As the date for the WWE's biggest annual event gets closer and closer, it's always fun to look back and the good, and the not-so-good, of what makes WrestleMania the biggest event of the year. No other wrestling event in the world is watched, broken down, or comes under as much attention as Mania, which is why the company invests as much time and money as they do into it.

Today, instead of the good, I will break down the bad, and give you my WORST 10 all-time WrestleMania Matches of the last 26 years. The matches are in no set order, as these truly were all stinkers in my book.

1. WrestleMania II: Adrian Adonis defeats Uncle Elmer - This was to the point where Adonis (Keith Franke), who at one point was a very solid worker and heel, had gone the "Gorgeous George" route, and had also balloned to well over 300 pounds. His character garnered more attention than his skills, and this match with the tubby Elmer (Stan Frazier) was one for the birds. Thankfully for these two now deceased grapplers, this bout only lasted 3:25.

2. WrestleMania IV: Ultimate Warrior defeats Hercules - Neither of these two guys will ever go down as good workers, but this match of muscleheads was tough to watch, as was the entire feud for that matter. Herc was actually the better "wrestler" in the feud, which is not saying much. Warrior was nothing more than a muscle bound goof that never deserved the push that he eventually got, leading to main eventing WM VI. This 4:29 match that saw Warrior win when he lifted his shoulder after a half-nelson suplex is one to fast forward through if you ever watch this Mania in full.

3. WrestleMania V: The Red Rooster defeats Bobby Heenan - Not much needs to be said about this garbage, other than the :32 seconds it took Rooster (Terry Taylor) to win the match was about :30 seconds too long. Add the Brookyln Brawler in for a little post-match attack, and you have all the eyesores you can handle for one day.

4. WrestleMania X: Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon defeated Doink the Clown (Ray Apollo) and Dink in a "Mixed Tag Team match" - Ugly. That's about all you can say about anytime you have a "Mixed Tag," but add the awful clown comedy of Doink and his small mascot - Dink, and this just over six-minute match is one you'll want to forget.

5. WrestleMania XII: Roddy Piper defeated Goldust (w/Marlena) in a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl" - Talk about the dark ages for the WWE. This was supposed to be a parody of the O.J.Simpson car chase, where Piper chased Goldust around and it was shown on the large screen back at the arena. Awful. Needless to say that they kept cutting to this "match", and everytime they did it got worse and worse.

6. WrestleMania VII: Tenryu and Kitao defeated Demolition (Crush and Smash) (w/Mr. Fuji) - To me, Mania is supposed to be about feuds ending or starting, and wrestlers getting their shot at the big time. That's why having two wrestlers on the card that basically no one knew, or never really heard from again in Tenryu and Kitao fight for 4:44 beating an established team like Demolition was one of the bigger head scratchers of the last 23 years of booking of the event.

7. WrestleMania XVI: T & A (Test and Albert) (w/Trish Stratus) defeated Head Cheese (Al Snow and Steve Blackman) (w/Chester McCheeserton) - Ugh. Three of the four wrestlers in this match are downright bad workers, which made this thing ugly to watch from the word go. This Mania was bizarre in the fact where all the matches were tags or six-man matches, and this one may have been the worst of the bunch.

8. WrestleMania XXI: Akebono defeated The Big Show in a Sumo Match - A one-minute match that was very much a gimmick, but also very unnecessary. Again, no real reason to put one of your bigger names in a gimmick match with an unknown and make him lose. Hey wait, isn't that going to probably happen again this year? Hmmm.

9. WrestleMania XXV: 25-Diva battle royal to crown Miss WrestleMania - This would have been a solid put together match, but instead they made it a farce with the throwing in of Santino Marella dressed like a woman calling himself Santina. I would have like to have seen 25 divas from the past and present really being allowed to go at it.

10. WrestleMania IX: The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) defeated Giant Gonzales (w/Harvey Wippleman) by disqualification - While Taker is still undefeated at Mania, this had to be the worst of his Mania wins. First off, Gonzales is just downright awful, and then you had it where Taker actually took a beating from him, only to make a return after the DQ. This one Taker fans won't ever want to relive.

Labels: bobby heenan, Giant González, paul bearer, the great khali, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments

Percy “Paul Bearer” Pringle has wrote a new blog on his website regarding his return to WWE on last night’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown. Here’s part of what he wrote:

Where do I begin my friends? I guess we should go with the “Reader’s Digest” version, since those of you that visit here often know I can ramble on and on. Let’s just cut to the chase. About four months ago I recieved a call from the WWE creative folks asking if I had any interest in returning to the company. Of course this totally caught me off guard.

Just to step back for a moment, many are aware that my wife passed away from three battles with cancer, on January 31, 2009; and my life took some major turns following that tragic life changing event. We were married 30-years.

