Paul Bearer would've loved being in one final WWE storyline after his passing, according to his long-term ally The Undertaker.
The legendary manager's passing rocked the wrestling world in 2013, as did WWE's decision to incorporate it into a storyline. Bearer's passing was repeatedly poked fun of by CM Punk as part of the Best in the World's 'mind games' with The Undertaker ahead of their clash at WrestleMania 29.
At the time, many felt that WWE crossed a line and that more respect should have been shown to Bearer after his passing. On his Six Feet Under podcast, however, The Undertaker argued that being in the story is what his late manager would've wanted.
Everybody was a little uptight about bringing that to me, thinking it might be disrespectful. I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Paul would love the fact that even after he’s gone... I don’t think he would have felt like it was disrespectful.
The Undertaker isn't the only one who feels this way. Speaking to TMZ at the time, Bearer's son Michael Moody made clear WWE had the family's permission.
We felt that dad would have wanted us at RAW last week and agreed to the angle… We knew Dad wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
The storyline ultimately saw The Undertaker defeat CM Punk at WrestleMania, giving the Phenom his 21st win at the event; the final win of his legendary undefeated streak. As for Paul Bearer, he'd be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame that same year, and would have relished one last time in the spotlight.
