Man I hate having to do this again. Too much to say for a few posts on Bluesky so I wanted to share my thoughts about PAC in this format. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the post in the AEW Instagram page. I re-read about 5 times and double checked which account posted it. I still couldn’t believe it so I went to the Reddit SquaredCircle where ppl are usually up to the minute on news and sure enough there was a thread on it. After reading comments there were some people that thought AEW socials were hacked and while it didn’t seem likely, I was holding on to that hope. And then the posts from his friends started coming and you knew this was unfortunately very real. It was impossible to make sense of in the moment and it still is. We just lost The Butcher and his death really hit PAC and the wrestling world hard. To have this happen so soon after, as people were learning of it in the middle of The Butcher’s celebration of life, is so brutally heart breaking.

Not only had PAC only just turned 40 but he wrestled a great match on Saturday night at All Out. How could he be gone not even 24 hours later. My mind jumped to this past April when Dynamite came to Winnipeg and I had great seats for the PAC/Ospreay match. I was really excited to get to see such a significant match live and the only video I took that night was of PAC hitting a perfect Black Arrow as he always does. It made me smile to know that the last time I saw him in person, he was a true bastard and attacked Ospreay during his entrance so the crowd didn’t get to do the ‘Ospreay! Ospreay!’ Chants haha but then the reality sets in that we will never see another PAC match and man that fcking hurts.

With his death, PAC immediately joins the likes of Curt Hennig in that looking back on his matches, you cannot for the life of you understand how he never became a World Champion. PAC wrestled in WWE under Vince McMahon and we know how he feels about size so it’s not hard to understand why he never reached that level there. But AEW is more about the quality of wrestling and PAC is second to none in that ring so he def had a shot at it there. To me, I think he just needed a proper babyface run to reach that level bc the fans fcking loved him and def would’ve got behind him big time. But he was a true bastard haha and obviously enjoyed being the guy you love to hate.

PAC was so good I think we are all guilty of taking him a little for granted. He had so many great matches and made it look so easy it just became normal. You could slot him on any part of the card man opening match, middle of the card, after a crazy match, the main fcking event it didn’t matter bc he would always deliver something that made you feel you got your money and time’s worth. Greatness was so common with PAC sometimes you forget to celebrate it and appreciate how special it is. Now that he is gone, the loss is unfathomable. Never again will we get another in ring classic or a proper bastard promo that only PAC could deliver. We will never get that moment where he finally reaches the mountaintop and becomes World Champion and gets the tidal waves of love and respect he has earned. He may not have been a World Champion on paper, but there is no wrestler, promoter or fan that would tell you Benjamin ‘PAC’ Satterly was not a World Champion wrestler and man.

PAC was very private so many fans only got to see his bastard persona and he was so good at it you forget there is a real person behind it. And by all accounts he was a better man than he was wrestler and that says it all. My heart breaks for his wife and their poor little dog. My heart breaks for wrestlers all over the globe that got to experience the character of Ben Satterly and will miss him dearly. My heart breaks for his Death Riders family who have brought out the best of each other and are as close as blood. My heart breaks for pro wrestling fans as we watch another one of our best leave us way too fucking soon. I wish that we could rewind the clock to Saturday Night and get him whatever kind of help could’ve kept him with us longer. It hurts so much more with no warning after we just celebrated another great performance. The crowd was hot with those duelling “He’s a bastard!’-‘How You Know!’ And I think we were all expecting more between them. But it is a comfort to know that Andrade helped make sure he went out with a match worthy of his legacy.

First time I saw PAC was as Neville in NXT but he had a legendary independent career before that becoming a must-see wrestler in promotions like Dragon Gate and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. PAC took the NXT Title to another level with the incredible matches he was having and that run is what started NXT becoming the best wrestling on the planet. PAC’s run as NXT Champion made the Takeover/Arrival shows must see and set the foundation for those events being the highest standard of pro wrestling at the time. I wanted to see Sami Zayn become NXT Champion which made those matches so much fun to watch bc he just kept kicking out until he got the win and I was frustrated as hell lol despite wanting Sami to win I was a fan of Neville and knew that he was one of the best in the world. Seriously that run of matches should be studied by aspiring superstars about how to step up and become undeniable at the same time as elevating your opponent. That run put both PAC and Sami on the map.

