Lance Archer delivered an emotional speech following his match at Sunday’s Warrior Wrestling event after the wrestling world learned of PAC’s passing at the age of 40.
AEW announced on September 27 that PAC, real name Benjamin Satterley, had passed away.
After competing at Warrior Wrestling later that night, Archer took the microphone and addressed the crowd, explaining that he and Marina Shafir had wrestled despite dealing with the shock of losing their friend and colleague.
“You guys are going to give me a second. I need to say something. This is real. We lost a brother,” Archer began.
When some members of the audience initially reacted, Archer stressed the seriousness of what he was telling them.
“This ain’t a laughing matter. If you laughed, you’re being extremely disrespectful. This is very real.
“AEW’s Pac. This is legit. This ain’t fake. This ain’t laughing. This ain’t hooting and hollering. Pac has passed away.”
Archer explained that he and Shafir ultimately decided to perform because of the fans who had come to see them.
“There’s only one reason that myself and Marina here in a little while have come out here to perform: because without you guys, this business doesn’t exist.”
Archer then revealed that Jon Moxley had reached out to check on them following the news.
According to Archer, he asked Moxley directly whether they should still wrestle that night.
“I talked to Jon Moxley, who is obviously in a box group with Marina and him, and I asked him, I said, ‘Should we do this tonight? Should we perform?’”
Archer said Moxley’s first concern was making sure they were okay.
“First and foremost, he was checking on us, because that’s what kind of man he is. That’s what kind of family the business of professional wrestling is. Because when something like this happens, when a tragedy happens, we check on each other, and he checked on us.”
He added:
“Storylines to be damned, feuds be damned. Brother to brother, brother to sister. He checked on us.”
Moxley encouraged Archer and Shafir to go ahead with the show and make their performance a tribute to PAC.
“He said, ‘You only get one lifetime. One, that’s it. And go out there and do what you do. Do it to the best of your ability. Entertain the people who came and paid hard money, and you do it in honor and remembrance of our fallen brothers.’”
Archer also reflected on other losses experienced by the AEW locker room, including Brodie Lee and The Butcher.
He then continued relaying Moxley’s advice:
“He said, ‘You go out there and you perform. You put on your boots and you perform. You go out there because that’s what Pac wants you to do. He wants you to go out there and perform.’”
“‘Put your boots on. Get in the ring. Kick each other in the face and enjoy life.’”
Archer concluded his speech by encouraging those in attendance to make the most of their lives.
“So right here, right now, me, Marina, every one of the guys, we’re doing this because we all have one life to live. So you go and enjoy and do what you do to the best of your ability.
“God bless. I love you all.”
PAC competed in his final match one night earlier at AEW All Out, challenging Andrade El Idolo for the AEW National Championship.
Tributes have continued to pour in from throughout professional wrestling following the announcement of his passing.
