Benjamin Satterley, known to wrestling fans around the world as Pac, died last month of bronchial asthma, the medical examiner’s office in Cook County, Illinois, confirmed Friday.
The manner of death was natural, the office said.
Satterley, 40, died Sept. 27, just one day after having wrestled on All Elite Wrestling’s “All Out” pay-per-view. His death sent waves of shock and grief and across the world of professional wrestling.
The New York Post first reported the cause of death.
He was found in Des Plaines, around 2 miles north of the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the medical examiner’s office said at the time.
Satterley came up through the British independent system before making the leap to Japan and the U.S. A native of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, he became a highly influential figure known both for his hard-hitting style and breathtaking aerial abilities.
He went on to earn global acclaim, wrestling for some of the top promotions in the world, including AEW, World Wrestling Entertainment (where he went by Adrian Neville), New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.
Satterley adopted the moniker of “The Bastard” at AEW, and captivated fans and contemporaries with the speed, grace, precision and power through which he moved in the ring. On the microphone, his promos conveyed a no-nonsense intensity that equally gripped viewers.
At a time when the fourth wall between fan and wrestler had long collapsed, Satterley rarely broke character. Yet, his death highlighted the humility and kindness behind “The Bastard” persona.
“He was just so modest about how fascinating he was,” Marina Shafir, a fellow member of the Death Riders stable of which Satterley was a part, said at an indie show hours after his death.
“I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t share time and space with this man,” she said.
Days after his death, AEW turned its weekly “Dynamite” show into an emotional tribute to its fallen star, nicknamed “The Man That Gravity Forgot.”
“Whilst he will always have a legacy as one of the greatest wrestlers the U.K. has ever produced, we have been so glad to see so many wonderful tributes that acknowledged who Ben was as a person,” the Satterley family said in a statement read during the show. “He exemplified what it meant to be a decent human being, an honorable man with principles, who adored his family and his sausage dog son, Wolfie.”
On Instagram, his wife, Natalie, thanked Satterley “for our beautiful life.”
“We will try our hardest to get through this nightmare and look after each other as I know that’s what you would want,” she wrote, “but we will miss you every minute, of every hour, of every day.”