PAC RIP

[TibBo]

Man this is so awful and sad  rip

[Frankie Crisp]

This was one of those - like many people - I assumed was some instagram bollocks post that I dismissed, only see to see this thread title and realise it was genuine. Absolutely heartbreaking before even reading the first post; he was such an entertainer in the ring and had you immersed in his character. The tributes to him online have been gut-wrenching but Balyey’s really hit hard. Terribly sad news.

Also, Val Venis - being the perennial bellend he is - could barely wait 24 hours since the news broke to throw his Covid vaccine theory out there as a cause of death. Ghoul.

[Mr.Showtime]

This totally sucks, I felt down all yesterday after hearing about this. I never met the guy, never saw him perform live, and haven't seen any of the hundreds of matches he had before joining NXT (I'm sure that will change soon). But despite all that, when I did see him on the telly, he entertained the hell out of me. I'm not ready to sit through any of his performances yet, but will definitely try and track down bouts I haven't seen in the near future.

Let it also be remembered that Pac was AEW's very first double champion, a feat that has since encouraged about 700 wrestlers to try and emulate him.

[Kfogg1991]

I'm still taking this in and accepting it's true.

He gave so much time when he was starting out to me talking to him when he came online on MSN never ever ignored or brushed me off and with the tributes online he didn't change one bit. 

I can't watch his opening match I don't think I ever will, how can he be on that show and hours later gone it's so sad to think about it.

 

Love and support to everyone here having a hard one with this I mean that from the bottom of my heart 

[DavidB6937]

It's just one of those things you wake up the next day and hope isn't real isn't it? But the outpouring of upset and shock and love and respect hasn't stopped.

Eddie's IG tribute was a beautiful but difficult watch. He's just such a raw and emotional guy, you can't help but feel every word he says. I mean it's the exact reason so many of us love the guy and want him to succeed but god you can't help but be worried for the guy too. It's a lot.

I love that the tributes and stories keep coming. Whether it's the simple dedication and the armbands on Raw or his friends sharing stories on socials, he's just a guy who had a tremendous impact all over the world to so many people. Easy to take for granted when you've got someone like that in your life, but it sounds like he had a lot of love given back to him too. So I hope he knew.

[Accident Prone]

Yesterday's PAC news completely stunned me, I am still in shock now.

I first saw PAC live in 2007 for Anti-Watershed Wrestling (fucking hell) at the Irish Centre in Birmingham, a super tiny venue, after seeing his incredible breakthrough matches in his 2006 PWG stint. Me and my brother bowed to him during his ring entrance, because we were young and destined to be virgins forever, a destiny we avoided now that we have at least one child each.

He did a flip off the 2nd rope during his entrance, his foot caught the ceiling & it brought down all the Irish flag bunting. The ring and ringisde was littered with tiny Irish flags. He still did a shooting star press & a flippy-doo plancha during the match, he was not put off by that experience at all. He made sure to give the fans everything, which is a key quality that I look for from a wrestler even to this day. I was a huge PAC fan before, and then a mega fan after that.

I saw him live for the same promotion a few months later, and he was great again, and this time I knew he was scheduled to be at PWG that weekend so I wanted to wish him luck (and show off my big brainy smart mark head, please see the previous virgin allegations), and I saw him sneak out in a hoody straight after his match, carrying his bag and through the front door, likely heading straight for the airport. He did a moonsault plancha in that match, in that same low-ceiling building, fucking effortlessly. Looking back, I think that was the last time I caught him in action live.

I still went on to follow him everywhere; the US indies, the trek to Japan, his mainstream run, the return back to the UK, and his excursion to the big leagues again. Every single time he knocked it out of the park and looked fantastic doing it. The name "PAC" would sell me on a show, instantly. There was never a bad day for PAC the wrestler, because even on his personal bad days he still put in a shift to make sure that fans were happy. There's a stacked PWG match on a stacked PWG card from 2009 where he was battling an illness and getting sick under the ring, and you wouldn't know unless you were told the dirty details afterwards. PAC was the opposite to the Kevin Nash's of the wrestling world with their "We've already got their money!" shitarse philosophy. PAC was someone who valued the time, money and personal investment that fans poured in, week in and week out. My kind of professional wrestler, and my kind of human being.

After work yesterday, I headed back home after picking up my son from school. He's five now and he's come to see wrestling on the telly as some sort of threat. "I'll put Dad's Boring Wrestling on!" is a common key phrase for getting him to tidy up or brush his teeth or stop jumping on my ribs. I've not watched any wrestling for the past year, but I had to change that yesterday, I just had to take some time and relish what we had in PAC. You type in "PAC vs..." into YouTube and the first result is always vs Orange Cassidy at AEW Revolution 2020. My son ALWAYS, without fail, loses interest in wrestling within a minute or so, and I thank the sweet lord for that. This one though, was different. He only lost interest a FEW minutes into the match, which is a massive compliment to both PAC and OC. He enjoyed the pockets schtick from OC, and PAC was a clearly defined snarling evil bad guy that he could root against. He swung back in though for the moment that everyone goes back to with this match; OC constantly rolling out of the way of PAC's aerial attack. My son laughed giddly, the same laugh he saves for dopey cartoon prat falls.

Ten minutes later, I'm with the wife doing the pre-dinner prep, and my son stands on the arm of the sofa and falls backwards onto the cushions. "Dad, you've got to jump on me!" he says, and points to the arm of the sofa. I get up and perch and he rolls out of the way, all the way across the living room to the far wall. I make an angry face, climb up on a nearby arm chair, do the universal hand sign for "FLIPPY DOO" and he rolls all the way back to the other side of the room, giggling like a maniac. We now have a new game for the repertoire, one that maybe my son will play with his kids if he decides to have them. How does one man, a wrestler from the non-American parts of England, get to this status without being a cunt? The world is worse for no longer having him, but we can rebound if people pick up on his qualities, both professionally and personally.

