On Sunday, September 27, 2026, the wrestling world lost one of the most beloved performers and people with the sudden and tragic passing of Benjamin Satterly, better known to fans as Pac in AEW, Dragon Gate, and the independents or as Adrian Neville in WWE. The news came less than 12 hours after Pac wrestled at AEW All Out in the opening match against Andrade El Idolo for the AEW National Title and got involved in the main event between Jon Moxley and the defending AEW Men’s World Champion Will Ospreay.
The news was so sudden and shocking, AEW had to notify multiple outlets that Pac’s passing was not a hoax.
AEW followed up with what was the third tribute show from the promotion in September following Rebel Heart Dynamite in honor of AEW star Rebel Tenea and her battle with ALS and AEW Collision memorial show to Andy Williams, better known in AEW as The Butcher, after his sudden passing. The tribute to Pac was as emotional as fans would think, with many of the wrestlers crying openly during their matches or segments. It was a show punctuated by the obvious love everyone has for someone described as a “unicorn” in professional wrestling because no one had a bad word to say against Pac.
There are no words I can say or write that would do true justice to the brevity and impact that Pac had on the wrestling world over his 24-year career, I will simply share on my experience watching the man known as The Bastard.
In mid to late-2016, I found myself dipping my toes back into professional wrestling for the first time in years. I saw YouTube videos discussing or highlighting this guy named Kenny Omega in Japan, PWG shows, and the difference in quality between WWE’s main roster and its developmental arm, NXT.
At this time, Neville was simply a mid-card high-flyer on WWE’s main roster who was being used on TV similarly to how Matt Sydal was used during his time in WWE as Evan Bourne. He was an eye-catching high-flyer that, despite his abilities, was simply there for the upper mid-card and main event names.
Jump ahead to December 2016 and Neville would begin his transition into his time as the “King of the Cruiserweights” and won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at the 2017 Royal Rumble. He would “rule” over WWE’s cruiserweight show, 205 Live, for most of 2017, putting on consistently good matches despite the lack of focus it felt like the rest of 205 Live had in this period.
In spite of this, Neville became a must-see for me every week, whether it was for his matches or his promos. He felt like a truly unique performer in a company that, for myself, was starting to feel more and more monotonous and same-y the more I watched.
I would be caught off guard, as many others were, when it was reported on October 9, 2017, that Neville had walked out of WWE. It was reported he was unhappy for quite some time and having to put over Enzo A’more, who was reportedly not a popular person in the WWE locker room at this time, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The next year would be one dominated by contract disputes between Neville and WWE as the former worked to secure his release. He ultimately got it and made his return to Dragon Gate in October 2018 to win the Open the Dream Gate Championship, though I would miss most of this period.
Neville re-entered my purview in January 2019 when he announced he signed with AEW as part of that original group of talent led by Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page.
It was after this that The Bastard became a must-see wrestler for myself because, in my eyes, he served as the glue to AEW’s upper mid-card and main event scene during that first year. He worked major programs and matches involving Omega, Page, Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, The Young Bucks, and many others.
My personal favorite from those first few months of TV, as is likely many others, was the 30-minute Iron Man match Pac had with Kenny Omega on the February 26, 2020, edition of Dynamite. It was a masterclass put on by two of the best active wrestlers in the world on cable TV and was one of AEW’s first all-time greatest matches.
And leave it to Pac to immediately follow a feud with someone nicknamed the ‘Best Bout Machine’ to Orange Cassidy, who was often criticized at the time for his brand of comedy and being a “meme wrestler.” Rather that work against that, Pac and Cassidy used that to their advantage at the first AEW Revolution on February 29, just over three weeks after the Iron Man match, that made use of Cassidy’s comedy spots, his most widely known being the hands in the pockets, while showcasing how good of an actual wrestler Cassidy was.
I would argue, as I suspect many others would, that it doesn’t work as well as it did if its anyone other than Pac. He presented himself as so serious so often that putting that against the slacker personality of Cassidy was a match made in wrestling heaven. You could buy that Cassidy wasn’t doing all these spots like the hands in the pockets and lazy kicks just to do it, but to frustrate and throw off his opponents.
After this, I went out of my way to watch AEW whenever Pac was on the show or even hinted to be on it. Pac was the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion after defeating Malakai Black, Miro, and Clark Connors at the first Forbidden Door show in June 2022. He became part of one of AEW’s first truly great trios alongside Rey Fenix and Penta el Cero Miedo as Death Triangle, winning the AEW World Trios Titles in September 2022.
Pac would become the wrestler to hold the trios titles longer than anyone else at 360 days across his two reigns, the second being with Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta as part of the Death Riders.
He was someone who actively made the show better anytime he was on it, even if it was just standing in the background and staring menacingly into the camera as Jon Moxley cuts a promo. Pac knew what his presentation was and how to maximize it, especially when he returned from a foot injury at All Out 2025 with shorter hair and he began wearing a full singlet, similar to Bret Hart’s gear, instead of his old tights.
It may not sound like much of a change, but it somehow made The Bastard that much more intimidating because of how it was able to accentuate his already incredible physique.
As tensions looked to be slowly simmering in the Death Riders over Moxley’s more positive relationship with Will Ospreay, I started to believe there was a path for Pac to win the AEW Men’s World Championship. It would be validation for seven-years of work and dedication to a company that allowed him to be the kind of complete wrestler he wanted to be, and it would not have felt out of place at all.
Now, that can never happen, but in truth, the last few days showed that it didn’t matter. Everyone who knew or watched Pac knew how special of an individual he was. Fans got to watch in awe as he performed some of the most jaw-dropping things in the ring the human body could possibly do. The wrestlers got to know Ben, a person who lived their life by a simple idea – throw your heart out in front of you and run ahead to catch it.
Thank you Pac.