When PAC was called up to the main roster, of course Vince just focused on his size and wanted him to become fcking Mighty Mouse. The fans knew he was worth more than that and it was no more evident than when PAC faced Seth Rollins for the WWE Title and we got the near fall of the decade. Neville hits the Black Arrow but covers Rollins too enthusiastically which puts Rollins foot on the ropes and there is no 3 count. Fuck man every single person in existence that was aware of that match thought it was over and we had a new Champion haha incredible match and moment. But this moment to me was an example of how Vince had betrayed everything he had built. When Chris Jericho found himself in a similar situation of a title win swerve, Vince recognized the reaction and gave Jericho a real opportunity for it. But if Vince did recognize the reaction, he certainly never gave PAC a real opportunity to be WWE Champion.

They did look to PAC to help carry their new Cruiserweight division and while I know that isn’t where he wanted to be, what a fcking amazing run he had. PAC leading a really talented division and putting on nothing but bangers was the reason 205 Live was able to have the success it did. I loved watching 205 live every week bc with no AEW, that was the show that was giving us the level of pro wrestling we desired. It was like being back in his NXT Title run. The fcking King of the Cruiserweights he truly was. Unfortunately Vince still didn’t see the worth of PAC and made it clear he would never make it out of the spot he was in so one night , PAC decided he had enough of WWE and walked out. One of the worst parts of pro wrestling is losing when you know you shouldn’t be and knowing you can contribute at the highest level but never being given that opportunity. Not the best way to handle it but I honestly can’t blame the guy, you can’t be healthy staying in the place that made you sick so this was the best decision for him. PAC left WWE to return to a thriving independent wrestling scene when a new horizon showed up in pro wrestling, AEW.

From day one, PAC was a significant part of AEW and a big reason why it was able to pick up so much momentum right off the bat. PAC played a crucial role in introducing Kenny Omega, Hangman Adam Page, to people that might not have seen them before. Being able to bring out the best in them is why PAC was the perfect opponent. For any WWE/NXT fans curious about AEW like me, watching him put on the type of bangers he did in his NXT Title run made me realize AEW is what I need to be watching and clearly where the best wrestle. Made you realize the hype was legit for guys like Omega and Hangman. Revolution 2020 vs Orange Cassidy was no doubt one of his greatest hits as they had the crowd on absolute fire and put on a legendary match. I sound like a broken record but there is no better way to say it, PAC knew how to bring the best out of people and Orange Cassidy’s career trajectory completely changed after that match. The Trios matches he was having with Fenix and Penta as Death Triangle is why the fans demanded Trios Titles. Delivered multiple awesome matches vs FTR. Was consistently involved in World Title #1 Contender matches and came oh so close multiple times. Felt like it was just a matter of time…😢

PAC was the inaugural All-Atlantic Champion which is now known as the International Title and consistently responsible for some of the best matches on PPV thanks to the standard he set. Technically The Elite are the inaugural Trios Champions but due to the senseless backstage drama, Death Triangle are the inaugural reigning and defending Trios Champions. So at one point, PAC was both International Champion as well as Trios Champion. Wasn’t the World Title yet but PAC was still a big fcking deal in AEW. He would lose the International Title to his old nemesis Orange Cassidy who would then go on to a legendary Title reign full of bangers. The bar PAC set is a big reason why. The highlight of Death Triangle’s Trios Title reign would be the Best of 7 series vs The Elite. Fans had high expectations but these 6 men met and exceeded them delivering 7 great matches with The Elite becoming the new champions.

1 of my personal fav PAC matches was against the Luchador named Gravity bc as Neville he was “The Man Gravity Forgot” but could now finally have his revenge 😂 I love that it is now an official fact that PAC defeated Gravity lol at Dynasty 2024 he came insanely close to winning the Continental Title in an absolute banger vs Okada. PAC entered the Owen Hart Cup in 2024 and had 2 fcking awesome matches vs Claudio and Bryan Danielson. PAC would win his 2nd Trios Title at All In 2024 in Wembley Stadium with Death Riders Claudio and Yuta in a great 4 way ladder match. They would hold them for 234 days putting on banger after banger vs a wide variety of teams but always able to bring out their best and have a great match every night. 1 of my favs was vs Rated FTR at Dynasty 2025 man I wish we got more than 1.

At Dynasty 2024, PAC had a fcking incredible 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠 vs Will Ospreay for the International Title. PAC didn’t walk out with the title that night but he did walk out with the respect of everyone who watched it knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that PAC was amongst the best in the world. Makes it worse bc you know Ospreay would have wanted to run it back now that he was AEW World Champion and maybe that would have given PAC some momentum towards becoming World Champion. Fn sucks man. He was involved in 2 Blood and Guts matches, first in 2003 – The Golden Elite (Hangman Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, The Young Bucks) defeat Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta), Konosuke Takeshita & PAC. The 2nd was in 2025 – Darby Allin, Roderick Strong & The Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy) defeat the Death Riders (Jon Moxley, PAC, Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia & Wheeler Yuta). Both were fcking awesome matches and the brutal nature of PAC stood out in both.

