Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE by Pat PattersonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Accepted is the autobiography of former wrestler Pat Patterson, possibly the first openly gay pro-wrestler.
Accepted was a quick read. Pat fulfilled the first requirement of what makes a good wrestling book, in my opinion. The non-wrestling part of his life was done by the 10% mark.
Pat relates his story, starting from his dirt poor roots in Montreal to becoming a wrestler to moving to the united states. Pat covers his trips from Canada to Boston to San Francisco to Florida and all points in between.
I'm not sure what I expected but the story Pat told wasn't it. Pat and his longtime partner Louie didn't seem to suffer much in the way of discrimination behind the scenes. Good for them. There also weren't a ton of road stories, although the Ray Stevens chapter was damn good and the bit with Terry Funk was quality as well.
The book shifted gears when Pat retired and started working for the WWF(E) backstage in the mid-1980's. I knew he usually booked the Royal Rumble back in the day but I never knew it was idea. I also never knew he championed the smaller guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels in the 1990s. Gears shifted again once Pat retired for the final time.
Accepted had some really good moments but I wanted more. It was a pretty short book, which seems weird considering Pat wrestled for decades. More road stories, more backstage machinations, generally more everything, would have been nice. Still, it was a decent read. 3 out of 5 stars.
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