Since my departure from WWE at the GREAT AMERICAN BASH on June 24, 2004, I had virtually divorced myself from professional wrestling completely and returned fulltime to Funeral Service, which some may not realize that I have a degree in Mortuary Science and I am a legit licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer. I managed a small Funeral Home and Crematory here on the Gulf Coast.

In the early Spring of 2010, I decided to test the pro wrestling waters again, and began doing some independent events, autograph signings, etc., around the country to see if the passion was still there for me. Of course it was, and it will always will be. I discovered that doing these events took me away from the loneliness I was experiencing without my wife, Dianna. I was actually having fun again; and these days if it’s not fun, you can leave me out of it.

During the six-years I had been away from WWE it would be a major understatement to say that many things had changed since I signed my first contract there on December 22, 1990. We started negotiations for my return. I still had many doubts if this was what I really wanted to do. Through much prayer, and conversations with my immediate family and close friends, I decided that if all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, that this was meant to be.

I had to fly to Pittsburgh, PA and go through major physical and mental examinations; which to my dismay, all the results came back positive. My final question to myself was… “What would my late wife Dianna want me to do?”. That answer was the easiest of all… she would say, “Get your ass back on the road!”. So….

…here I am. My contract actually became effective on August 1st, and sworn to secrecy, it was extremely hard to keep so many of my contacts from knowing what the future was going to hold in store for me.

Many have asked for the details of my contract, such as it’s length, even monetary details, and the like. Sorry you won’t get that confidential information from me. I will say that a clause in my contract allows for me to continue working independent events, if I desire, and as long as they don’t interfere with my WWE commitments. The bottomline is that I consider myself very lucky, at the tender age of 56, to get another chance at the top of our game. I am truly blessed.

My SMACKDOWN re-debut to the company was set to be taped this past Tuesday evening, in Bloomington, IL. Getting there, staying at a discreet hotel, sneeking into the venue, and hiding out in the dressing area until my time in the event came, is a story onto itself. Most of the wrestlers on the card that night didn’t even know I was there.

A new era has begun in my life. And I have you the fans who made the Percy Pringle / Paul Bearer characters to thank. Notwithstanding, those within WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT who continue to have confidence in my old school abilities. It doesn’t matter if it lasts a week, a month, or five more years. It’s all good.

As always, I do my best to remain accessable to you folks; and I do read and answer all of my email on a timely basis. Unfortunately, you may not get the answers from me that that you may desire. I just tell it like it is with no apologies.

Labels: paul bearer

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: Lords of Pain

For the record, here is what Michael Cole and Tazz actually said regarding Paul Bearer's condition on the July 1, 2004 SmackDown broadcast following the cement burial twist at the previous Sunday's Great American Bash pay-per-view:

Cole: "We'd like to update you on the condition of Paul Bearer at this time. The Undertaker's once friend and confidant suffered severe internal injuries he also suffered injuries to the lungs, severe injuries to the lungs, and also to the trachea."

Tazz: "It is extremely doubtful that we'll ever see Paul Bearer on Smackdown ever again, due to the horrifiying injuries the man sustained. It's horrible."

Reportedly, WWE received a number of fan complaints because they had essentially shown a "murder" on television, so they changed his status in the storyline to alive, although gravely injured.

A few weeks ago, John Morrison and The Miz held a seance for Bearer on their WWE.com webshow "The Dirt Sheet" to gain information about Kane, presuming that Bearer is dead, even though WWE last said he was still alive.

Pringle originally parted ways with WWE in October 2002. Over the next year, he would often rant about the state of his former company and their storylines on his official website and message board, obviously expecting never to work with them again. For starters, he ripped the Katie Vick storyline, ranted on the direction of the Kane unmasking angle, said the fans "couldn't care any less" for an "unknown China Doll" winning the WWE Women's Championship (current TNA wrestler Gail Kim), criticized the WWE writing team ("However, in my heart I just know sooner or later they are going to screw something up. No matter how hard Glen Jacobs works, or how much blood he spills, his fate is in the hands of writers who have never stepped foot in a wrestling ring before."), and chastised WWE for their piece on Confidential on the death of Miss Elizabeth. Apparently, Pringle even once took a dig at the Undertaker in a website column following the June 23, 2003 Kane unmasking angle.

Compared to Mark Calaway, he said that Kane was the "superior athlete" and that "Glen Jacobs was indeed treated like the red headed stepchild, while big brother got the big paydays and the glory." He also added, "With Mark Calaway's big boot resting on the bar, Kane had a snowball's chance in hell of any type of character elevation."

