Pac, the AEW star known to a previous generation of WWE fans as Adrian Neville, has died at 40. AEW confirmed his passing Sunday night, one day after he wrestled his final match at All Out in Chicago.
Tony Khan shared the news with a tribute of his own: “Benjamin Satterley defined excellence, as a beloved husband and friend to his many loved ones, and in his wrestling knowledge, skill, unprecedented athleticism, professionalism, consistency and dedication to the sport that he loved and traveled the world to pursue. May Ben rest in peace.”
What We Know About His Final Hours
According to TMZ, Pac was found unresponsive Sunday afternoon inside a vehicle parked outside a restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, not far from where he’d wrestled the night before. Restaurant customers who spotted him called for help, and first responders were dispatched. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. No cause of death has been released, and an autopsy is pending. The Stunner will update this story as more information becomes available, and asks readers to avoid speculating on a cause until officials have one.
His Last Night in the Ring
Pac’s final match came Saturday at All Out, where he challenged Andrade for the AEW National Championship and came up short. He shook Andrade’s hand after the bell, then appeared later in the night alongside his Death Riders stablemates during the main event. Hours before AEW’s announcement, Andrade had told Fightful that Pac “has to be a world champion in the future,” a line that reads very differently now.
From Newcastle to Two Championship Belts on Two Continents
Born Benjamin Satterley in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Pac broke into wrestling in 2004 and built a reputation on the UK independent scene before taking his high-flying style worldwide, working for promotions including PWG, ROH, and Dragongate. He signed with WWE in 2012 as Adrian Neville, and quickly became one of the defining performers of the early NXT era: a two-time NXT Tag Team Champion and NXT Champion, the first man to hold both at once. On the main roster he became a two-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, working a “King of the Cruiserweights” heel persona.
He walked away from WWE in October 2017 and, once his contract expired, returned to Dragongate as Pac, winning the Open the Dream Gate Championship. He signed with AEW in January 2019 and became one of the promotion’s cornerstone talents, first as part of the Death Triangle stable and later the Death Riders, becoming AEW’s inaugural International Champion and a two-time AEW World Trios Champion, at one point holding both belts at the same time, the first AEW talent to do so. Fans knew him as “The Man That Gravity Forgot” for a corkscrew shooting star press (the Black Arrow) that looked like it broke the laws of physics every time he threw it.
Wrestling Pays Its Respects
Triple H wrote: “Saddened to hear about the death of Ben Satterley known in WWE as Neville. I had the pleasure of working with Ben in the early days of NXT,” crediting him as a major force behind the brand’s formative years.
Nick Aldis recalled running into Pac just weeks earlier: “I ran into Ben at a restaurant near Nashville Airport a few weeks ago… That will be how I remember him, just the nicest, most humble man despite being objectively the most talented in-ring performer of our generation, perhaps ever.” Ric Flair called him “a gifted talent with incredible athleticism and a kind person,” and Bayley wrote, “I had the best time annoying you. Grateful for the time and memories we all have together. We love you, Ben.”
One of the hardest tributes came from Marina Shafir, who broke down discussing Pac after her own match at Warrior Wrestling that weekend. “I was just holding this man yesterday,” she said, remembering a hug and a conversation about “wiener dogs and basketball courts and everything.” She asked the crowd to tell the people in their own lives that they love them, adding, “I was just very happy that I got to tell him that I loved him yesterday.”
The Stunner sends its condolences to Pac’s family, his Death Riders stablemates, and everyone across wrestling who called him a friend.
