WWE has released an extensive video of almost 40 minutes in tribute to PAC (Benjamin Satterley), in which friends and former colleagues share memories about the British wrestler after his passing at the age of 40.
After paying tribute to him the previous week with a commemorative graphic and different references during their programming, WWE wanted to take it a step further by gathering testimonies from numerous people who crossed paths with Satterley during his time in NXT, the main roster, and the international circuit.
PAC's death caused a huge shock in the wrestling world. Since then, wrestlers and companies from different parts of the world have shared messages remembering both his extraordinary talent inside the ring and his personality outside of it.
The video released by WWE includes testimonies from Kevin Owens, Becky Lynch, Cody Rhodes, Bayley, Sami Zayn, Big Cass, Penta, Rey Fenix, TJ Wilson (Tyson Kidd), William Regal, Finn Balor, and Corey Graves, among others.
Although each one recalls different moments of their relationship with Satterley, there is a common element in practically all the testimonies: PAC was tremendously respected as a wrestler, but even more loved by those who got to know him personally.
William Regal delivered one of the most emotional messages. The British veteran explained that Satterley held a particularly important place in his life and extended his condolences to Natalie, PAC's wife, and the rest of his family.
Except for my family, there may be less than a handful of people in the world whom I esteemed more than Ben. He was the best, he was absolutely the best. My deepest condolences, especially to Natalie and her family. I will miss you forever, my friend.
Finn Balor dedicated one of the most personal testimonies in the video. Both maintained a friendship for many years, long before even coinciding in WWE.
Balor remembered meeting Satterley while they were young wrestlers training in the basement of a church in Newcastle. Their paths would eventually lead them to Japan and later to WWE, where they shared a locker room again.
However, Balor focused much of his message on memories away from wrestling: family visits between Ireland and Newcastle, their conversations about soccer and Father Ted, and the sense of humor they shared.
Hey, man, I just want to say: thank you for being a friend. I will never forget meeting you for the first time on wrestling mats in the basement of a church in Newcastle when we were just kids... I think our bond was so strong because we had very similar upbringings, very similar values. We laughed about soccer, talked about Father Ted, talked about almost everything except wrestling... And as we always said: "What a laugh, man." What a laugh I had with you. I can't thank you enough. I love you, Ben.
Their relationship lasted for much of their careers. Balor and PAC were part of a generation of European wrestlers who managed to make their mark internationally before eventually reaching WWE.
Sami Zayn also wanted to use his intervention to convey a message he felt he may not have expressed enough when Satterley was alive. Zayn recalled the brotherhood that existed between them and directly thanked him for everything he meant to him.
I just love you, man. I will never forget you. I will never forget the memories we had... Thank you. Just, thank you. I don't know if I ever fully expressed it to you. I told you I loved you, you told me you loved me. We knew the brotherhood, the bond, all of that. But I don't think I ever got around to thanking you. So thank you, man. Thank you for everything.
Zayn and PAC crossed paths during different stages of their careers, both before and after arriving at WWE. They were part of a generation that traveled through numerous independent promotions before becoming prominent figures in NXT.
PAC, then known as Neville, went on to become NXT Champion and later a two-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion before leaving the company and reclaiming the name under which he had built his international career.
Kevin Owens linked his tribute to PAC with another recent loss in the wrestling world: that of Andy Williams, known to fans as The Butcher.
Owens explained that, although he never personally knew Williams, he had heard numerous stories about his personality. When thinking of him and Satterley, he reflected on the expression commonly used when someone passes away and it is said that they are "in a better place."
When someone leaves us, we always say: "They're going to a better place, they're in a better place." But from everything I've heard about Andy and everything I know about Ben, I would say they are the ones making that place better now.
Owens' testimony is one of the many messages that show the impact Satterley had on his colleagues. Numerous wrestling personalities had already publicly paid tribute to PAC upon learning of his passing, including colleagues from different stages of his career.
The initiative to gather these memories actually came from Kevin Owens. Cody Rhodes later explained that Owens proposed setting up a backstage camera during SmackDown so that the locker room members could freely record their messages dedicated to PAC.
At that time, Rhodes didn't even know what the final destination of the recordings would be. There was a possibility that the material would remain private and only be delivered to Satterley's family.
Ultimately, WWE decided to gather the testimonies and publish them as a collective tribute, allowing fans to get to know a much more personal side of PAC through the people who shared a locker room, travels, and years of career with him.
WWE's tribute comes after All Elite Wrestling dedicated a good portion of one of its recent shows to remembering the British wrestler. PAC had spent the last few years of his career in AEW, where he was a member of Death Triangle and later Death Riders.
AEW brought together several of his colleagues and used different elements during Dynamite to honor his memory, including a commemorative video and references during the main event.
The response from both companies reflects the many locker rooms Satterley passed through during an international career of over two decades. Before WWE and AEW, PAC left a particularly deep mark in Dragon Gate, the Japanese promotion where he managed to capture the Open the Dream Gate Championship.
Satterley returned to Dragon Gate in 2018 after finishing his time in WWE, reclaiming the name PAC and starting a new phase of his career before joining AEW in 2019.
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