Benjamin Satterley's Best Matches, Moments as AEW's Pac and WWE's Neville

The professional wrestling world was stunned Sunday evening when All Elite Wrestling announced the passing of Benjamin Satterley, better known as PAC, at the age of 40.

An international superstar who experienced success across the independents, then in WWE and, finally, AEW, he was a revolutionary performer who flawlessly mixed unmatched athleticism with precise technical skill and was one of the wrestlers fans could trust to deliver every time he set foot inside the squared circle.

While memorializing a wrestler whose greatness was plentiful as his is nearly impossible, enjoy this trip through his undeniable career through some of his best matches and moments.

NXT Champion

By the time the first NXT live event special, Arrival, aired on the brand new WWE Network, Satterley had found success as Adrian Neville and was more than ready to achieve his first major championship victory in pro wrestling's most prominent promotion.

After a year of coming up short, the Man Who Gravity Forgot defeated Bo Dallas in a Ladder Match to win the NXT Championship and cement himself as the face of the black and gold brand moving forward.

The victory, in front of a new audience of fans experiencing NXT for the first time, was a turning point for the brand, with one of the best wrestlers in the world now holding its championship.

Now the centerpiece of an entire roster, he would be trusted to carry NXT into the future and provide the audience with the exhilerating championship clashes at the top of the card that helped define everything Triple H and Co. wanted to accomplish with the revolutionary developmental product.

He did not disappoint.

NXT Title Defense vs. Sami Zayn

As Satterley's time in NXT drew to a close, there was one last thing needed of him: to put over Sami Zayn and pay off the beloved babyface's journey to championship gold.

He did just that on December 11, 2014, when the two clashed in what was the most hotly anticipated championship bout in NXT to that point.

A classic encounter between two stars who cut their teeth on the independents and in international competition, they wowed the NXT fans with high drama and incredible athleticism that concluded with Neville doing the selfless thing, enduring an exploder suplex into the corner, and a second Helluva Kick, as Zayn paid off his arduous journey and achieved a lifelong dream.

It was a legitimate Match of the Year candidate; one that may have defined Zayn's career to that point but, also, one that firmly established Neville as one of the best wrestlers in the world, a reputation he would carry with him to WWE's main roster.

Close Encounters

His arrival on the main roster may have brought with it the loss of his first name and the ring gear of a modern-day superhero. Neville never allowed those changes to negatively influence his performance between the ropes.

Case in point: an August 3, 2015 match-up against WWE champion Seth Rollins in which he delivered the Red Arrow and nearly defeated The Architect in one of the great false finishes you will ever see.

Three months earlier, on the May 11 episode of Raw, he narrowly lost to John Cena in one of the franchise star's famous United States Championship Open Challenge matches.

In two extraordinary opportunities, against two of the best in the world, Neville proved himself capable of hanging with the top talent in WWE.

Teaming with Stephen Amell vs. Stardust and

With Stephen Amell, star of TV's Arrow, set to make his in-ring debut at the 2016 SummerSlam, WWE needed a Superstar it could trust to both carry the work rate of the match, as well as guide the non-wrestler should he get lost along the way.

Enter Neville, who accomplished both and as a result, what could have been a disastrous match on paper turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

In his biggest pay-per-view match to that point, the Man Who Gravity Forgot showed up, showed out, and earned the win for his team over the bizarre Stardust and reigning King of the Ring, Wade Barrett, pinning the latter with his jaw-dropping Red Arrow.

It was, to that point, one of the biggest wins of Neville's WWE run and, outside of his work to establish the cruiserweight division as a legitimate entity, one of the most important accomplishments of his career.

Despite being recognized by fans as one of the best in the world, creative frustration would lead to a messy divorce from the company. That separation, though, would open doors for him to compete elsewhere, such as an upstart company created by the man beneath the Stardust paint, Cody Rhodes.

PAC Arrives in AEW

The introduction of AEW gave wrestlers from around the world a true alternative to WWE, a promotion where they could excel by being among the best in the world.

Satterley wasted no time doing so, appearing under the name that had caught the attention of wrestling fans in the first place: PAC.

