.jpg) Pac in 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benjamin Satterley (1986-08-22)22 August 1986 (age 39) Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Adrian Neville Ben Sacilly Benjamin Satterley Darkside Hayabusa Jungle Pac Neville Pac Steve Lyndon |
| Billed height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 194 lb (88 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | The Jungle Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Trained by | Mark Sloan |
| Debut | 27 March 2004 |
Benjamin Satterley (born 22 August 1986), better known by hisring namePac (often stylised inall caps), is an Englishprofessional wrestler. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under theepithet"The Bastard" Pac and is a member of theDeath Riders. He is a former one-time (and the inaugural)AEW International Champion and former two-timeAEW World Trios Champion, at one point holding both the International and Trios titles simultaneously to become the first double champion in AEW history.
Satterley is noted for his high-flying style and aerial attacks, which has earned him the nicknames "The Super Superman" and later "The Man That Gravity Forgot". He began his wrestling career under the ring name Pac in his nativenorth east England with the Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF). After establishing himself throughout the country with promotions such as Real Quality Wrestling (RQW) andOne Pro Wrestling (1PW), he began to perform overseas, most notably for American promotions such asPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG),Ring of Honor (ROH), andChikara, as well as the Japanese promotionDragongate, where he won theOpen the Brave,Triangle, andTwin Gate Championship. He is a formerPWG World Tag Team Champion and winner of PWG's inauguralDynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament.
From 2012 to 2015, Satterley wrestled under the ring name Adrian Neville inNXT, thedevelopmental territory ofWWE.[1] He won theNXT Tag Team Championship twice, with his first reign coming as one half of the inaugural champions withOliver Grey and his second reign being withCorey Graves. He is also a one-timeNXT Champion, making him the first man to have held both the NXT Championship and the NXT Tag Team Championship.[2] He was promoted to the main roster under the shortened ring name Neville in 2015, and began competing in the cruiserweight division in 2016, becoming a record two-time (and longest-reigning)WWE Cruiserweight Champion.[3][4]
After leaving WWE in 2018, Satterley reverted to his previous ring name of Pac and returned to Dragongate, holding theOpen the Dream Gate Championship for much of his time there and joining the villainousR.E.D. stable. He assumed the moniker of "The Bastard", which he continues to use. In 2019, he left Dragon Gate and signed with AEW, where he became a member of theDeath Triangle alongsidePenta El Zero M andRey Fénix.
Benjamin Satterley[5][6] was born inNewcastle upon Tyne on 22 August 1986, the son of Jill and Stephen Satterley.[7] He was extremely active as a child and participated in sports such as basketball, football, hockey,roller hockey, and swimming. His interest in wrestling was sparked by one of his aunts, who was a fan of theWWF; his parents had banned him from watching wrestling at their house, so he would go to his aunt's house to watch it. His favourite wrestlers wereThe Undertaker and"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.
By the age of 16, Satterley had wrestled withbackyard wrestling promotions TWXW inGateshead and FXW inMiddlesbrough, as well as the promotions Scarborough Wrestling Alliance inScarborough and Essex Championship Wrestling inEssex. Even as one of the younger wrestlers in the group, his technical ability and athleticism ensured he was always in the most entertaining matches. Many of the FXW roster went on to form 3Count Wrestling (3CW), to which he would later return. He started training as a wrestler on a more permanent basis at the age of 18 at St Joseph's Hall in Gateshead, which he later described as "pretty much the only wrestling school in the area".[8] He was trained by Mark Sloan.[9]
Satterley made his debut under the ring namePac at Independent Wrestling Federation on 27 March 2004, losing to Assassin.[10][11] For the first two years of his career, he wrestled mainly for IWF and 3 Count Wrestling. He won his first championship on 26 August 2005 when he teamed up with Harry Pain to defeat Chris Prime. In 2006, he began to wrestle all across Britain and Europe. He later performed in 3 Count Wrestling, where he debuted on 14 October 2005 and defeated EdEn and Falcon in the opening match. Pac went on to capture the 3CW North East Championship on 24 February 2006.[12] He then captured the 3CW Triple Crown Championship at anICW event, which he held for 110 days.[13] Pac was defeated in his last 3CW match by Liam Thomson on 30 April 2010.
Pac made his debut forInternational Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom in April 2006, wrestling for the IPW:UK Title on his debut, losing in a triple threat against Leroy Kincaide and champion and match winner Martin Stone. He later had two more opportunities at the top title in IPW:UK, against Stone and then against Andy Boy Simmonz, but would lose both. After a September 2006 triple threat against Kevin Steen and El Generico, the two Canadian wrestlers recommended Satterley to PWG head-booker Super Dragon. He made his PWG debut two months later as a result.
