WWE legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson joined the huge list of people within the wrestling industry that have released tributes after the passing of AEW’s Ben “PAC” Satterley.
In a video message that he released on social media, The Rock shared that he met Satterley “a few times” likely when he was in WWE wrestling as Neville and that alluding to the close-knit nature of the wrestling community and how this loss is like losing one of your own even though he wrestled for a different promotion.
“Man, it hurts my heart to do this. I wanted to send out into the universe and to the Satterley family, my love and my condolences, my support, my light, my mana…as you are enduring the loss of your loved one, Benjamin Satterley. For those who are watching this who don’t know who Benjamin Satterley…who he is, he was a professional wrestler known in the WWE as Neville. I’d met him a few times, shook his hand. And most recently known as PAC in AEW — All Elite Wrestling — and he passed away, sadly, young, too young. I believe he was 40.”
“I was just so sorry to hear this news. As global as professional wrestling is, as global as WWE is, as much as AEW is growing into this phenomenal wrestling company, and wherever you’re wrestling at around the world, Asia, Latin America, Europe, it doesn’t matter. As global as professional wrestling is, we’re still a very tight-knit unit and a tight-knit group because we all share the same DNA. And that is our love and our passion for the squared circle and to perform for audiences around the world. And we’re a little crazy, and that’s okay. But when we lose one of our own, it hurts. And when they’re young and so insanely talented, it really, it really f*cking hurts. Especially when a life is robbed and you don’t get that opportunity to live a full life. I’ve lost a lot of friends, as we’ve known.”
“To my friend Tony Khan, I’m so sorry for your loss. My friend QT and all the locker rooms, the men and women of AEW, I’m so sorry for your loss. And to those, of course, my colleagues in WWE who knew him well, I’m so sorry. So sorry all around. And to the Satterley family, I wish you love and light as you endure this pain.”
The 40-year old PAC was found unresponsive in a vehicle outside of a CAVA restaurant near the area of Chicago O’Hare Airport on Sunday, just hours after he wrestled at AEW All Out. The official cause of death has not yet been announced but an initial autopsy was completed and investigators are awaiting the results of additional testing before they rule on a cause.
