Thursday, March 7, 2013

Percy Pringle / Paul Bearer [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
Great stories by a great storyteller, Percy Pringle (aka Paul Bearer) has had such a full career that it was easy for him to just go on and on with road stories, rib stories and funny memories. Who else could tell you what always makes the Undertaker vomit, how creative a teenage Michael Hayes was or what made Rick Rude such a likable guy? Percy Pringle's gift of gab just boils over here and he lets his guard down more and more as time passes. While he could and other interviews have proven this, go more into the psychological aspects and behind the scenes workings of companies, Percy delivers the endless tales that RF Video is always trying to pull out of an interviewee. It makes for a light-hearted and enjoyable interview. Percy is also so passionate about pro-wrestling that he seems almost mournful that kayfabe is dead and that young people cannot experience it or breaking into it the way he did. In a few instances he gets into that sentiment, but even that and the issue of drug abuse, deaths and political nonsense do not seem to hamper his excitement and he largely glazes over those negative aspects.

The Bad
If you've never heard Percy Pringle do a shoot interview, I cannot image how you would not love this. If you have, then you might see how this has is not a great as some others he has done. His series with Jim Cornette are second-to-none and are like ramped up versions of these as he gets into some of the same stories and issues. Although it is briefly mentioned, I think focusing more on his recollections of Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling would be so fascinating. Obviously he was just a mark fan then, but it is an area that is simply unexplored and forgotten. The road stories are great and plentiful here, but it seems like this is someone who could get more into the psychology of the business. Finally, Percy Pringle is pretty reserved in naming names. I think one of the great strengths of the Jim Cornette interview is that Corny will blast almost anyone, so it was easier for Percy to do it. These all seem knit-picky, but it prevented this from being a five-star interview in my view.

The Rating: ****1/2