After joiningOne Pro Wrestling in May 2006, Pac became the first-everOpenweight Champion on 26 November after winning abattle royal.[6] He successfully retained the title on several occasions before losing it to James Wallace on 30 June 2007 in a match that started immediately after Pac retained the title in a four-way match.[6] On 29 December, Pac failed to reclaim the title after losing to then-champion Darren Burridge.[6]
In late April, Pac representedInternational Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom in the prestigiousKing of Europe Cup. He defeatedTrent Acid in the first round before falling toNigel McGuinness in the quarter finals.[14]
On 29 September 2006, Pac teamed withSheamus O'Shaunessy to defeat Micky L and Tony Spitfire forBritish Championship Wrestling'sRetribution event.[15] He returned forBCW No Blood, No Sympathy VI in 2008 to score a singles victory over CJ Hunter.[16] Pac made his as yet final appearance for BCW atBCW Pac Is Back on 12 April 2019 where he unsuccessfully challengedBT Gunn for the BCW Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat withJody Fleisch.[17]
In 2007, Satterley began wrestling in the Italy-based Nu-Wrestling Evolution under the ring nameJungle Pac. As Jungle Pac, Satterley'scharacter was that of a jungle native, emphasised by his attire consisting of a loincloth or alava-lava over his trunks, as well as being billed from "The Jungle". On 19 April 2008, Jungle Pac competed in a four-wayladder match for the vacant Cruiserweight Championship againstJuventud Guerrera,Matt Cross and Super Nova, which was won by Guerrera.[18] On 26 October, Jungle Pac wrestled against Guerrera and Super Nova in a three-way match for the Cruiserweight Title, but was unable to win the title.[18] He wrestled against Guerrera and Nova in two more three-way matches for the title on 1 and 2 November, but was again unable to win the title. Pac wrestled in Premier British Wrestling (PBW) on two occasions before signing with WWE.[18]
On 17 November 2009, Pac debuted in American Wrestling Rampage during its European Invasion tour, and lost to Dunkan Disorderly in a three-way match also involving Shawn Maxer for the promotion's No Limits Championship.[19] Two days later, he wrestled against Disorderly in a singles match for the title, but was defeated.[19] After defeating Disorderly in tag-team matches over the next two days, Pac and Maxer wrestled against Disorderly for the No Limits Title in another three-way match on 22 November, but were again defeated.[19] After trading wins with El Generico over the next few days, Pac finally won the title after defeating Generico and new champion Michael Knight on 29 November.[19] After successfully retaining the title against Generico on 4 and 6 December, Pac lost the title to Dunkan Disorderly on 8 December.[19] The next day, Pac and Generico defeated Disorderly and Shawn Maxer in a tag-team match.[19]
On 17 November 2006, Pac made his debut inPro Wrestling Guerrilla. He competed againstA.J. Styles in a losing effort of the first night of All Star Weekend IV. The next night, he facedEl Generico in a match that was considered by those in attendance a serious Match of the Year contender. Pac returned to PWG on 24 February 2007, defeatingKevin Steen to pick up his first win in the promotion. He faced Generico again on 7 April, this time in the main event of the first night of All Star Weekend V with thePWG World Championship on the line. Generico once again came out on top. The next night, Pac facedAll Japan Pro Wrestling starKaz Hayashi in a losing effort.
Pac was originally scheduled to compete in singles matches during the first PWGDynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament on 20 and 21 May. However,Roderick Strong's original partner,Jack Evans, had been called back toDragon Gate at the last moment and decided to have Pac fill the vacant spot. After defeatingSuper Dragon andDavey Richards in the first round,Naruki Doi andMasato Yoshino in the second round and then TheBriscoe Brothers in the finals, Pac and Strong won the tournament and as a result, became the newWorld Tag Team Champions.[6][20][21] In their first title defence, Pac and Strong defeatedThe Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes andRocky Romero) at PWG's event Roger Dorn Night on 10 June.[6] From 15 to 22 July, Pac took part and competed for Dragon Gate's biggest tour of the year, Wrestle Jam, where he and El Generico represented PWG alongsideRing of Honor representativesAustin Aries,Delirious, Jack Evans,Matt Sydal andJimmy Rave.
