Speedball Mike Bailey Praises AEW’s “Wonderful” PAC Tribute Show
Speedball Mike Bailey said AEW had the most appropriate celebration of PAC.
On September 27, PAC sadly passed away in Des Plaines, Illinois, less than 24 hours after wrestling in the opening match of AEW All Out. The loss of the British wrestler, aged 40, naturally resulted in an outpouring of love and grief from across the wrestling community. Subsequently, the September 30 episode of AEW Dynamite was dedicated to the memory of Benjamin “PAC” Satterley, featuring matches from his Death Riders stablemates and a clash between classic rivals Ricochet and Will Ospreay. “Speedball” Mike Bailey was at ringside for Ospreay’s victory over Ricochet, part of a show they felt was the perfect tribute.
Speaking on their YouTube channel, Mike Bailey praised the show’s dedication to great wrestling in honour of the late PAC.
“A very, very long day. A very emotional day, but I think ultimately, a very good day. The vibes backstage after the show were much different. The fact that we all got to see that tribute video they made that aired at the end of Dynamite, and everyone got to just sit and cry together after putting on such a wonderful show. I think the most appropriate tribute that we could have done was just to put on an incredible wrestling show with bangers where every match is good because everyone puts their heart into making their match as good as it can possibly be.”
-Mike Bailey
PAC had wrestled for over 24 years, bringing never-before-seen high-flying action to the British indies. This would see him brought into PWG at the recommendation of El Generico and Kevin Steen. PAC would also tour with Japan’s DragonGate extensively, becoming an Open the Twin Gate Champion as well as a year-plus reign with the Open the Brave Gate Championship. He would eventually leave to forge a path in WWE before his 2018 departure.
Following a Dragon Gate return to win the Open the Dream Gate Championship, PAC would become one of the founding stars of AEW. Across his time with the company, he would become the first-ever All-Atlantic Champion (now known as the International Championship) and hold the World Trios Championships for the longest combined time of any man across two reigns.
The show also featured Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy, Mercedes Moné, Persephone, & Britt Baker teaming against Marina Shafir, Hyan, & Thunder Rosa, as well as a Death Riders vs. Don Callis Family 10-man tag main event.
One shock participant in that match, teaming with the Death Riders, was Bryan Danielson, although “The American Dragon” isn’t expected to be a regular feature in the ring moving forward. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the reaction to the PAC tribute show as soon as we hear more.
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