own leisure, as well as to perform outside the organization.

Bearer participated in a phone interview with the Citizen Patriot last week.

Q: How often do you perform these days?

Bearer: Usually two or three times a month. It just depends. ... I?m a grandpa now with three grand daughters (ages 4 through 7). They all understand what I do, especially the 4-year-old. Her daddy wrestles locally down here, so she?s really into it.

Q: How did you get into the funeral business?

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be in the wrestling business and to be in the funeral business. ... When I got married and my wife was pregnant, I decided I was going to need something a little more stable to depend on.

(Bearer graduated from San Antonio College?s mortuary science program in the late 1970s. He worked in all areas of the business, including embalming, during the early 1980s. He returned to the funeral business in his hometown of Mobile about six years ago and still maintains his license.)

Q: Do you get recognized while working on funerals?

Oh yes. I?ll have a family in my office, and all of a sudden one of them will look up and say, ?Oh my gosh, Grandma?s funeral is being done by Paul Bearer!? Southern folks are a little bit different in that wrestling is probably bigger than it is to northern folks. I?ve often had people ask me to stand up next to grandma or grandpa?s casket for a picture. Of course, I have to decline as politely as I can, because that?s obviously not appropriate. I?ll offer them a chance to come back to my office for an autograph or something, but that?s it.

Q: What are some of your fondest WWE memories?

There?s so much stuff, considering it?s been a 20-year thing. I guess one that stands out is the Undertaker and I?s first Wrestlemania together, which was Wrestlemania XII in 1991 in Los Angeles. He wrestled Jimmy ?Superfly? Snuka. It wasn?t one of the biggest matches of the night, but it was my first Wrestlemania. You always remember your first.

Another was SummerSlam in August of 1992. We were at Wembley Stadium in London and drew 87,000 people. To be a country boy from Mobile, Ala., where I started wrestling at the National Guard Armory, and then to be able to perform in front of 87,000 people ? that was something special.

Q: What?s Vince McMahon like?
www.percypringle.com
He?s fantastic ? a real genius in our industry. He?s just like any other boss. If you do your job and do it well, he?ll take care of you. If you don?t, he?ll show you the door. We?ve never had a problem. He?s like any other boss, he just happens to run a million-dollar business. He?s still at the top of the game.

Tickets for Smack Down in Jacktown 2 are currently on sale at The Collectors Zone, 1425 Wildwood Ave.; Buffalo BBQ Wings, 1085 N. Wisner St.; and Virginia Coney Island, 649 E. Michigan Ave. Prices are $7 for general admission, $10 for the floor and $5 for kids 12 and under. There is a V.I.P. option available for $20 that includes a ringside seat, popcorn, hot dog, beverage and a chance to meet Bearer prior to the show, which is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

All proceeds will benefit the Jackson High School softball program. Call Jackson High School softball coach Jim Kolb at 937-8838 for more information.

For more on Paul Bearer, visit .