PAC entered the 2025 Continental Classic and went 2-2-1 so he didn’t win but once again proved why he is one of the best in the world and had 5 bangers with Okada, Speedball, Jack Perry, The Jet and Kyle Fletcher. I have Jay White as the fav for the C2 this year but PAC was right behind him bc the continental Champion was the perfect step for his journey to the World Title. It would be pretty cool to dedicate the C2 this year to the memory of PAC. If they wanted to do the first repeat champion. Mox winning it would be a great tribute. PAC helped make Darby Allin’s short Word Title reign legendary with a fcking incredible match at Fairway To Hell. Seeing Darby as World Champion had to feel good to PAC seeing someone like him win it and give him confidence that his day as World Champ would come. AEW Redemption 2026 is what I immediately thought of when I was writing about taking PAC’s greatness for granted. I was so focused on seeing Cage & Cope face legendary teams that I complained a little when Claudio and PAC were announced as getting the Title shot. But on game day, PAC delivered as always and put on a fcking awesome match that had me kicking myself for ever complaining. One of my fav matches at Forbidden Door this year was PAC vs Shota Umino man it was so fcking good. I had never seen Shota wrestle before but PAC was the perfect opponent bc as always he brought out his best and made me a fan.

PAC gets the last laugh over Ospreay after winning a 6 man tag on Dynamite with Mox and Gabe Kidd over Ospreay/Andrade/Francesco Akira just a few weeks ago and of course it was a fn great match. It is so brutal to type that his last match would be at All Out last Saturday vs Andrade. They opened up the PPV with a fcking great match and had the crowd tee’d up to be one of the best ever before the unfortunate injury to Steven Borden. It sucks that we will never get PAC vs Borden, would have been interesting to see what kind of match PAC could have got out of him. If PAC had to go, then you can’t ask for a better match to leave as your farewell than that banger vs Andrade. But I really wish he didn’t have to go. More for his family who will stay in my prayers but he should have been able to complete his journey to the World Title. The hurt is intensified bc PAC was AEW from day one. There was never a time in the history of the company where he wasn’t a significant part of it. He wrestled on Dynamite. He consistently wrestled on Collision which I appreciated bc it meant we were always guaranteed at least 1 great match. He wrestled on most PPV’s. He was in one of the top factions in AEW, the Death Riders so he was always I backstage segments and out with the other members. PAC was a constant in AEW and now he is just gone. No warning. No goodbye. Just the balance of the incredible memories he left us with and the unforgiving void that his loss leaves.

I wish I never had two write another one of these tribute pieces. I pray with everything I got that all wrestlers will live long into old age and enjoy a good quality of life right up to the last day. PAC desired more time with his wife and dog and deserved to live it. I believe his parents are alive and it is truly terrible when a parent has to bury their child. PAC deserved more time to forge his legacy in wrestling and leave it on his own terms. The people that knew PAC and loved him deserved more time with him. Life is not fair, life is free will and free will has no remorse. Free will just is and good or bad, we are left to deal with the consequences of having it as best we can. PAC leaving us like this is the worst of it but we can take solace in the fact that he left an incredible legacy behind that will make sure he is never forgotten. Now that he is gone, you realize what was lost. PAC, I’m sorry that I took your greatness for granted at times, you’ll always be a World Champion in my book.

Writing this has been very therapeutic, emotional at times, but I’m happy to look back on his career and remember how awesome it was. NXT from his title win to the change to the current form was one of my fav times in wrestling and it was the matches during his title reign that set the launch pad for it. His run as King of the Cruiserweights was one of the only good things in those godawful years so I really appreciated getting something so great. For his entire time in AEW, he delivered nothing but great matches including some of the best we have ever seen. PAC will be so fcking missed by every AEW fan and I really hoped he knew how much we all loved and respected him. I’m pretty sure the Black Arrow was never officially kicked out of so it might be the GOAT finisher. In this moment, we are all Death Riders and we salute you, PAC 🫡

I still can’t believe I just wrote a post-humous tribute piece for PAC, this is such a terrible loss. Reading and watching all the tribute posts show what a good man he was and how respected he is. Hard to think that we will never see another PAC banger again but even worse to know his family and friends will never be around his energy again on this Earth. Thank you PAC for being a Good man and setting an example to follow. Thank you for so many hours of pro wrestling entertainment, I will never forget the excitement and joy that you created. Prayers of peace, love, comfort and all Good energy sent up for your family, friends and fans. We all love you, we all will miss you and while gravity may have forgot you, none of us ever will. Godspeed to a true Bastard.