Thanks to Sean Waltman for sending this in and allowing us to post it here on WrestleZone.com. WZ and PWTorch are the only two sites Sean sent this to for publication. You can follow him on Twitter @TheRealXPac.
"I've already read @JrsBBQ's blog concerning the passing of our mutual friend William "Paul Bearer" Moody. Jim really did a great job in painting a picture for all that didn't have the honor of knowing Percy Pringle 3, Which is the name he used when I first met him in the mid 80's. There was a about a month's worth of build up, with The PYTs week after week saying "The Boss Man" is coming. When he finally arrived, I can remember the vignette of him getting off the turbo prop plane, met by the PYTs(Koko Ware & Norvell Austin, complete w/ Michael Jackson Thriller jackets & plenty of soul glow in their hair) I remember waiting in anticipation to see what "The Boss Man'" was all about. He had already developed his persona to almost near perfection. He always referred to his rich Momma as his benefactor. His look & rhetoric made him an instant red hot heel manager. Soon he added to his stable Rick Rude & even Barry Horowitz, as Jack Hart, a solid wrestler with a huge losing streak. He & Rude obviously moved on to Texas, but not after doing some of the last good business Championship Wrestling from Florida ever had. Rude & Billy Jack had a really hot feud.
I used to make most of the towns as a kid setting up the ring with the late great Gordon Nelson, which gave me rare access to hang out in the "back". In Sarasota at Robarts Arena, the building was set up with heels dressing on one side of the arena & babyfaces on the other side. The heels side was right near the public men's room & there was a chain link fence separating the fans from the talent. I say all this because I always hung out by the heels dressing room & that was because Percy Pringle insulting the fans through the chain link fence was the most entertaining part of the night for me. I'd already seen all the matches in the other towns, such as Tampa, St. Pete Bayfront Center, Lakeland, & Eddie Graham Sports Complex in Orlando.
So I got to know Percy at a very young age & he was very good to me, just because he was that great of a guy. He had no other incentive to do so. Once he left with Rick Rude for TX, I never saw him again until I was finally hired by Vince in 93. That's when I really got to know & appreciate what a stellar human being, husband, & father he was. He had a sense of humor that was very funny & a bit dark sometimes. He would tell a joke about someone that was gut busting funny, but often "too soon" as comics like to ask these days. He & Curt Hennig both shared that sense of humor & neither apologized for it. Nor should they have. No one would appreciate a tasteless joke about his passing more than he would. Chief Strongbow(who I should write a tribute for as well) had a nickname for just about everyone. I was "Trailer" because I was always the last guy to arrive. Well at least enough to deserve the name. Chief's nickname for Percy was Round Man. I grew up with diverse music influences, from Country to Hip hop, So Round Man & I shared a love for George Jones & back then Percy, Taker, Perfect & I would put away quite a bit of Jack Daniels, as JR noted in his blog. Just to make sure the shot wasn't dumped over the shoulder, We would gargle it before ingesting that nasty shit. Back then the work environment was different. The guys were a closer knit group, due to the fact that no one had their own motor coach. So we were around each other much more than the talent is now. For a while Paul was ribbed by having to carry a giant urn, with a million candle power bulb in it, on the road with him every night. He was such a pro that no one ever heard him bitch about it. If he didn't like you, he made no bones about it. You never had to guess whether or not he liked you. And if he didn't like you, it was for a damn good reason.
While I was hosting my show on CowheadTV.com, I had the honor of having him as my guest for a few hours. One of, if not the best guest I had. We discussed the passing of his wife Diane & it was obvious that her passing from Breast Cancer had taken a huge piece of him with her. The only things that helped fill that void were his family & being around the business that he loved so much. Even those things weren't enough to keep him here with us & in the end he joined his beloved Diane. I would like to think the two of them are together & I hope he says hi to Owen , Mr Perfect, Hawk, and the rest of the crew up there.
I will never forget your kindness & what a wonderful human being you were. I know we will meet again my friend.
Sean Waltman"
