British wrestler Pac dies aged 40 as tributes pour in for All Elite Wrestling star
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Benjamin Satterley, an English-born wrestler known for high-flying moves that delighted fans worldwide, has died. He was 40.
The death of Satterley, who was known as “Pac”, was announced late on Sunday on All Elite Wrestling‘s website.
The website did not list a cause of death.
Satterley competed and lost to Andrade El Ídolo on Saturday at the All Out pay-per-view in Chicago for the AEW National Championship.
Satterley began his wrestling training when he was 18 after developing an interest for the sport through his aunt, who was a fan of the WWF, according to MN2S, his booking agency.
Satterley, who was from Newcastle upon Tyne, began his wrestling career in 2004 and quickly earned a reputation for himself on the British independent circuit for his high-flying offence.
His highly athletic in-ring style, which included his rarely replicated Black Arrow finishing move, saw him earn the nicknames “The Super Superman” and “The Man That Gravity Forgot”.
In 2006, he made appearances in California-based promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, notably having a Match of the Year contender with El Generico. In 2007, Satterley began working for the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate, where he would cement himself as one of the best cruiserweights in the world, taking part in classic bouts against CIMA, Ricochet and Dragon Kid.
In 2012, he signed for WWE and began working in their developmental territory NXT under the name Adrian Neville. Satterley quickly became a star in NXT winning the promotion’s Tag Team Championships with Oliver Grey and later the NXT Championship, defeating Bo Dallas the promotion’s first-ever major show “Arrival”.
Satterley would hold the NXT Championship for more than 280 days, before losing it to Sami Zayn (his old opponent El Generico, now wrestling under a different name), in a match and a feud that many fans still consider amongst the best in NXT and WWE history.
He would graduate to the main WWE roster in 2015, stood out for highly praised matches against top stars like Seth Rollins and John Cena, and won the Cruiserweight Championship in 2017.
Satterley walked away from WWE in 2018 and briefly returned to Dragon Gate in Japan, as Pac, winning the company’s top title, Open the Dream Gate Championship, in December of that year.
Pac signed with AEW in 2019, becoming one of the new promotion’s first marquee signings, a quickly entered a feud with Kenny Omega, culminating in a classic 30-minute Iron Man match on the 26 February episode of Dynamite.
Pac would go on to have more highly-acclaimed matches during his time in AEW against the likes of The Young Bucks, Orange Cassidy, Will Ospreay and Darby Allin.
He was also the company’s inaugural AEW International Champion and a two-time AEW World Trios Champion, experiencing success in the Death Riders and Death Triangle factions.
Tributes for Satterley have poured in from across the wrestling world.
“The greatest export from our country. Also the greatest human being,” wrote fellow wrestler Will Ospreay on X.
“Honored to have shared the ring with you so many times. You truly are such a hero to myself and many others.”
WWE star Rhea Ripley wrote: “What a tragic day. What an extremely talented person. Speechless…RIP PAC.”
Fellow WWE star and wrestling industry veteran Paul Heyman said: “What a tremendous talent and even finer human being. My most profound condolences to all who knew him. A truly terrible loss!”
Fellow British wrestler Paige/Saraya, who worked with Pac in WWE and AEW wrote: “For everyone that knew Ben (pac) would tell you what an incredible human he was. Truly one of the best. This is heartbreaking.. sending so much love to his family and everyone else who was lucky enough to know him personally and to all who got to watch him perform and witness the greatness that was that man. Rest in power Ben.”
Pac’s AEW colleague, Kyle Fletcher, wrote: “Pac is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. I was lucky enough to meet my hero, work with my hero, but even more lucky to get to know him. He was a better man than I ever could have hoped for. I am heartbroken. I love you, Ben. Rest easy mate.”
AEW president and CEO Tony Khan paid tribute to Pac writing: “Benjamin Satterley defined excellence, as a beloved husband & friend to his many loved ones, + in his wrestling knowledge, skill, unprecedented athleticism, professionalism, consistency + dedication to the sport that he loved & traveled the world to pursue. May Ben rest in peace.”
