The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed that Benjamin Satterley, the AEW star known as PAC and previously as Neville in WWE, died from bronchial asthma. A spokesperson for the office told media outlets that the manner of death was officially ruled natural, closing the door on weeks of uncertainty surrounding the circumstances of his passing.
The finding was first reported by the New York Post before being confirmed by multiple wrestling outlets, including Fightful and NoDQ. AEW announced Satterley’s death on Sunday, September 27, 2026, sending shockwaves through the wrestling industry given his status as one of the promotion’s most respected in-ring performers.
According to Fightful, Satterley had just wrestled Andrade El Idolo in the period surrounding his death, underscoring how sudden and unexpected the loss was to those around him. The specific event and date of that match were not detailed in the available reporting, but the timing places his final in-ring appearance in close proximity to his passing.
Satterley built one of the most decorated careers in modern professional wrestling under both the PAC and Neville names. As Neville, he held WWE’s Cruiserweight Championship and became a centerpiece of the company’s cruiserweight division before departing WWE and re-emerging in AEW as PAC. In AEW, he was a founding member of the Death Triangle stable alongside Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix, and he held the AEW All-Atlantic Championship during his run with the company, cementing his reputation as one of the most technically gifted high-flyers of his generation.
The medical examiner’s ruling provides the wrestling world with a definitive, official explanation for his death following AEW’s initial announcement in September. Bronchial asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that can, in severe cases, lead to acute medical emergencies, though the available reporting does not detail any prior public disclosures by Satterley regarding his health.
Tributes from within the wrestling community followed AEW’s announcement in September, reflecting Satterley’s standing among peers and fans alike as a performer whose in-ring style influenced a generation of competitors across multiple promotions worldwide.
