Amazing and Underrated. How I’ll Always Remember Pac
Saturday, September 26, was one of the most memorable and exciting days I’ve had in a long time. My girlfriend and I, along with my best friend and his fiancee, made the trip down to Hoffman Estates from Milwaukee to see AEW’s All Out PPV. While I had been to a few AEW shows, none of which had been a PPV. To say I was ecstatic is an understatement. When the main card started, seeing that Pac was going to be in the opening match had me on the edge of my seat.
After years of watching Pac matches, I still am blown away every time. A man who truly is so great, yet always felt so underrated. Saturday night was no exception.
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I’ve been sitting here for a couple days trying to process how on Saturday night, myself and thousands of others were in the arena watching Pac wrestle, to just 24 hours later passing away. Life just really isn’t fair. 40, an age far too young to be gone from the world. A man who had so much more to give to this world. I’ve cried and I’ve sat quietly alone with my thoughts thinking about how I could help us all remember one of the greatest wrestlers of the 21st century.
The first time I saw Pac wrestle was in 2014, the very year in which I started watching professional wrestling. At the time, Pac was in WWE, wrestling under the name of Adrian Neville. From the moment I saw him, I knew that he was special, that he was different. The way he moved in the ring was so athletic, so quick, so crisp. It didn’t matter who he was in the ring with because you knew that you were in for treat. I’ll never forget 18 year old me thinking that he was about to defeat Seth Rollins and become the new WWE champion.
Fast forward a few years, as I had largely grown uninterested in what WWE is offering. I was so excited for the start of AEW. And who shows up? Pac! There were so many classic matches he had in his time with AEW, whether it was with Kenny Omega, Adam Page, Okada, Darby Allin, Will Opsreay. Also, let’s not forget the tremendous trios matches he had against The Elite as a part of the Death Triangle.
Seeing all the love and support across social media from wrestlers and fans has warmed my heart. Knowing that someone was so respected and appreciated regardless of where they crossed paths.
If there’s one takeaway, please go out of your way to watch and never forget his immense catalogue of outstanding professional wrestling matches. Whether it was from his time on the Indies, ROH, Dragon Gate, WWE, AEW, Rev Pro, etc.
