Paul Bearer

April 10, 1954 - March 5, 2013
He’s been buried in cement, tossed off a balcony, and locked in an industrial freezer, but somehow the enigmatic manager known as Paul Bearer always comes back.

Best remembered as the uncanny caretaker of intimidating Superstars like The Undertaker, Kane and Mankind, Bearer joined WWE in 1990. Fish belly pale in a dour black suit, the grim mortician was about as pleasant as dental surgery, which made him a perfect fit for his role as the eerie spokesman for The Demon from Death Valley.

Paul Bearer was more than just a creepy manager, though. As his complicated relationship with The Undertaker developed, it was revealed that Bearer had fathered a son with The Phenom’s mother. That hell spawn, as it turned out, was Kane. Unleashing his demonic boy into WWE, Bearer backed The Big Red Monster in his bout against The Deadman at WrestleMania XIV, but Bearer’s allegiance would continually shift as the rivalry between The Brothers of Destruction raged for years to come.

A key player in The Undertaker’s sadistic Ministry, Bearer sided with The Deadman in his return match with Kane at WrestleMania XX in 2004. That alliance crumbled again in 2010 when Bearer used The Phenom’s sacred urn against him and realigned with The Devil’s Favorite Demon. This father and son reunion has brought Bearer nothing but bad luck. Targeted by Kane’s rivals like Edge and Randy Orton, the spooky manager has been kidnapped, abused and thrown off a balcony. He was even locked in an industrial freezer by his own son.

Still, despite his litany of near death experiences, Bearer remains one of WWE’s defining managers and an important part of The Undertaker's legendary mythology.