Over the weekend I learned that the professional wrestler PAC suddenly passed away at the age of 40, and news of his passing is hitting me hard.
I’ve always had a fond relationship with professional wrestling. I grew up watching classic WWF in the 1980s, got back into it during the Attitude Era/Monday Night War in college, and finally back again during the NXT black-and-gold era. That’s where I first saw PAC, who was known as Adrian Neville then.
That dude could move like nothing I’d ever seen and he was a top-tier high-flyer. I was captivated by every aspect of his in-ring abilities, except for maybe his character work. He didn’t really have one aside from “I can jump insanely well.”
It was his run as the King of the Cruiserweights in 205 Live that solidified my absolute adoration for him as an all-around professional wrestler. He finally found his character, finally found his in-ring persona, and soared to new heights in the ring. He barely broke character. When he briefly lost the cruiserweight title he looked sickly, like a storybook king who lost his magical crown. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
It was around the time he walked out of WWE that I fell out of watching professional wrestling, but I always kept up with what he was doing. I loved the guy as a performer and wanted to see him excel.
When he signed to AEW I was elated. I still wasn’t watching regularly, but I kept myself up-to-date of his activities. When he reclaimed his PAC name and became “The Bastard,” I watched his character take on its final form, as we nerds like to say.
Every time I watched clips of him wrestling it was like watching a masterclass. His moves only got better and cleaner, and his character became more and more defined. The Black Arrow remains an all-time great among the pro-wrestling finishing moves. I watched him do it for years and it never got old.
Then, out of nowhere, a day after wrestling yet another absolute banger of a match for AEW over the weekend, news broke that he suddenly passed away. He was only 40.
No cause of death has been announced as of this writing, but I don’t think that will change the hurt the wrestling world is feeling. The outpouring of love for this guy as a person has been overwhelming to read, and several times today I’ve found myself choking up. When Marina Shafir tearfully proclaimed, “I was just holding this man yesterday!” I broke.
The passing of beloved musicians and actors is tough on some people, and it stands to reason that a performer as gifted and beloved as The Bastard PAC would hit equally hard.
Long live the king.