“That’s Heat With The Boys” – Ex-WWE Champion Warned

This former Superstar recently talked about his association with WWE legend Pat Patterson and its consequences.

WWE had a diverse tag team division in the early 2000s, and one such tag team on the rise was La Resistance. Rene Dupree and Sylvain Grenier, with their charisma, made La Resistance an exciting young tag team.

The gimmick was that both men were French Nationalists and would gloat about French culture being superior to American culture.

Dupree went on to become the youngest WWE Tag Team Champion at age 19 with La Resistance, and later had a mid-card singles run in which he would contest for the United States Championship against John Cena.

After asking for his release from the company in 2007, Dupree wrestled most notably as part of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in the independent circuit. More recently, Dupree has been hosting a successful podcast on YouTube where he, along with his guests, who are former wrestlers or wrestling personnel, reveal the backstage politics of the Stamford-based promotion and the wrestling industry of their time and now.

Renee Dupree Reveals How Association With WWE Legend Pat Patterson Would Generate Heat With Colleagues

On a podcast with another one of his former colleagues, Mr. Anderson, Dupree discussed how he was associated with WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson via his tag team partner. He revealed that the association would make them feel like somebody was vouching for them and protecting them, but at the same time, would cause a lot of heat with other wrestlers in the locker room.

Because I was Sly’s (Sylvain’s) partner, I was kind of protected in that way. We had someone going to bat for us. I didn’t know Pat Patterson before I got there, but I was French Canadian, so automatically I get put in that camp.

I was told by someone, ‘If you’re considered a Pat Patterson guy, that’s heat with the boys.

Dupree likened it to possibly being due to homophobia.

I guess it goes back to the whole..the fact that he’s a homosexual thing. You know what I mean? They automatically assume, ‘Oh, you’re a Pat’s guy.

Dupree clarified that Patterson was one of the greatest minds in wrestling and that the product is poorer without him.

Even WWE Legend The Rock thought Patterson was a genius and advised Dupree to work with him. He also noted the praise Patterson received from Vince McMahon, who said that he couldn’t have taken WWE to heights without Patterson’s help.

When I worked with The Rock, he came to me and said, ‘If you want to work with somebody, work with Pat Patterson – he’s the best.’

He was the only guy Vince would say, ‘I couldn’t have done it without you.’ That’s how much he meant to the company.

Now that he’s not around, I feel it shows on their television product.

h/t:ringsidenews.com

Also read: Ex-WWE Champion Makes Shocking Claim About Triple H’s Backstage Behavior