On 29 July, Pac and Strong were scheduled to defend their World Tag Team Championship against the Briscoe Brothers in a 2 out of 3 falls match. However, they were replaced byKevin Steen and El Generico, who ended up winning World Tag Team Championship in a one fall match. Pac was among the 24 participants in the2007 Battle of Los Angeles Tournament in Burbank, California, that ran from 31 August to 2 September. He defeated Jack Evans in a first round match then Claudio Castagnoli in a second round match before losing to eventual tournament winnerCima in a semi-final round match.[6] After almost a year-long absence from the company, Pac made his return to PWG at All Star Weekend VII on 30 August 2008, where he picked up the win for the team of himself andThe Young Bucks by pinning Kevin Steen, who teamed with El Generico andSusumu Yokosuka.[22] The next night, Pac was unsuccessful in his attempt to win the World Championship from then-championChris Hero.[22] Pac returned to PWG on 23 July 2011, facing Kevin Steen in a losing effort.[23] On 29 January 2012, atKurt Russellreunion 3, Pac teamed with El Generico and Masato Yoshino to defeatAkira Tozawa, Kevin Steen and Super Dragon in a six-man tag team main event.[24]
In January 2007, Pac wrestled as part ofTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling'sImPact! Total tour inPortugal along with fellow British wrestlersSpud,Jonny Storm and Jody Fleisch.[25] Soon after the tour, Pac debuted inRing of Honor at their 3 and 4 March shows at theLiverpool Olympia inLiverpool,England. On the first night, he lost toRoderick Strong in a match for theFIP World Heavyweight Championship. On the second, he was defeated byMatt Sydal.[26] On 24 August, he returned to ROH in a losing effort againstBryan Danielson.[6] At ROH's Manhattan Mayhem, he lost toDavey Richards.[6] On 21 April, Pac debuted inChikara at their show Rey De Voladores in a four-way elimination match againstChuck Taylor,Ricochet and Retail Dragon, which was won by Taylor.
In August, Pac returned to Chikara at their International Invaders weekend. On the first night, he was defeated byRicochet. The next night, he was defeated byClaudio Castagnoli. On 23 August, he participated at the eighth Ballpark Brawl, where he lost a six-way elimination match that featuredSterling James Keenan, Trent Acid, El Generico, Xtremo and John McChesney, which was won by Keenan.[6] On 27 May 2012, Pac made hisNew Japan Pro-Wrestling debut, when he entered the2012 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, defeatingJushin Thunder Liger in his first match.[27] When theround-robin stage of the tournament concluded on 9 June, Pac finished with five wins out of his eight matches, winning his block and advancing to the semifinals of the tournament.[28] He lost toRyusuke Taguchi the following day, and was eliminated from the tournament.[29]
Shortly after participating in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's Battle of Los Angeles tournament, Pac was invited to Dragon Gate for their Dragon Storm 2007 tour beginning on 8 September. The tour was the last forWorld Wrestling Entertainment-bound Matt Sydal, who on 14 September endorsed Pac to be his replacement on the Dragon Gatefaction Typhoon. On 15 September, Pac defeatedDragon Kid for theWestside Xtreme Wrestling World Lightweight Championship.[6] On 25 April 2008, Pac lost toGamma in the first round of a tournament for theOpen the Brave Gate Championship.[30] On 31 May, Pac and Dragon Kid wrestled against fellow Typhoon membersRyo Saito andSusumu Yokosuka for theOpen the Twin Gate Championship, but were unable to win.[31] On 27 July, Pac, Dragon Kid andAnthony W. Mori represented Typhoon in a four-way match for theOpen the Triangle Gate Championship, but were unable to defeat Gamma,Yamato andYasushi Kanda for the title.[31]
After Typhoon disbanded in 2008, Pac joined World-1 in 2009.[31] On 22 March 2009, Pac,BxB Hulk andNaoki Tanizaki represented World-1 in a losing effort to the Open the Triangle Gate Champions Kamikaze (Dragon Kid,Shingo Takagi andTaku Iwasa) in a three-way match also involving Real Hazard (Kenichiro Arai, Yamato and Yasushi Kanda).[31] World-1 again challenged for the title on 24 May, but were defeated by the new champions Warriors-5 (Cima, Gamma andKagetora).[31] On 7 June, World-1 finally won the Open the Triangle Gate Championship after defeating Warriors-5.[31] World-1 made their first successful title defence on 19 July, where they defeated Kamikaze (Akira Tozawa, Dragon Kid and Taku Iwasa).[31]
On 7 February 2010, Pac lost toK-ness in a match for theOpen the Brave Gate Championship.[32] On 5 July 2010, Pac made his debut for Dragon Gate's international expansionDragon Gate USA, wrestling in a match where he and BxB Hulk were defeated by Yamato and Shingo.[33] At the following day's tapings of the Uprisingpay-per-view, Pac and Naruki Doi defeatedJigsaw andMike Quackenbush.[34] On 14 October, World-1 lost the Open the Triangle Gate Title to Akebono, Fujii and Mochizuki in a rematch.[32] On 20 December 2010, Dragon Gate USA announced that they had signed Pac to a contract that would make him a regular member of the promotion's roster.[35] On 30 January 2011, Pac and Masato Yoshino defeatedChuck Taylor andJohnny Gargano to become Dragon Gate USA's first everOpen the United Gate Champions.[36] On 11 September, Pac and Yoshino lost the Open the United Gate Championship to Open the Twin Gate Champions, Cima and Ricochet, in a title vs. title match.[37] On 29 August 2010, Pac defeated Susumu Yokosuka in a tournament final to win the vacant Open the Brave Gate Championship for the first time.[38] On 14 April 2011, Pac, BxB Hulk and Susumu Yokosuka failed to win the Open the Triangle Gate Championship from Blood Warriors (Cima, Dragon Kid and Ricochet) and, as a result, World-1 was forced to disband.[39] On 24 April former World-1 members Pac, Hulk, Yokosuka and Yoshino agreed to form a new alliance with Masaaki Mochizuki to battle Blood Warriors.[40]
On 8 June, the new group was named Junction Three in reference to it being a union between the former members of World-1, Kamikaze and the Veteran-gun.[41] On 19 June, Pac and Dragon Kid defeated the Blood Warriors team of Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchi to win the Open the Twin Gate Championship. They lost the title to Blood Warriors representatives Cima and Ricochet on 17 July.[42] On 19 November, Pac lost the Open the Brave Gate Championship to Ricochet, ending his record reign at 447 days.[43] On 9 February 2012, Junction Three was forced to disband, after losing a fourteen-man elimination tag team match to Blood Warriors.[44] On 4 March, Pac received a shot at Dragon Gate's top title, theOpen the Dream Gate Championship, but was defeated by defending champion, Cima.[45] On 25 March 2012, Pac joined Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi, Ricochet, andRich Swann and formed World-1 International. On 6 May 2012, Pac, alongside World-1 International members Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi defeated Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!, Jimmy Kanda, and Ryo "Jimmy" Saito at the 2012 Dead or Alive pay-per-view to become the 34th Open the Triangle Gate Champions. On 22 July, Pac made his final Dragon Gate appearance, during which he, Yoshino and Doi successfully defended the Open the Triangle Gate Championship in a three-way match.
In July 2012, it was reported that Satterley had signed a contract with WWE.[46][47] He joined WWE'sdevelopmental territoryNXT and made his television debut under the ring nameAdrian Neville on the 16 January 2013 episode ofNXT,[48] defeatingSakamoto.[49]
Together withOliver Grey, the English duo won atournament to crown the inauguralNXT Tag Team Champions by defeatingThe Wyatt Family (Luke Harper andErick Rowan) in the finals on the 13 February episode ofNXT.[50] Neville and Grey, now billed as British Ambition had earlier defeated 3MB (Heath Slater andDrew McIntyre) in the first round[51] andKassius Ohno andLeo Kruger in the semi-finals.[52] With Grey out injured with a tornACL (in storyline inflicted by the Wyatt Family), Neville choseBo Dallas as his new partner in April.[53] On 24 April onNXT, Neville lost toAntonio Cesaro while challenging for hisUnited States Championship.[54] On the 8 May episode ofNXT, Neville and Dallas failed in their first defence of the tag title when they lost them to the Wyatt Family.[55][56]
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On the 29 May episode ofNXT, Neville competed in anNXT Championship number one contenderbattle royal, eliminatingMason Ryan andBray Wyatt (who had eleven and two eliminations respectively) to make it to the final two participants, but his former tag partner Dallas eliminated him to win the match.[57] Later, Dallas won his title match to become NXT Champion.[58] Neville continued his feud with the Wyatt Family by losing to them in two six-man tag matches, once while teaming withCorey Graves and Kassius Ohno, and once with Graves andWilliam Regal.[59][60] On 20 June, Neville regained the NXT Tag Team Championship from the Wyatt Family with a new partner in Graves.[61] On the 6 August episode ofNXT, Neville facedDean Ambrose for his United States Championship, which Ambrose retained when the other members ofThe Shield caused a disqualification.[62] Neville and Graves lost the title toThe Ascension (Conor O'Brian andRick Victor) in September. Following this, the two feuded after failing to regain the title.[citation needed]
Neville first became number one contender to the NXT Championship on the 27 November episode ofNXT by defeatingSami Zayn, after both men previously tied a beat the clock challenge.[63][64] Neville faced former tag partner Bo Dallas for the title on the next episode and won by countout, which meant that the title did not change hands.[65] Two episodes later, Neville faced Dallas again for the title in alumberjack match, but lost when lumberjackTyler Breeze interfered.[66] Neville once again became number one contender after Dallas failed to defeat Neville in abeat-the-clock challenge match on the 22 January episode ofNXT that arose due to Dallas' boasting.[67] AtNXT Arrival, Neville won the NXT Championship from Dallas in aladder match.[68] A rematch was scheduled for the 20 March episode ofNXT, which he won after debuting a new finisher, theimploding 450° splash.[citation needed]