"The Bastard" targeted "Hangman" Adam Page first, defeating him on the debut episode of AEW Dynamite in October of 2019. Before that, at All Out that August, he earned a jaw-dropping win over Kenny Omega, forcing him to pass out in the clutches of the Brutaliser.

Those two programs would instantly elevate PAC in the eyes of the fans and confirm his status as one of the top wrestlers on the early AEW roster. The world had already known he was great, but those matches erased years of frustration and reminded the audience that he could be a legitimate world title contender, too.

It would be against an unlikely opponent that he would have the most important match-up of his AEW career.

PAC Elevates Orange Cassidy

On paper, Orange Cassidy stood no chance against The Bastard at AEW Revolution in February of 2020.

One was an admitted comedy act, while the other was a world-class competitor, one win away from the world title at any given point. With two differing styles, too, there was reason to believe fans were in for a car wreck of epic proportions.

What they got instead was a star-making match for Freshly Squeezed, thanks in large part to the extent that PAC was willing to put him over.

Overconfident, he shook off Cassidy's nonchalant nonsense and brutally beat him up for a large portion of the match. As things progressed and frustration over his inability to put his opponent away set in, the heel began succumbing to Cassidy's trademark offense and sold the tornado DDT better than anyone in company history.

The dramatic near-falls kept the fans in Chicago on the edge of their seats, believing they may witness a historic upset.

PAC inevitably downed Cassidy and tapped him out to the Brutaliser. Still, it was one of those star-making outings that saw him do everything in his power to put over Cassidy and his character in a big-match situation.

PAC would go on to have more technically sound bouts that looked the part of classics, but what he accomplished on that night, in front of a rabid crowd, earned him further respect from the AEW faithful and created a beloved babyface who would go on to become a sizeable star for the promotion.

Death Triangle and The Death Riders

PAC had experienced success in AEW before he joined up with Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, and Marina Shafir in the Death Riders, teaming with Penta and Rey Fenix in Death Triangle.

With the Lucha Bros, he captured the AEW World Trios Championships and battled The Elite in an epic Best-of-Seven Series over the titles that saw them eventually drop the gold to Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.

Injuries prevented that trio from having a satisfying ending, though.

Beginning in 2024 and running for the next two years, PAC's inclusion in the Death Riders meant he was at the forefront of some high-profile angles and matches, all while causing chaos, evoking toughness, highlighting his brutality, and backing up Moxley in his pursuit of championship domination.

He held back Wheeler Yuta, making the young star watch as his fellow Death Rider teammates maniacally attacked Bryan Danielson. He would routinely interfere on behalf of Moxley in his world title match-ups and, along the way, continue to showcase himself as one of the premier workers in the company, even as injuries often halted his momentum.

He represented that group in his final match on Saturday, September 26, when he battled Andrade El Idolo at All Out.

Another banger match between two NXT exports who left the mighty WWE to find success elsewhere, it was representative of PAC's pro wrestling career in that it set the tone in the opening match spot and further established his opponent as a world title contender.

Straight through until the end, everyone who worked with PAC was better for it, whether it was having a great match at a time when they needed it or being legitimized at a level they previously had not been.

A workhorse who always brought his best to the mat, that never changed during his entire stint with AEW.

A Legacy of Love and Admiration

Following the shocking revelation of his untimely passing, tributes to Satterley poured in across social media.

Reigning AEW World Champion Will Ospreay referred to PAC as England's greatest export, both as a wrestler and a person.

WWE's Paul Heyman expressed disbelief.

A heartbroken Kyle Fletcher recalled working with his hero.

WWE Raw general manager Adam Pearce expressed gratitude for the time he spent working with Satterley.

AEW referee Bryce Remsburg recounted the bond his children shared with their friend, Ben.

Finn Balor had one word to describe the great competitor: family.

AEW owner and president, Tony Khan, issued a statement on the passing of one of his company's foundational stars.

There are countless tributes similar to them across social media from the men and women who had the opportunity to know Satterley and work with him. They say less about his in-ring work as a wrestler and more about the man himself.

If a man's legacy is defined by the meaningful interactions he has had with those in his life, and will endure because of them, it is safe to say that the man who took so much joy in being a "Bastard" every Wednesday night on Dynamite was anything but.