Chris Jericho Discusses Backstage Relationship Between Vince McMahon And Pat Patterson

On a recent episode of the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Chris Jericho paid tribute to his mentor, WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson, who passed away this month at the age of 79. Jericho admitted that he's learned so many sayings from Patterson that he sometimes mistakenly uses them as his own, and he gave an example on his podcast.

"I used so many 'Pat-isms' that sometimes I think their mine, but he had a great saying. I'm sure you've heard it before, when we would talk about Vince [and] how he changes his mind, and Pat would always say, 'Sometimes he likes chocolate. Other times, he likes vanilla, but it's always his ice cream store, so give him what he wants,'" Jericho recalled. "And I say that all the time, even when people talk about Tony Khan. Listen, it doesn't matter what you want. It's his show. It's his company and we have to do what the boss wants. And some days, it's chocolate.

"Some days it's vanilla, but Pat could get away with basically telling Vince 'this show sucks,' and nobody else could ever say that. And he would sit in booking meetings. Vince goes, 'Well, what does everyone think? Do you like this?' Of course all the Yes Men are like, 'This is great.' And Pat said, 'This is terrible. This is a terrible. Where's the young guys? What are we doing?' And everyone kind of just sitting there like, 'oh my God, he's chewing out Vince at the front of the booking meeting.' And of course he could do that, but they obviously had a great relationship for many, many, many years."

Patterson was known as Vince McMahon's right-hand man. Jericho noted that Patterson does not fit the ideal of what McMahon likes in a person but notes that there must have been something deeper in their relationship that made them so close over the years.

"It's just interesting to me that he and Vince were so close because A, he smokes. Vince doesn't like smokers," Jericho noted. "He's French. He's got a thick accent, which we know Vince doesn't care for accents either. There was obviously something there more than just how talented Pat was. They obviously got along very well, but on the surface, seems like a very odd couple."

Jericho noted that Patterson was always outspoken in trying to get certain wrestlers a push. Dolph Ziggler was one of those guys, but Jericho believes that may have hurt Ziggler because then McMahon would just do the opposite of what Patterson wanted just to make him mad.

"He was not a Yes Man; didn't claim to be and didn't want to be. So, you would always get the direct opinion from Pat, and I know sometimes, that led to heat," Jericho pointed out. "Pat would always stand up for Dolph Ziggler in the booking meetings. 'We got to push Dolph. We got to push Dolph. We got to push Dolph,' and I think that almost led to Dolph getting heat for it to where they would start doing the opposite just to piss Pat off.

"Just have him lose a lot because Pat was always– you know how Vince thinks. 'Let's rib Pat and bury Dolph Ziggler because it's funny to me,' even though it's a detriment to your company to do that. But he was very vocal about certain talent, and because he had no filter and didn't care, I think, sometimes, that the people he was trying to push kind of got caught in the crossfire."

There has been much dispute over whether Patterson knew about the details of the Montreal Screw Job since Patterson was McMahon's right-hand man. Patterson is credited for coming up with the final spot of the match, but Jericho gave his opinion as to whether Patterson knew the full details of the Montreal Screw Job.

"Vince suggesting that spot, that's something that happens all the time. Vince wants this involved, so I can see Pat going, 'okay,'" Jericho said. "Once again, it's your ice cream shop. If you want that spot in there, then we'll get it in there. We spoke earlier about how Pat had no fear of Vince and no filter to where if Vince did tell him, and he didn't like it, he would have no problem saying so.

"And Vince knew that, so I would think, once again, did he know? Did he not know? Knowing how Vince thinks and knowing how Pat was, I would be inclined to think that he didn't know because Vince would be too scared, wary, [and] cognizant of Pat's loyalty. And once again, he doesn't give a s–t. If he don't like it, he'll tell you, and if he doesn't like it, he's going to go, 'I can't be involved in this.' And like you said, what if he goes rogue and tells Bret, 'Hey watch yourself out there.' Watch what? 'Just trust me, watch yourself.'"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.