Pat Patterson
Pat Patterson | |
---|---|
Miami, Florida, U.S. | |
Partner | Louie Dondero (1958–1998) (Dondero's death)[1] |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Lord Patrick Patterson[2] Pat Andrews[3] Pat Patterson[4] |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[4] |
Billed weight | 237 lb (108 kg)[4] |
Billed from | Montreal, Quebec, Canada[4] San Francisco, California |
Trained by | Loisirs Saint Jean Baptiste[1] |
Debut | 1958[5][4] |
Retired | June 25, 2000 |
Pat Patterson (born Pierre Clermont; January 19, 1941 – December 2, 2020) was a Canadian-American
In 2019, Patterson became the oldest person to win a title in WWE history, after winning the WWE 24/7 Championship at age 78.[4][5][6] He was described by journalist Dave Meltzer as "Vince McMahon's right-hand man" and "one of the chief architects of the WWE, playing an integral role in helping it become a global phenomenon".[7]
Early life
Patterson was born into an impoverished
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1958–1962)
Patterson debuted in Montreal, Quebec in 1958, wrestling at the Palais des Sports for promoter Sylvio Samson.[8] Early in his career, he performed as "Killer" Pat Patterson.[9]
Big Time Wrestling (Boston) (1961)
In 1961, Patterson - despite speaking no English - immigrated to the United States to pursue his professional wrestling career. He eventually became a
Pacific Northwest Wrestling (1962–1965)
In 1962, Patterson was recruited by
Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco) (1965–1977)
In January 1965, Patterson was hired by Roy Shire for his
After Stevens turned
Championship Wrestling from Florida (1977)
In 1977, Patterson wrestled for
American Wrestling Association (1978–1983)
In 1978, Patterson joined Verne Gagne's Minneapolis, Minnesota-based American Wrestling Association. He reformed The Blond Bombers with Ray Stevens, with the duo winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship later that year. Patterson performed intermittently for the AWA until 1983.[8]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1979)
In 1979, Patterson toured Japan with New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[citation needed]
Lutte Internationale (1980–1983)
Patterson made his professional return to Quebec in 1980, wrestling a number of bouts for the Montreal, Quebec-based Lutte Internationale promotion. He held the Canadian International Tag Team Championship on five occasions between 1980 and 1983.[citation needed]
World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (1979–2020)
North American Champion (1979)
In 1979, Patterson debuted in the
Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion and retirement (1979–1984)
In September 1979, the WWF would introduce the
It was during Patterson's reign as champion that he turned face, after a botched attempt by the Grand Wizard to "sell" Patterson's contract to
Sporadic roles (1984–1997)
Patterson began doing color commentary in 1980 with Vince McMahon, calling WWF Championship Wrestling from 1980 to 1984. While Patterson was a face commentator when partnered with Gorilla Monsoon and Vince McMahon, he hosted a heel interview segment for French WWF broadcasts known as "Le Brunch de Pat", where he would politely ask questions in English but furtively mock his face guests in French. Patterson was on commentary with Monsoon when The Iron Sheik defeated Bob Backlund for the world heavyweight championship, as well as for when Hulk Hogan defeated The Iron Sheik about a month later. Patterson was also calling the action when Jimmy Snuka jumped off the steel cage and splashed Don Muraco in Madison Square Garden in 1983.[citation needed]
Patterson retired from wrestling in 1985. Although retired, Patterson continued to occasionally wrestle. On January 26, 1985, he wrestled Nikolai Volkoff in a losing effort in a house show in Cincinnati, Ohio.[15] The following month, he teamed with Andre the Giant at a pair of house shows in Canada and defeated Ken Patera and Big John Studd.
He took the spot of Mad Dog Vachon on the WWF skit show Le Brunch on WWF Superstars in Canada until late summer in 1987. Several wrestlers like the Rougeau Brothers and Dino Bravo replaced him, and Frenchie Martin hosted Le Studio as a replacement of Le Brunch. Before that he made another appearance, this time in a battle royal in Montreal on February 24, 1987. He also appeared in a battle royal at a house show in Buffalo, New York on December 27. Patterson made a handful of additional appearances in Montreal in 1987, wrestling as a heel (while remaining a face or neutral backstage official in the United States and elsewhere in Canada). His most notable appearance was a win over the up-and-coming Brutus Beefcake on August 10 in Montreal[16] His final match would come three weeks later again in Montreal as he fell in defeat to Beefcake and subsequently received a haircut with Mr. T as the referee.[citation needed]
He began working backstage as a
"Stooge" (1997–2000)
In 1997, Patterson, along with
Later in 1999, the two became entangled with the McMahon-Helmsley Faction. On the December 16, 1999 episode of SmackDown, Patterson and Brisco helped
On the May 8 episode of Raw, Patterson,
described as a "tractor-sized skidmark". Patterson began to use the soiled underwear as part of his gimmick in the coming weeks, attempting to rub the soiled underwear into the faces of opponents. As a result, WWE commentators began to refer to Patterson as “Poopstain Patterson” during the broadcasts.On June 12, 2000, when the Faction unmasked Kane, Patterson photographed Kane's "hideously scarred" face, and threatened to "expose him to the world" if he did not comply. Kane was forced to wrestle The Rock (then his ally) in a No Holds Barred match. When Patterson's film did not develop properly, Kane turned on the Faction.[citation needed]
On June 19, 2000, Patterson helped Brisco win the perpetually contested
Backstage roles (2000–2020)
The Intercontinental Championship, unified with the
On July 22, 2019, during the Raw Reunion episode, Patterson won the WWE 24/7 Championship by pinning Drake Maverick backstage. He would lose the title to Gerald Brisco off-screen later that same night. At 78 years old, he became the oldest person ever to win a title in WWE history, beating The Fabulous Moolah's fourth reign with the original WWF Women's Championship at 76 years old. It was also Patterson's first title reign since June 19, 2000, with the similarly introduced WWF Hardcore Championship, which also used the "24/7 rule". He was only the second person ever to win both the 24/7 and Hardcore Championships.[citation needed] He was working backstage as a WWE official from 2005 until his death in 2020.[citation needed]
Personal life
Patterson was openly
In the 1960s, after the end of the main part of the
Patterson's longtime partner was Louie Dondero.