Neville's first feud as champion began following a non-title match againstBrodus Clay, where Neville won by countout. The feud ended with Neville scoring a No Disqualification match victory over Clay to successfully defend the NXT Championship. AtNXT TakeOver, Neville successfully defended the NXT Championship againstTyson Kidd. Two weeks later, Neville retained his championship against Kidd again afterNatalya prevented Kidd from using a chair. On the 31 July episode ofNXT, he successfully defended his title against Tyler Breeze by disqualification as Tyson Kidd attacked Neville after being super kicked by Neville. On 8 September, Neville made his first appearance onRaw as part of an NXT showcase match to promoteNXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, he teamed with Sami Zayn to defeat Kidd and Breeze in a tag team match. On 11 September at the NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way event, Neville successfully defended his NXT Championship against Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd in a fatal four-way match. On 4 December, Neville became the longest reigning NXT Champion of all time, surpassing the record set by Bo Dallas (which was surpassed byFinn Bálor in April 2016). Later, on 11 December at theNXT TakeOver: R Evolution event, Neville lost the championship to Zayn, ending his reign at 287 days. When Zayn offered a handshake, Neville kicked it away and instead hugged Zayn in respect.[2]
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The following week on the 18 December episode ofNXT, Neville facedKevin Owens, but the match ended in a double countout. Owens powerbombed Neville into the apron after the match.[69] Neville received a rematch on the 15 January 2015 episode ofNXT, but failed to regain the title. Neville went on to compete in a NXT Championship number one contender's tournament, defeating Tyson Kidd in the quarterfinals on 28 January andBaron Corbin in the semifinals on 4 February, but lost in the finals to Finn Bálor atNXT TakeOver: Rival.
On the 30 March 2015 episode ofRaw, Satterley made his main roster debut, under the shortened ring name Neville, defeatingCurtis Axel.[70] He then defeatedBad News Barrett at theExtreme Rules pay-per-view the following month.[71] Following this, Neville competed in the2015 King of the Ring tournament, where he was defeated by Barrett in the finals.[72] Following this, Neville would begin a feud with Bo Dallas,[73] setting up a match atElimination Chamber, which Neville won.[74]
Neville would then enter a feud withStardust in acomic book inspired rivalry.[75] AtSummerSlam on 23 August, Neville would team up with actorStephen Amell, defeating the team of Stardust and Barrett.[76] AtNight of Champions in September, Neville would team withThe Lucha Dragons (Kalisto andSin Cara) in a loss to Stardust and the Ascension.[77] At theSurvivor Series pre-show, Neville would compete in a traditionalSurvivor Series match, teaming withThe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley),Goldust andTitus O'Neil in a victory over Stardust, The Ascension,The Miz and Bo Dallas.[78] On the 21 December episode ofRaw, Neville won theSlammy Award for "Breakout Star of the Year".[79]
At theRoyal Rumble on 24 January 2016, Neville competed in his firstRoyal Rumble match as the number 16 entrant, lasting over 10 minutes before being eliminated byLuke Harper.[80][81] In March 2016, Neville injured his ankle during a match withChris Jericho onRaw, rendering him out of action for an estimated two to three months and forcing him to missWrestleMania 32, at which he was scheduled to compete.[82][83]
On 19 July, at the2016 WWE draft, Neville was drafted toRaw.[84] On the 25 July episode ofRaw, Neville made his televised return, defeating Curtis Axel.[85] Neville teamed with Sami Zayn to defeatThe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) atSummerSlam.[86] The following night onRaw, Neville failed to defeat Kevin Owens to qualify for a fatal four-way elimination match for the vacantWWE Universal Championship after the interference of Chris Jericho.[87] On the 31 October episode ofRaw, Neville participated in a battle royal for a spot on Team Raw atSurvivor Series, but was eliminated by eventual winnerBraun Strowman.[88]
On 18 December atRoadblock: End of the Line, Neville returned to seemingly congratulateCruiserweight ChampionRich Swann after his match only to attack Swann and his opponentT. J. Perkins, turningheel and joining the Cruiserweight division.[89] The following night onRaw, Neville cemented his villainous turn after claiming that the fans only cheered him because he was "vulnerable or small" and proceeded to attack Swann along withBrian Kendrick after he interrupted him, followed by Perkins after he attempted to save Swann.[90] Over the coming weeks, Neville would defeat multiple Cruiserweights in singles competition including Perkins,Cedric Alexander,Lince Dorado and Swann in a non-title match. On 29 January 2017 at theRoyal Rumble, Neville defeated Swann to capture the Cruiserweight Championship for the first time, marking his first title win on the main roster.[3] Neville then started a feud withJack Gallagher, and successfully defended his title atFastlane against Gallagher.[91]
