Pat Patterson has been a WWF/E mainstay since 1979, and is fondly remembered for being the first Intercontinental Champion and for his 1981 'Alley fight' with Sergeant Slaughter, which won the Match of the Year in the Wrestling Observer Awards. in 1992, he would be remembered for altogether different reasons..... It had been well known for decades in the industry that Pat was gay (despite how it was portrayed on WWE Legends House). In 1992, allegations were made by a handful of ex-WWF employees, among them Tom Cole, that Patterson had pressurised young, male WWF employees into performing sexual acts/favours on them in turn for a better position in the company. A lawsuit was subsequently launched, and settlements reached. Patterson had been let go over the allegations, but was quietly rehired once the lawsuit was over. The story is still talked about today, but in hushed tones. Vince really has tried to sweep the story under the carpet and have it forgotten by fans. Patterson went on to become one of Vince's right hand men (and was superbly creative at coming up with match finishes). He was also one of the few people to know about the Montreal Screwjob before it happened. To be honest, he can count himself lucky to have been employed after this incident. This scandal rocked the WWF and caused some serious waves for Vince at the time. But Vince likes to think of himself as bigger and better than everyone, Hey, he even feuded on-screen with God!
I am a teacher, but also write about all things wrestling. I have been writing/interviewing wrestling personalities for over 7 years for both the Wrestling Observer site, as well as The History Of WWE site.