Pringle also felt "robbed" regarding the unmasking storyline, saying "The Kane character has been used, abused, and kicked to the side, by writers that didn't have a damn clue of what to do with him. So tonight, they took the easy way out."

During all this, Pringle had a brief foray in TNA, but only worked a few shows before disappearing. There apparently was an idea for him to manage a character they were developing at the time, who you may know as Abyss, but it never came to pass.

In September 2003, Jim Ross contacted Pringle about rejoining the company. Pringle was initially hesitant about calling him back because he thought there was no possible way he could return to television in the shape he was in at the time as he was suffering from morbid obesity. "When I left the road, I had a lot of problems. My wife was sick, I was depressed, and I gained a lot of weight. I was a big man for a lot of the years that I managed Undertaker, but I carried it well. At this point though, I could barely walk around my house," Pringle said in an interview with WWE.com. Pringle also said he weighed 525 pounds during this time period. He initially turned WWE's offer down without offering a solid explanation.

"I knew I couldn't go back to wrestling with my health being what it was," Bearer said in an interview. "I was too ashamed to admit to my friend (Jim Ross) that I had gained so much weight and my health was so bad. So, I just dodged his calls. Finally, a couple weeks later, he emailed me. I felt comfortable there, behind the computer keyboard." Ross then asked, "What can we do for you?"

Pringle explained the situation with his health, saying he had been researching weight loss surgery and badly needed it. However, he didn't have any insurance to cover the cost and his bank account was practically bare. After some contract negotiations via e-mail, WWE signed him to a three-year contract in October 2003. As a signing bonus, the company agreed to assist him with the cost of the Gastric Bypass Surgery, which he underwent in November 2003. "To make a long story short, I had the surgery and lost 240 pounds. The surgery saved my life, and without it, you wouldn't be hearing from me today," Pringle told WWE.com.

After recovering from surgery, he reappeared as the Paul Bearer character in March 2004 at WrestleMania XX, alongside Undertaker in his match against Kane. Pringle said he lost 129 pounds by this time, so he was down to 396 pounds for the event. Bearer would accompany Undertaker to the ring for the next two months, often staying in the background and rarely getting involved, but on Friday, May 21, 2004, something unexpected happened.

Pringle was sitting at his computer that Friday night "when out of nowhere it felt like someone stabbed me in my right side," Pringle wrote on his website. Pringle was diagnosed with gallstones, which he had suddenly developed. This is a frequent side effect of gastric bypass surgery. Pringle informed management about his situation and told them that he was going to be out of work for three weeks. In the meantime, the creative team came up with a storyline for his Paul Bearer character to be abducted by Paul Heyman and the Dudley Boyz. Pringle said he was very weak and the road was taking a toll on his well-being. The creative team then developed the cement burial angle to write his Paul Bearer character off of television altogether.

As expected, Undertaker trounced the Dudley Boyz in the main event of the 2004 Great American Bash. During the match, Heyman frequently tried to divert Taker's attention by threatening to pull the lever to the fill the glass crypt in which Paul Bearer was in, with cement. After the match, a lightning bolt struck, preventing Heyman from going to the cement truck. Undertaker then walked over to it and told Paul Bearer to "Rest In Peace." He then pulled the lever himself, which sent cement into the crypt, completely burying Paul Bearer and suffocating him in the storyline. Despite practically murdering his long-time manager in the storyline, Undertaker remained a babyface and soon went on to feud with John "Bradshaw" Layfield over the WWE Championship.

After the cement burial angle, WWE kept Pringle on the payroll until they decided to terminate his contract, giving him ninety days notice on April 11, 2005. Regarding his release from the company, Pringle wrote, "I would like to say that our conversation was a courtesy, very cordial, and definitely not unexpected. The WWE creative department has not been able to come up with a viable storyline for the Paul Bearer character since he was "buried" in cement at THE GREAT AMERICAN BASH on June 27, 2004."

Pringle made one last appearance under the Paul Bearer character in late January 2007 at a SmackDown/ECW taping in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama, where he joined Kane & Undertaker at ringside for a dark match.

Labels: kane, paul bearer, percy pringle, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

One of you asked if Paul Bearer is still alive, well he is. He wrote this on his blog about the storyline:

ALIVE OR DEAD ?

Mercy...
PP.com has had over 20,000 visitors since WWE RAW went off the air last night, and my mailbox has been bombarded with emails. The question of the day seems to be...
"Was Kane's rampage last night about his cemented Father Paul Bearer?"

Sorry, but I can't answer that one. Interesting storyline, isn't it?

Be Blessed.

~Percy

If you can't remember back to 2004, Bearer "Died" when he was encased in cement when The Undertaker pulled the lever of a cement truck after a match with the Dudley Boys.

Labels: paul bearer, undertaker

Posted by Dori at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments