Being
World Tag Team champion with Pat Patterson gave me instant credibility
and heat, the kind of heat Roy Shire, the promoter, said he wanted out
of his main events. 'Bring the fans to the point of a riot, and then
back off.' I'll never forget those words. Can you imagine Vince
telling his guys to go out there and get the people ready to riot, and
just before they do, let The Rock make his comeback? It sounds like
a joke, but it's not. If you have any doubts, just drop Pat Patterson
a line at Titan Towers, and he will confirm what I'm saying.
As
Pat's partner, I studied his every move, and tried to emulate him.
But, the best I could do was to make an attempt at imitating his wrestling
style. It was impossible to duplicate it, the man was light-years
ahead of me, and I never became the worker that he was. In the ring,
Patterson was a flawless heel; vicious and aggressive. Everything
he did was believable, and was done with perfect timing. Even to
this day, I still think he throws the best mounted punch in the business.
Pat would build the heat to a fever pitch. Then, when the babyface
started his comeback, this 'vicious' heel would cower and start begging
off, feeding the babyface with precision -- thus avoiding the impending
riot...