Jim Ross has praised AEW for its emotional tribute to PAC while reflecting on what made the late Benjamin Satterley such a respected figure both inside the ring and behind the scenes.
Satterley passed away earlier this week at the age of 40. Wednesday night’s AEW Dynamite from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh was dedicated to his memory, featuring a ten-bell salute and concluding with a video package celebrating his life and career.
Speaking during a live episode of Grilling JR following Dynamite, Ross admitted it had been an emotional week and praised AEW’s handling of the tribute.
“It’s been an emotional week, to say the least. And I thought AEW did a phenomenal job tonight on that show honoring PAC, who was one of my favorites of all time. One of my favorites of all time. When I’d see him, I called him Lad. I’d see him at the AEW TV, and I would say hello, lad, and what I got in return was a hearty handshake and a big old smile,” Ross said. “So he’s going to be so missed, and he sets a great example for how pro wrestlers should conduct themselves, and it’s not always a work in the sense of they can’t separate fact from fiction. He just was an amazing locker room guy, teammate, and that’s why we saw that emotion a few minutes ago here tonight, and I thought that was what the guys said from their heart,” he added.
Ross also credited Mike Mansury and AEW’s production team for assembling the tribute material on short notice. “One thing that we should mention is the fact that it’s amazing the tumultuous last few days for AEW and their crew, Mansury and all his buddies, to obtain all this footage, and these pictures. I’m sure those guys are working 24/7 to get all that stuff done. No doubt for Wednesday night show, so my hat’s off to them,” Ross said.
He also praised the Pittsburgh audience for the way it responded throughout the tribute show.
“My hat’s also off to the Pittsburgh crowd. You couldn’t ask for a better reception. They reacted correctly, I thought, at the right times,” he said.
“That crowd really helped make that show special, considering the subject matter and the heartbreaking loss of PAC,” Ross added.
Ross was similarly complimentary of Tony Schiavone and Excalibur’s work on commentary during the difficult broadcast. “I thought Schiavone and Excalibur did a hell of a job tonight on commentary. I thought they did a tremendous job. They stayed in their lane, and just did really great stuff. And I’m proud of them as announcers,” Ross said.
Discussing PAC’s value beyond his performances in the ring, Ross said Satterley would have been exactly the type of wrestler he would have wanted on his roster if he were running a territory. “If I had a wrestling territory, I would do all I could do to hire PAC on my team, because he meant so much in the locker room, and we don’t give that facet enough credit of how you react in the locker room, how you react, especially in today’s world of social media. I mean, you can create a hailstorm really easy, and you never heard that from PAC. He always had a smile, always got a hug. He was a big fan of my work over the years as a kid growing up in England and getting some of that WCW and WWE stuff. He just was. He was perfect,” Ross said.
Ross also placed PAC among the finest in-ring performers he had witnessed during his lengthy career. “I thought he was one of the best workers I’d ever seen,” Ross said. “He had no fear, and he knew that the crowd paid good money to come see him do those things, and by golly, he was going to provide it to them.”
Ross said the tribute episode held his attention from beginning to end. “But I really am impressed with the show tonight. I didn’t get up and go get a bottle of water. I didn’t want to miss anything,” he said.
Closing the episode, Ross reflected on his own career and how meeting people such as Satterley made his decades in professional wrestling worthwhile. “I’m grateful for a lot of my gifts and what a run I’ve had. And when you meet people along the way like PAC, it makes it all worthwhile,” Ross said.
