The wrestling world suffered yet another tragedy when it was reported by AEW that Benjamin Satterley, known as Pac in the company, died at age 40, the day after his National Championship match at AEW All Out. The WWE locker room took the hit of the loss, as well, as the star performed in the company as Neville for six years.WWE released a video tribute to Satterley, featuring WWE stars, many of whom worked with him in "WWE NXT." The talent expressed their emotions openly, including Kevin Owens, who spoke about the first time he worked with Satterley during a match in the UK in 2006."I remember he was really nervous before the match and pretty awkward," Owens said. "Then we went out and had that match, and when we came back, I told him, 'Hey. You're like the best wrestler I've ever seen and ever worked with.' And from that moment on, he was pretty much my favorite wrestler. I told everybody about him. But, beyond that, he became such a great friend."Owens described Satterley as the best wrestler in the world, but someone too humble to ever imply for a second that he was. He said that Satterley would have hated everyone speaking so nicely about him, sharing stories, but Owens said he thought it therapeutic for himself and others. He said he was so glad they got to travel together, and Satterley was the silver lining in being away from his own family."If there's anything to take away from this, it's to make sure to tell the people you love how important they are to you when you can," Owens said. "Ben brought so many people together this week because everyone feels the loss so hard and that's a testament to the kind of person he was."
Bayley shared memories of Satterley from "NXT's" black and gold era, calling it a "special, rare time." She said it was a time where they all saw the real Satterley, who she called a "total goofball." She said she was lucky she got to experience his humor, but explained it took awhile. Bayley said she and former WWE star Carmella always tried to get to know him, in their own, annoying way."We would see him joke around with the boys, so we knew that there was a real person in there that we can have fun with," Bayley said. "We would constantly annoy him and try to be around him. He always played it cool and didn't pay much attention to us. Until there was one night we went out in Orlando and he brought his wife, Natalie, with him, and she liked us poking fun at him, and I feel like that's when he like, let us in, because his wife liked us, and he loved his wife so much."Penta and Rey Fenix also spoke about Satterley, who they worked with as Death Triangle in AEW. Penta said it was an emotional time for them both, and that Satterley will always have their hearts. He said Pac helped them so much in their careers and gave the best advice."Pac, the only thing I can say right now is that I thank God and life for having met you and for having a friend like you," Penta said. "For having been able to share the ring with you alongside my brother and for everything we achieved. I only have words of gratitude for a great person, a great friend, and a great wrestler.""Our big brother. Thank you for everything, bro," Fenix said. "We love you. We love you so much."
Sami Zayn, who knew Satterley since they were kids, was distraught and spoke directly to the late star. He said he felt pressure to share the right words and stories to honor his friend, who he said he became a man alongside over the years."I saw all these posts coming in and all these tribute videos and tributes and then here I am feeling ashamed and feeling guilty like, 'God, I gotta say something,'" Zayn said. "I gotta do something. I just got to find the perfect words. The perfect pictures that show how close we really were.' It just doesn't exist, man. I have hundreds of pictures of us."He said the perfect words to articulate his grief don't exist. Zayn said he knew Satterley would also be struggling in his position."You knew and I knew, and that's what matters," Zayn said. "That's what I take away, man. We were so lucky. We had the best life, man. We had the best life together and we got to share so many incredible things that people wouldn't dream of, man."Zayn collected his thoughts throughout the video, and later gave his love to Satterley's wife, mother, and dog. He said despite them growing up together, he always saw his friend as a young, mischievous kid."You were in such crazy shape and you were still just this 5-year-old kid to me, you know?" Zayn laughed. "I am so blessed to have known you. I am so lucky. I'm so lucky that I got to live the life I have, and I am so lucky you were such a big part of it for so long and we have 20 unbelievable years [so close], man, and that's more than most people get, so I'll take it."
