Rey Mysterio credits a WWE Hall of Famer for helping him win the WWE World Hvt. Championship

The UK Sun features an excerpt from Rey Mysterio's new book "Behind the Mask" in which he recalls winning the WWE World Hvt. Championship. "Many things helped me in my run for the belt," reads the book. "The crowd and the push that I'd gotten from Eddie were certainly on my side. And I really have to give credit to Pat Patterson, who played a big role behind the scenes pushing for me, vouching that I would make a good champion.

"At the time, Pat was a producer and consultant to WWE. Older fans will remember that he was a longtime superstar as a wrestler, then an onscreen personality and commentator. I don't know what Pat saw in me.

"Maybe it was my professionalism. Maybe it was my love for this business, and the passion inside me. Maybe he liked my style or thought I'd be able to bring something new and unexpected to the company. Whatever it was, he made the case to the top people at WWE, including Vince (McMahon)." To read the full excerpt, visit UK Sun.

Powell's POV: Vince was a tough sell when it came to putting the belt on Mysterio. There were a lot of people in the company who felt that putting the belt on Rey was the move to make, yet they say Vince never got behind Rey as champion. This was obvious given the way Rey was pushed as a weak champion.