10 Things You Didn't Know About Pat Patterson
5. The Real Referee Of The First WrestleMania
It feels redundant to state it, but Vince McMahon wanted to put as many elements in place to make the first WrestleMania a major success. Thankfully for McMahon and his World Wrestling Federation, the event proved hugely popular, and thus we now see the WWE we have today.
Despite one of the numerous selling points of the first WrestleMania being the iconic Muhammad Ali as the referee for the PPV's main event contest, it turned out that Ali was used in merely a ringside enforcer role at the Granddaddy of Them All's debut.
Instead, it was actually Pat Patterson who would serve as the real referee of the 'Mania main event, with Patterson's mind for the business seen as the perfect way to make sure that this make-or-break bout went as intended.
Of course, WrestleMania I would be closed out by Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeating Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff, and it was the inclusion of Mr. T that was of particular concern here. If the A-Team star couldn't get to grps with the in-ring workings of a wrestling match, or even if he and Piper's genuine hatred for each other sent the match array, Pat Patterson was there to steer the ship back on course.