How Pat Patterson Helped Make Rey Mysterio's 2006 WWE World Title Win Happen
Pat Patterson convinced Vince McMahon to put the WWE World Championship on Rey Mysterio in 2006.
Vince McMahon was against Rey Mysterio winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22. But, the late Pat Patterson convinced him to pull the 619 trigger, according to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio.
With the WWE Hall of Famer unfortunately passing away this week, Meltzer chose to remember the life and legacy of Patterson on the show. Whilst doing this, he brought up a time when the WWE chairman was completely against the idea of the masked underdog overcoming the odds at the 2006 Show of Shows. Apparently, McMahon wanted to do an angle which would've seen Mysterio completely lose his world title opportunity at the event, setting up a singles encounter between Kurt Angle and Randy Orton for the belt.
Yet, it was Patterson who saved the day in the end.
Despite the fact that "all of the writers wanted Rey to win the title", McMahon still wasn't convinced the match needed Mysterio in it at all. Thankfully, Patterson acted as a "tiebreaker" and convinced the boss that Mysterio should be the star to win the big one at the event.
Unfortunately, the odds were still stacked against the "Master of the 619" after his monumental victory, as "Vince wanted him to lose the title quickly and prove that he was never a worthy champion." He'd eventually drop the belt to King Booker at the Great American Bash a few months down the line.
This is just one of many stories involving the legendary Patterson going to bat for WWE names, and further reinforces exactly why he was such a beloved member of the backstage team.