PAC RIP

[BomberPat]

59 minutes ago, Supremo said:

where you can’t imagine him living in the real world, doing normal things like shopping for food, and even if you try to imagine it he’s always wearing his wrestling gear.

I've had a running joke with my partner and some friends in the wrestling business about how the difference between Pac and Ben is that Ben wears so many clothes. Pac is always in trunks, but when you see Ben backstage, he's in a shirt, fleece, hoodie, hat, glasses, halfway to looking like Joey wearing all of Chandler's clothes.

I was absolutely stunned hearing the news this morning. I can't really say anything that hasn't been said; just an incredible talent, and a great bloke who knew his worth, knew his credibility, and did as much as he could to help others and leave wrestling better than he found it. I wrote a lot after All In about how a lot of younger wrestlers and fans don't realise how the idea of making it from a tiny UK independent to headlining a stadium show was unthinkable not that long ago, and honestly I don't think that happens without Pac opening as many doors as he did twenty years ago. 

 

Apparently AEW wrestlers found out the news while they were at Andy Williams' celebration of life. Just a devastating thought.

[tiger_rick]

1 hour ago, RedTwoster said:

I mentioned this in my original post, but since then I rewatched PAC vs. Orange Cassidy from Revolution 2020, and it's just as good as I remembered. I can't think of a better tribute to him than showing him at his best. I'm sure there will be plenty of journalists and people unfamiliar with PAC today trying to find out what he was all about. It's tragic that his death would be what introduces them to him, but he was one of the most influential British wrestlers of the past decade - and was capable of magic in ring like this: 

I'm finding myself wanting to talk about PAC this morning, and I wanted to celebrate just how brilliant he was a little bit more than I did in my previous post. If you've googled PAC and found this thread, I'd only have to direct you to the All Out thread on this board to get an idea as to how genuine the thoughts expressed in this thread are - he was one of the most believable and effective heel characters in recent memory, a tremendous wrestler and, by all accounts, a tremendous human being. And I'm not sure he ever had a bad wrestling match - the one I've just shared is my personal favourite, but it's hard to pick a standout from such an incredible body of work. 

 

57 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Horrendous news.

I too was going to post that Orange Cassidy match. It’s still one of my favourite matches ever. Like a Proof of Concept of not only how the Orange Cassidy character could work in a mainstream promotion, but also how perfect AEW could be if you mixed the PWG/NJPW-style work with WWE-style comedy and characters. It’s the quintessential AEW match. There’s no greater joy to be had than watching Pac chase Orange rolling around the ring as they both struggle not to laugh. Six years on, I’m still not sure there’s a better combination of characters than Pac and Orange.

It goes without saying that he leaves behind one of the greatest match catalogs imaginable, but his character work also needs to be highlighted. Who else in a post-kayfabe world was so dedicated to the act that not only did you never see or hear him out of character, but the very idea of him wearing normal clothes seemed alien?! Wild that in 2026 he managed to develop a character similar to something you’d see in the 1980s, where you can’t imagine him living in the real world, doing normal things like shopping for food, and even if you try to imagine it he’s always wearing his wrestling gear.

The Full Gear pay per view was named after his dedication to only ever wear his trunks, wasn’t it? I hope they turn that into some sort of tribute.

Big shout for him seemingly knowing his worth, too. Isn’t he one of those wrestlers who simply decided to fuck WWE off, and just went home until they eventually agreed to release him? Hell yeah.

Might as well post this. Easily TV match of the year. So much fun. Sunset Flip into the bunker! Incredible.

A huge loss. I can’t imagine what people in that company must be going through. What an unbelievably shit couple of weeks.

Love both of these matches. The OC match I remember my daughter becoming massively invested in. She used to only really like the matches with the women in but that fascinated her. She found Pac's frustration really funny. It was definitely the match that made me realise how brilliant and credible OC's daft gimmick could be too. It's a masterpiece.

The brawl on the golf course with Darby is just pure pro-wrestling madness and I bloody love it.

I really love Pac. I always thought he was very good and he had the "one of our own" quality that others have mentioned but I was really impressed with how he'd adapt to make himself more believable, more marketable and more interesting. Even his recent return in his WOS pants has been one I've really liked. He looked incredible, his work was as good as ever and anytime he speaks, it's fantastic. I mentioned in the last week that I have come to like the Death Riders act and he was a huge part of that. 

9 minutes ago, Chris B said:

And now, I think he'll be near the top of the list of 'should have held a world championship'.

There was definitely a period before the AEW roster really filled up with recognisable names that I was desperate to see it. Those matches with Kenny, he looked as good as anyone on the shows.

[Chili]

One of my favourite early AEW moments that everyone knows from the OC/PAC match, PAC angrily marching around the ring perfectly timing to meet Orange, who corpses at seeing PAC. Full credit to The Bastard, he's absolutely fighting back a smile. Proper funny and brilliant combination, said elsewhere but I liked their natural rivals you can plug in and play whenever you wanted them facing off.

 

[TheScarlettChad]

Two mates messaged me telling me this news. Just shocking. Reminds me of Eddie. Wrestling, and then a couple of days later, passes away. We've moved on from a wrestler dying every other week so when it does happen it's shocking but a top guy who was on TV every week. Just heartbreaking. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

Woke up to a message from my mate saying he had died.

Absolute shock. Just 40 years old.

I remember seeing Pac at 1PW and the King of Europe Cup in 2006 and 2007. He was so different to everyone else. Some of the moves he did were completely mind blowing and it was no surprise he caught the attention and Japan and America.

I believe Regal recently posted that he held Pac in incredibly high regard and that is quite the endorsement in my opinion. 

RIP Pac. Incredibly sad and shocking.

[Callum1993]

Fantastic post @HarmonicGenerator summed it up better than I ever could. A brilliant wrestler and by all accounts an even better human being.