The following night onRaw, Neville defended his title against Swann successfully. After the match,Austin Aries seemingly appeared to interview Neville only to attack him and start a feud between the two.[92] AtWrestleMania 33, Neville would defeat Aries in his WrestleMania in-ring debut.[93] Aries won a fatal-four-way match two days later on205 Live,[94] to earn a rematch against Neville atPayback, which Neville lost by disqualification, retaining the title as a result.[95] Around this time, Neville formed an alliance with T. J. Perkins, who would assist him in his rivalry with Aries, in exchange for a promised championship opportunity. Neville defeated Aries again in a submission match atExtreme Rules to retain the Cruiserweight Championship, concluding their rivalry in the process.[96] He ended his alliance with Perkins the following night,[97] attacking him and later going on to successfully defend his championship against him on the 6 June episode of205 Live.[98]
Neville then began feuding withAkira Tozawa who was granted a championship match forGreat Balls of Fire byTitus O'Neil, in which Neville retained the title.[99] He was also set to defend his title against Tozawa for the second time atSummerSlam, until the 14 August episode ofRaw, where Neville lost the championship to Tozawa, ending his record setting reign at 197 days. However, Neville won the title back from Tozawa on the SummerSlam pre-show, making him the first-ever two-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion with the current belt.[4]
Afterwards, he was confronted byEnzo Amore, the latest member of the Cruiserweight division.[100] On 24 September atNo Mercy, Neville dropped the title to Amore after being hit with a low blow while the referee was distracted. The following night onRaw, a double turn took place; Amore turned heel by disparaging the cruiserweight division, while Neville turnedface when he spoke on behalf of the cruiserweights and attempted to attack Amore. Amore revealed he had a no-contact clause, which prevents any of the cruiserweights of receiving a future title shot should they attack him, but Neville attacked him nonetheless after the cruiserweights prevented Amore from leaving. The next night on205 Live, after Neville defeatedAriya Daivari, he was attacked by Amore with a crutch. This would be Neville's final appearance on WWE programming.
On 9 October 2017, Neville walked out onRaw, on which he was scheduled to lose to Enzo Amore. According to multiple sources Neville appeared to have quit the promotion, with one report stating that he had been unhappy for a while. WWE denied that Neville had left the promotion.[101][102] By 13 November, there had reportedly been "positive discussions" between Neville and WWE with some in the company believing he could be on his way back.[103] In January 2018, WWE froze Neville's contract, keeping him under contract indefinitely or until a release is agreed upon.[104] On 24 August, it was reported that Neville was no longer under contract.[105]
On 2 October 2018, two months after his WWE contract expired and almost exactly one year after he initially walked out on WWE, Satterley returned toDragongate. Using his former ring name, Pac, he aligned himself withEita and the villainous R.E.D. stable. In his return match, he pinnedShingo Takagi atKorakuen Hall. On 4 December, he defeatedMasato Yoshino to win theOpen the Dream Gate Championship at Dragon Gate's "Fantastic Gate 2018" from Korakuen Hall.[106] He held the championship until July 21, 2019, when he would lose it toBen-K, ending his reign at 229 days.[107]
On 8 January 2019, Pac was announced as one of the first signees toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW).[108][109][110] At AEW's inaugural rally inJacksonville, Pac interruptedAdam Page, setting up a feud between the two wrestlers.[109][110] At AEW's second rally in Las Vegas, a match between Page and Pac was officially announced for the company's inaugural event,Double or Nothing.[111] However, in late May the match was cancelled due to "creative differences". They wrestled a match for independent promotion Wrestle Gate Pro on 17 May a week before Double or Nothing. Page won the match by disqualification and after the match, Pac attacked Page's knee and said that his goal all along was to injure Page and with that done, he had no reason to show up at Double or Nothing, thus establishing himself as a heel in the process. This was done to write the match off the card.[112] On 23 August, Pac was revealed asJon Moxley's replacement atAll Out againstKenny Omega after Moxley was forced to pull out of the event due to injury.[113] At All Out on 31 August, Pac defeated Omega by making him pass out in a crucifix hold (commonly known as the Rings of Saturn or the Brutaliser).[114] On the premiere episode ofDynamite on 2 October, Pac defeated Page, thus rekindling their feud.[115] AtFull Gear on 9 November, Pac was defeated by Page, thereby suffering his first singles loss in AEW.[116] Four days later on the 13 November episode ofDynamite, Pac defeated Page to end the feud.[117]
By the end of 2019 and going into 2020, Pac began a prolonged feud with Kenny Omega. After losing to him in a rematch on theThanksgiving Eve special episode ofDynamite on November 27,[118] Pac began relentlessly pursuing arubber match. After attacking Omega's friendMichael Nakazawa,[119][120] Omega agreed to the match on 5 February 2020.[121] The two wrestled in a 30-minuteIron Man match on the 26 February episode ofDynamite, which Pac lost after the match went tosudden death overtime. After the loss, Pac's post-match interview was interrupted byOrange Cassidy, leading to a match between the two being arranged for theRevolution event on 24 February,[122] in which Pac was victorious.[123]
