WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle recently praised the late, great Pat Patterson, calling him the best agent he ever worked with.
During a recent episode of The Kurt Angle Show, ‘The Olympic Gold Medalist’ discussed his legendary match at WrestleMania X-Seven, which saw him and Chris Benoit go one-on-one in a gruelling and physical altercation. When going over details of the match, Angle credited Pat Patterson for his invaluable input to not only WrestleMania, but many of Kurt’s matches at the time:
“Pat was so clever with different spots and making the match more meaningful […] Pat deserves all the credit. He was the one who told me ‘we need to start getting more aggressive. We need you to start doing more offence. We’re gonna start here with you at this pay-per-view and we’re going to continue on with you. This is your big push. Even though you won’t be main-eventing at WrestleMania, you’re gonna be utilised big-time by the company. So you have to continue to broaden your character and your wrestling style’.
I was challenged by it and thought ‘this is a great opportunity, I need to step up right now – you sink or swim’. That’s what it was and I decided to swim and not sink. I took Pat’s advice and started doing it and it made me a better leader in the ring.”
Pat Patterson, who passed away in December 2020, is often cited as one of professional wrestlings great minds. Amongst a seemingly endless list of accolades, Paterson is credited for creating the Royal Rumble as well as becoming the first ever WWF Intercontinental Champion.
Countless performers have credited Paterson for his creative flair including The Rock, who called Paterson “one of the most brilliantly creative wrestling minds the industry has ever known.”
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During an earlier episode of his podcast, Angle would also detail Pat’s phycology when it came to backstage altercations, and how certain actions should affect how a performer acts in the squared circle:
“One thing Pat Patterson always told us was ‘if you get jumped backstage, or a week prior to your match, it doesn’t mean you have to jump-start the match. It means you and him are gonna go one-on-one like real men and wrestle it out for the victory.’ So no matter if someone attacks you and you say ‘I’m not gonna go out there and lock up with him, he attacked me, and I’m gonna attack him back in that ring’. Pat Patterson had a great concept. Y’know, a great psychology about ‘beating him like a man’ and that means to out-wrestle them.”
Following the passing of the legendary Hall of Famer, WWE honoured the life of Patterson, releasing the documentary ‘My Way: The Life and Legacy of Pat Patterson’, available now on the WWE Network.
Credit for the Interview: The Kurt Angle Show