Jeff Jarrett has shared an emotional recollection of the final conversation he had with Pac before the AEW star’s death, describing a lighthearted backstage discussion about rugby and soccer at AEW All Out that has taken on an entirely different meaning in the days since.
Benjamin Satterley, known worldwide as Pac, died unexpectedly at age 40 on Sunday, September 27, less than 24 hours after competing at AEW All Out in Chicago. Pac had been featured prominently on the September 26 pay-per-view, challenging Andrade El Idolo for the AEW National Championship and later appearing during the main event as he attempted to assist Death Riders ally Jon Moxley against AEW World Champion Will Ospreay.
Speaking on My World, Jarrett recalled arriving home from Chicago on Sunday before attending a speaking engagement with his son, Kody. It was after that event, while he was leaving the venue, that Jarrett saw the message from co-host Conrad Thompson informing him that Pac had died.
“When I saw your text, Conrad, I don’t know, disbelief,” Jarrett said. “I think I’m just like, ‘What?’ I couldn’t wrap my head around it.”
For more background on this topic, read Steve Maclin Open to AEW Run After Adam Copeland Match at MLP Northern Rising.
The circumstances surrounding Pac’s death remain under review. He was found unconscious inside a vehicle in the parking lot of a restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, on the afternoon of September 27 and was pronounced dead after authorities arrived shortly after 4 p.m. local time. A cause of death remains pending. A spokesperson for the Cook County medical examiner’s office had indicated that the death did not appear to be suspicious.
A Conversation Away From Wrestling
For Jarrett, the news was made even more difficult by the fact that he had just spent time speaking with Pac backstage at All Out. Their interaction was not a meeting about match layouts, television plans, or any of the usual business that fills a major pay-per-view day. Instead, Jarrett said the two crossed paths near the coffee area and found themselves discussing sports.
Jarrett explained that a friend of his has ties to rugby in the United Kingdom, which led to a conversation with Pac, a Newcastle native who also followed soccer. What began as a brief exchange became a substantially longer chat, lasting roughly 10 to 15 minutes as the two talked casually before returning to their respective responsibilities.
“We just started chatting,” Jarrett said. “I got a buddy who’s connected with rugby in the UK, so we started down a rugby conversation. Our bumping into each other at the coffee cooler area went from about a two or three minute chat to 10, 15 minute chat. He’s more of a soccer guy. Just a good-hearted chat, nothing about wrestling.”
Jarrett emphasized that the normal, uncomplicated nature of the exchange is what stays with him. For people whose lives are so often structured around travel, production schedules, match times, and the pressures of a live event, a discussion with no direct connection to wrestling can reveal the person behind the television persona.
“Then when you have those kind of conversations, to me, then all of a sudden, life,” Jarrett said. “Then you get into the real person, it’s not business.”
Pac still had a major match awaiting him when the discussion ended, while Jarrett needed to prepare for his own on-screen role. But that sports conversation became Jarrett’s final memory of his AEW colleague.
“That is the last memory I have,” Jarrett said.
Pac’s Final AEW All Out Appearance
After speaking with Pac, Jarrett headed toward his broadcast duties for the All Out pre-show. He joined Renee Paquette, RJ City, and Mick Foley for the panel portion of the event, which included three matches before the pay-per-view proper began.
The pre-show featured Jack Perry against Katsuyori Shibata, Sisters of Sin members Julia Hart and Skye Blue against Mina Shirakawa and Queen Aminata, and an Eight-Man Tornado Tailgate Brawl. The latter bout concluded shortly before Pac and Andrade opened the main card with their AEW National Championship match.
Jarrett said that, as he left the broadcast position during the opening stages of Pac versus Andrade, he felt the two wrestlers were going to establish an extremely high standard for the remainder of the show. Pac and Andrade had a competitive championship contest, with Andrade ultimately retaining the title after countering Pac’s Brutalizer submission attempt into a roll-up.
The result was Pac’s final match. He later returned during the All Out main event, aligning with the Death Riders as Jon Moxley pursued the AEW World Championship held by Will Ospreay. The appearance underlined Pac’s importance to AEW’s current landscape: he was not simply on the card, but part of two of the evening’s most significant stories.
Jarrett Praises Pac’s Approach To Wrestling
In the wake of Pac’s death, fellow wrestlers, friends, and fans have remembered a performer revered for his intensity, elite athletic ability, and unusually exacting standards. Pac’s style made him one of wrestling’s most distinctive modern competitors, whether working in singles bouts, tag team matches, trios action, or championship programs across his career.
Jarrett, however, stressed that Pac’s wrestling ability was only part of what made him special. He described Pac as a person who deeply respected the profession and carried himself as a committed student of it.
“Pac, yes he’s talented in the ring, and we can talk about that for days, but the human being,” Jarrett said. “Pac loved this business ... gave to it, a student of it. You could tell he’s all business, not only the wrestling business, but the world.”
That reputation has been a consistent theme in the many tributes that have followed. Pac’s colleagues have remembered him as humble, kind, and highly focused, a private but passionate presence whose standards were evident in his work. His nickname, “The Bastard,” and his severe in-ring demeanor made for a memorable character, but those who knew him personally have repeatedly pointed to the contrast between that presentation and the person they encountered behind the scenes.
Jarrett also reflected on the broader pain felt across wrestling following another devastating loss. His closing remarks were brief but heartfelt: “Back-to-back, way too soon. Godspeed, my man.”
AEW Pays Tribute To Pac
AEW honored Pac during a special AEW Dynamite tribute show last Wednesday. The program brought together many of the performers who shared the ring with him during his time in the company, while allowing the roster and audience to collectively celebrate his life and career.
The show was headlined by a 10-man tag team match involving the Death Riders and a returning Bryan Danielson against The Don Callis Family. Ospreay and Ricochet, both of whom had significant rivalries with Pac, also faced one another during the broadcast. In one of the evening’s most poignant moments, Ospreay delivered Pac’s Black Arrow splash as a tribute.
For Jarrett, the memory that stands out most is not a high-risk move, a title match, or a major segment. It is a conversation near a coffee station, centered on rugby, soccer, and the everyday interests that exist beyond the wrestling business. That final interaction, Jarrett said, offered a glimpse of Pac as a person rather than a character or a colleague preparing for another major match.
As AEW and the wider wrestling community continue to mourn, those ordinary moments have become central to the remembrances of Pac: a gifted wrestler, a devoted student of his craft, and a man whose impact extended far beyond the matches he produced.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.