On 4 March episode ofDynamite, Pac formed an alliance with theLucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo. andRey Fenix) called The Death Triangle, attackingOrange Cassidy andBest Friends (Chuck Taylor andTrent).[124] Pac would become absent from AEW television soon after as he was unable to travel due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[125] After an eight-month absence from television, Pac returned to AEW on the 11 November episode ofDynamite where he confrontedEddie Kingston, thus turning face for the first time since 2016.[126] On the following episode ofDynamite, Death Triangle was reformed after Fénix and Pentagón Jr. saved Pac from an attack by Kingston,The Butcher and The Blade.[127]
AtNew Year's Smash on 13 January 2021, Pac defeated Kingston.[128] AtRevolution on 7 March, Pac and Fénix won aCasino Tag Team Battle Royale to determine the next challengers for theAEW World Tag Team Championship.[129] They challengedThe Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) for the tag team championship on the 14 April episode ofDynamite, but were defeated.[130] Ranked as the #2 contender for theAEW World Championship, Pac andOrange Cassidy faced off in a rematch to decide the #1 contender forKenny Omega atDouble or Nothing. The match ended in a double count-out, due to interference from Omega andDon Callis. However, Tony Khan signed a three-way match for Double or Nothing, in which Omega retained his championship.
After Double or Nothing, Pac started a feud withAndrade El Idolo, which led to a match on the 9 September episode ofRampage, where Pac was defeated. Pac and Andrade had a rematch on the 22 October episode ofRampage, where Pac emerged victorious. AtFull Gear, Pac teamed withCody Rhodes against Andrade andMalakai Black in a winning effort. On the 23 February edition ofDynamite, Pac again teamed with Penta El Zero Miedo, who was now using the name 'Penta Oscuro', to defeat Kings Of The Black Throne (Brody King andMalakai Black).[131][132] AtRevolution'sbuy-in show, Pac and Oscuro would team withErick Redbeard in a trios match against the House of Black (now completed withBuddy Matthews), which they lost.[133][134]
In June, Pac would participate in a tournament for theAEW All-Atlantic Championship, defeatingBuddy Matthews on the 8 June edition ofDynamite, advancing to the finals. On 26 June atForbidden Door, Pac would defeatMiro,Malakai Black andClark Connors in a fatal four-way match to become the inaugural champion.
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On the 24 August edition ofDynamite, Death Triangle would compete in theAEW World Trios Championship tournament, where they were defeated byUnited Empire (Will Ospreay,Mark Davis andKyle Fletcher) in the first round. Death Triangle would win the then-vacated AEW World Trios Championship on 7 September episode ofDynamite, making Pac AEW's first-ever double champion. He would lose his All-Atlantic Championship to Orange Cassidy on 12 October episode of Dynamite, ending his reign at 108 days.
On the 11 January 2023 edition ofDynamite, Death Triangle would lose their Trios titles tothe Elite (Kenny Omega andthe Young Bucks) in the finale of aBest of Seven Series. During that series of matches, Pac suffered a major nose injury during a ladder match atFull Gear (2022).[135] Following the conclusion of the series with the Elite, Pac became inactive in order to heal his injury.[135]
On the 12 July 2023, episode ofDynamite, Pac returned from the nose injury[135] and was announced as the fifth member of theBlackpool Combat Club's team for theBlood and Guts match the following week, alongsideJon Moxley,Claudio Castagnoli,Wheeler Yuta andKonosuke Takeshita.[136] Pac would enter as the BCC's second member, even swinging from the top of the cage to fall onto Matt Jackson ofThe Young Bucks on top of a table, but ended up using bolt cutters to cut the lock and chain that closed the cage door shut to leave the match, which, along with Takeshita leaving the match at the request ofDon Callis, led to the BCC losing againstThe Golden Elite.[137] Castagnoli, frustrated with how Pac left the match, would challenge him to a match for theRing of Honor World Championship atDeath Before Dishonor the Friday after Blood and Guts, which Pac lost.[138]
On the 26 July episode ofDynamite, in what was perhaps a nod to Pac's nickname on the independent scene and in WWE ("the man gravity forgot"), he would face the luchadorGravity, with Pac winning via submission.[139] During the match, Pac was reinjured. The exact injury was not publicly disclosed, but it was described as serious in nature and took Pac out of action for several months.[140]
On 6 March 2024 edition ofCollision, Pac made his return, as a face, to save Eddie Kingston and Penta from an attack from The Elite (who are now heels and includingKazuchika Okada). On 21 April atDynasty, Pac unsuccessfully challenged Okada for theAEW Continental Championship. On the 10 July episode ofDynamite, Pac defeated Claudio Castagnoli,Kyle Fletcher, andTomohiro Ishii to earn the right to challenge for the AEW International Championship (formerly known as the All-Atlantic Championship). On 26 May atDouble or Nothing, Death Triangle unsuccessfully challenged theBang Bang Gang (Jay White and theGunns) for the AEW World Trios Championships.
