is a Canadian–American retired professional wrestler. He is currently employed by the professional wrestling promotion WWE as a creative consultant. The inaugural WWE Intercontinental Champion and creator of the Royal Rumble match, Patterson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 1996. He has been described by journalist Dave Meltzer as "Vince McMahon's right-hand man" and "one of the chief architects of the WWE, playing an integral role in helping it become a global phenomenon In 1997, Patterson, along with Gerald Brisco, became comedy heels as the on-screen stooges of Vince McMahon, assisting their boss in his rivalries with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind and The Rock. Patterson and Brisco were among the founding members of The Corporation. In order to mock Hulk Hogan, they used "Real American" as their entrance music and parodied Hogan's flexing routine as they approached the ring. on the May 18, 1998 episode of Raw, Patterson and Brisco competed in a 2 on 1 Street Fight against Stone Cold that ended in a no contest when Vince Mcmahon and Dude Love attacked Stone Cold. Backstage roles (2000–2004, 2005–present) The Intercontinental Championship, unified with the World Heavyweight Championship on October 20, 2002, was resurrected on May 18, 2003 at Judgment Day in a battle royal. Patterson, as the first ever Intercontinental Champion, was at ringside to present the belt to the victor. Booker T eliminated Christian for the win, but the referee was unconscious. As Patterson attempted to give the championship belt to Booker T, Christian attacked him, stole the Intercontinental Championship belt and used it to knock out Booker T. The referee then recovered and awarded the match to Christian. In October 2004, Patterson retired from World Wrestling Entertainment. Patterson returned to WWE in a limited capacity in May 2005. While he is now retired as a producer for WWE, he still acts as a creative consultant.[22] At Breaking Point, Patterson made an appearance in his hometown of Montreal in an in-ring segment with Dolph Ziggler. Patterson was a regular cast member on the WWE Network original reality show Legends' House. Personal life Patterson is openly gay. He first came out in the early 1970s,and although Jim Ross made several jokes about it on commentary, his sexuality was not acknowledged publicly or in WWE storylines until the season finale of WWE Legends' House, which aired June 12, 2014. His longtime partner was Louie Dondero Patterson stated on WWE Legends' House that they were together for 40 years and that Dondero died of a heart attack on June 28, 1998, the same night as King of the Ring 1998. In August 2006, Patterson underwent emergency heart surgery to remove a cyst from his coronary artery. In October, Patterson recovered from his operation and was released from the hospital. He legally changed his name to Pat Patterson in 2008. Bibliography Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE (August 9, 2016)