Thanks for the memories PAC, you will not be forgotten. You will be celebrated, in ways that you probably never knew.

Edited 15 hours ago by Accident Prone

[tiger_rick]

3 hours ago, DavidB6937 said:

Eddie's IG tribute was a beautiful but difficult watch. He's just such a raw and emotional guy, you can't help but feel every word he says. I mean it's the exact reason so many of us love the guy and want him to succeed but god you can't help but be worried for the guy too. It's a lot.

Agree with all of this. I worry for him. He feels like someone constantly on the edge. This was so hard to watch, as was Tony's speech at the ROH taping.

3 hours ago, DavidB6937 said:

I love that the tributes and stories keep coming. Whether it's the simple dedication and the armbands on Raw or his friends sharing stories on socials, he's just a guy who had a tremendous impact all over the world to so many people. Easy to take for granted when you've got someone like that in your life, but it sounds like he had a lot of love given back to him too. So I hope he knew.

I spent a good hour this morning catching up with all the nice things people had posted about him. It was so sad but wholesome. A guy beloved by everyone. AEW's social posts have been lovely. 

Be nice if the company could catch a break after Butcher, Pac and the Rebel tribute recently.

[Chili]

Nice little comp with some vignettes, promos and mostly his title wins/stuff with Orange Cassidy/Darby Allin on the golf course.

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Chili

[BomberPat]

I worry about Eddie Kingston too; I think he's in a better place than he has been in the past, but it's still a rough time for someone who struggles as he does. I remember when Larry Sweeney died, it was the strength of King's tributes to him that made me a fan, and people around CHIKARA at the time would talk partly but not entirely in kayfabe about how Eddie only really had a handful of friends in the business, and Larry was one. From there to lose Brodie Lee, Jay Briscoe, Butcher, and now PAC, obviously it's horrible for everyone involved but Eddie Kingston, Bryce Remsburg and Excalibur are the people who always come to mind first for me - Eddie because of how much he wears his heart on his sleeve, Bryce for similar reasons and because he always posts really heartfelt messages remembering friends he's lost, and Excalibur just for having the job of trying to communicate to an audience not just the fact that they've lost someone, but trying to convey the love a locker room had for that person, and how he's had to do that far too often for a young company.

 

[I Bent My Wookie]

To a degree I hope they give Excalibur the night off tomorrow, or at least only have him do a Pre tape. As one of the founders of PWG and bringing Pac across the pond realistically for his first big break in the US, they'll have known each other 20 years or so. I don't think anyone would mind letting him have some time with his family and his friends rather than trying to remain composed but sound enthusiastic at times too. He was shaken up enough talking about Stevens injury Saturday and how he had to stop wrestling to protect himself, losing a friend at such a young age again will surely have a lot of those feelings come back up. 

[RedTwoster]

9 minutes ago, I Bent My Wookie said:

To a degree I hope they give Excalibur the night off tomorrow, or at least only have him do a Pre tape. As one of the founders of PWG and bringing Pac across the pond realistically for his first big break in the US, they'll have known each other 20 years or so. I don't think anyone would mind letting him have some time with his family and his friends rather than trying to remain composed but sound enthusiastic at times too. He was shaken up enough talking about Stevens injury Saturday and how he had to stop wrestling to protect himself, losing a friend at such a young age again will surely have a lot of those feelings come back up. 

Tony Khan mentioned in his ROH intro that everyone working both that taping and AEW this week is doing so voluntarily, so he certainly isn't being forced to work it. I would hope he doesn't feel obligated though, and only takes part in the show if it's important to him to do so, to pay tribute to his friend. 

[SaitoRyo]

Grief is a strange thing.

I won't go into details, but I knew Ben very well for a while. I hadn't seen him for a number of years, as his job had taken him around the world and he liked to live a quiet, normal life whenever he was back home, but news of his passing hit me like a truck and the past couple of days have been really hard.

There's a million thoughts running through my head, but the most important thing was that I loved my friend and I am truly gutted he is no longer here. He was every bit as good as people are saying, if not better. 

Edited 9 hours ago by SaitoRyo

[Slapnut]

Very little to add that hasn't already been said, but just wanted to link to one of my absolute favourite Pac moments which isn't even from a match, but from his final WWE appearance.

What a fucking guy. RIP to the Bastard. Really gutted about this one.

[JLM]

Just want to say that this thread has brought the best out this place in horrible circumstances. No spreading or debating of gossip or speculation, no edgy or cynical comments, just lots of very thoughtful and respectful posts.

Really cool to see how people have different memories of PAC at different points in his career and their fandom, as well as a few more personal ones from those who actually knew him. @HarmonicGeneratorwas the poster on here I knew would be hit the hardest from a fan perspective and that post was as heartbreaking and lovely as expected, but the thread as a whole has been as positive as it could be after such awful news. Obviously this is exactly how the thread should be, but it’s certainly not the default on the internet and I don’t take it for granted. 

[Supremo]

Daniel Garcia is someone I worry about. Seeing how emotional he was after losing The Butcher, and then losing a stable mate weeks later? Horrific.

I’m tempted to go back and watch that Best of Seven series they did between The Elite and Death Triangle. I wonder if it holds up. Always felt like it would have been remembered far more fondly if it hadn’t happened so soon after Brawl Out, which left a huge dark cloud over everything.