On August 25 atAll In, Pac teamed with Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta in theFour-way London Ladder match for theAEW World Trios Championship, which they won.[141] On September 7 atAll Out, Pac failed to capture the AEW International Championship fromWill Ospreay. Later in the show, Pac turned heel again when he held Yuta back and prevented him from interfering in a violent attack on Yuta'sBlackpool Combat Club (BCC) teammateBryan Danielson at the hands of his other BCC teammates Castagnoli andJon Moxley, officially joining the BCC in the process.[142] On September 28 at theCollision edition ofGrand Slam, Pac, Castagnoli, and Yuta successfully defended their titles againstKomander andPrivate Party.[143] In November 2024, the BCC rebranded to the "Death Riders" a nod to Moxley's nickname in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[144] During his time in the Death Riders, Pac and the other members would constantly interfere in Moxley's title defenses to help him win.[145][146][147][148]
On April 6, 2025 atDynasty, Pac, Castagnoli, and Yuta successfully defended their titles againstRated FTR (Cash Wheeler,Cope, andDax Harwood).[149] On the April 9 episode ofDynamite. Pac suffered a foot injury during his match withSwerve Strickland.[150] On April 16 atDynamite: Spring BreakThru, Castagnoli and Yuta with Moxley filling in for Pac, lost the trios titles toSamoa Joe,Katsuyori Shibata, andPowerhouse Hobbs, ending their reign at 234 days.[151] AtAll Out on September 20, Pac made his return, assisting Moxley to defeatDarby Allin in aCoffin match.[152] The Death Riders were defeated by Allin,Roderick Strong, and The Conglomeration (Mark Briscoe,Orange Cassidy, andKyle O'Reilly) inBlood and Guts match on November 12 at thenamesake event.[153]
It was announced that Pac and Death Triangle would be making their unit debut forConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), with Penta going under the ring-nameLucha Brother, and Fenix going asKing. They took onMistico,Mascara Dorada 2.0 andVolador Jr. in a six-man tag team match on the July 27Super Viernes show.
Pac utilizes acorkscrew shooting star press as afinishing maneuver;[154][155] previously known as theRed Arrow, it is now referred to as theBlack Arrow.[156] After turning into a villain in December 2016, he started using adouble underhook crossface submission maneuver called theRings of Saturn[157] as a finisher in tribute toPerry Saturn.[158] After leaving WWE, he changed the move's name to theBrutalizer. During his independent career and the first part of his WWE run, he was known as "The Man That Gravity Forgot" due to his high-flying style and aerial attacks.[159][unreliable source?]
After his heel turn and move to205 Live, he became known as the "King of the Cruiserweights" and adopted the gimmick of a deluded man who referred to himself as a king and viewed theCruiserweight Championship as his crown.[160]Mark Henry assisted him in creating his villainous character, including methods of agitating the crowd such as climbing up to the top rope to tease hisRed Arrow move, only to jump down without performing the move and lock in a submission.[161] Upon leaving WWE, Pac would tweak his villainous character by dropping the "king" aspect and presenting himself as a self-proclaimed "bastard" with no morals or empathy.
Little is known about Satterley's life outside of wrestling, and he has been described by his peers as an intensely private person. He is a lifelong supporter of his hometown football clubNewcastle United FC.[162][163] He has namedThe Specials as his favourite band, and chose his WWEring name "Neville" in part as a reference to former Specials memberNeville Staple. He is a close friend of fellow wrestlersBryan Danielson,Kenta Kobayashi,Kevin Owens,Zack Sabre Jr,Shingo Takagi, andSami Zayn.[164]
Satterley made his video game debut as a playable character inWWE 2K15 as Adrian Neville, in which he has his own path in the "Who Got NXT" mode for thePlayStation 3 andXbox 360 versions of the game, documenting his matches in NXT.[165] He is also a playable character inWWE 2K15 for thePlayStation 4 andXbox One. He appeared as Neville inWWE 2K16,[166]WWE 2K17,[167] andWWE 2K18.[168] He features as Pac inAEW Fight Forever.
He went top rope for the corkscrew Shooting Star Press, which Phillips dubbed the Red Arrow (named after the Royal Air Force's display team the Red Arrows)
Neville locks in a Rings of Saturn with a crossface & Swann taps the title away.
Neville is poised to redefine the Cruiserweight division on WWE 205 Live.
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