Death
Patterson died of liver failure caused by a blood clot at a
Many figures in the wrestling world paid their respects to Patterson, as both an in-ring performer and as a behind-the-scenes figure.Bibliography
- Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE (August 9, 2016)
Championships and accomplishments
- American Wrestling Association
- 1 time) – with Ray Stevens[3]
- Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco)
- 5 times)[3]
- Superstar Billy Graham (1), Pedro Morales (1), Pepper Gomez (1), Peter Maivia (1), Moondog Mayne (1), Rocky Johnson (3), and Tony Garea (1)[3]
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- Lutte Internationale
- Canadian International Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Raymond Rougeau (2) and Pierre Lefebvre (3)[3]
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- NWA Western States Sports
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[3]
- NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Tony Borne (1) and The Hangman (1)[3]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Stanley Weston Award(2004)
- PWI Ranked him #110 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- The Blond Bombers
- World Championship Wrestling
- 1 time) – with Art Nelson
- World Wrestling Federation/WWE
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Match of the Year (1981) vs. Sgt. Slaughter in an Alley Fight on April 21, 1981
- King of the Ring on June 25, 2000, in Boston, Massachusetts
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
See also
- The Blond Bombers
- The Corporation
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-77090-864-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-61321-308-7.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Pat Patterson". Canoe.com. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "Pat Patterson". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7434-9033-7.
- ^ a b "Pat Patterson's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9781553663058.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-77090-296-1.
- ISBN 978-1-4516-0450-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-1754-4.
- ISBN 978-1-68289-451-4.
- ISBN 978-0-87351-620-4.
- ISBN 978-1-4070-2931-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55490-284-2.
- ^ "85". The History of WWE. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ "87". The History of WWE. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-06-001258-8.
- ISBN 978-1-55490-286-6.
- ^ "Wrestling Perspective: Tom Cole Interview Part 1". wrestlingperspective.com. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ Pollock, John (February 14, 2021). "Tom Cole, at center of the WWF's '90s scandal, passes away". POST Wrestling | WWE AEW NXT NJPW Podcasts, News, Reviews. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ "Pat Patterson, creative genius behind WWE booking, dead at 79". Newsweek. December 2, 2020.
- ]
- ]
- ^ a b Brady, Hicks. "2006: The year in wrestling". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 27. 2007 Edition.
- WWE Legends' House. Season 1. Episode 2. June 12, 2014. WWE Network. Archivedfrom the original on December 13, 2021.
- The Wrestling Observer. Archived from the originalon June 16, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
- ^ Haynes, Danielle (June 14, 2014). "Pat Patterson, WWE legend, says he's gay". United Press International. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
- ^ Syed, Mohammed; Li, David K. (December 2, 2020). "Pat Patterson, the first openly gay pro wrestling star, has died at 79". NBC News. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ DeSantis, Rachel (December 2, 2020). "WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson, the First Gay Wrestling Star, Dies at 79: 'A True Trailblazer'". People. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bixenspan, David (October 19, 2021). "The Government's Gay Witch Hunt of Pat Patterson". MEL Magazine. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ a b "1965-04-14 Summary of witness interviews (Pat Patterson alien file)". Immigration and Naturalization Service. April 14, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via DocumentCloud.
- ^ "1966-11-18 Notice of hearing citing itinerary violation (Pat Patterson alien file)". Immigration and Naturalization Service. November 18, 1966. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via DocumentCloud.
- ^ "1966-11-29 Summary of deportation hearing (Pat Patterson alien file)". Immigration and Naturalization Service. November 29, 1966. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via DocumentCloud.
- ^ "1966-12-20 Deportation notice (Pat Patterson alien file)". Immigration and Naturalization Service. December 20, 1966. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via DocumentCloud.
- ISBN 9781554907595.
Patterson is proud that he was able to stay on top for so long, and the city was home for many years to him and his life partner, Louis Dondero.
- Us. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
- Web Is Jericho. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ "Tony Marinaro on Twitter: "Just got a text from my buddy Rodger Brulotte letting me know that legendary wrestler Pat Patterson of @WWE passed away earlier this morning in a Miami hospital. Patterson, had cancer. He was 79. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. RIP. #WWE"". Twitter. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson passes away". WWE. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Johns, Fred (June 10, 2008). "In awe at my first Cauliflower Alley Club reunion". Slam Wrestling. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
External links
- Pat Patterson at IMDb
- Pat Patterson on WWE.com
- Pat Patterson's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database