The Rock Responds To Claims WWE Was “Very Surprised” By His Pac Tribute

The wrestling world is still coming to terms with the fact that Pac, real name Benjamin Satterley, suddenly and tragically passed away at the age of just 40 a little over a week ago. Tributes to the late wrestler continue to pour in, including a video message from The Rock.

The Rock Responds To Reports About His Pac Tribute

In The Rock’s original video honoring Pac, The People’s Champ not only speaks highly of the former NXT Champion, but also of AEW, noting how the promotion’s existence is good for the wrestling business. It was noted by Dave Meltzer a little while after Rock posted his tribute that, since he’s on the TKO board of directors, some in WWE were a little surprised at how he worded the message.

In a reply to clutchwrestling’s post covering Meltzer’s comments, Rock addressed the report and explained why that, at times like these, it doesn’t matter who is affiliated with what company. “Humanity matters to me,” Rock wrote to kick off the reply. “I was born into this business and I’ve seen it all, but when one of our own passes away, I don’t care nor do I see ‘our competition’.”

“I care about the wrestlers and how it affects them. I’ve been there. To me, humanity matters most,” The Rock’s comment concludes. It’s true, too. Not only has The Rock had to deal with countless fellow wrestlers, many of them friends, being taken way too soon during his time as a professional wrestler, but he was a part of the business before he’d ever wrestled a match. He’s one of a handful who has had to process the deaths of wrestlers he called friends, and close family members, since he was a child.

Sometimes Competition Doesn’t Matter

As for looking past brand loyalty, my hope is that the surprise referenced here is not the negative kind. Hopefully just an “Oh, I didn’t expect him to say that considering his standing in WWE” from those who were friends with Pac, as opposed to higher-ups quietly seething about him praising AEW at a time when that sort of thing really shouldn’t matter.

The details surrounding Pac’s sudden passing and what caused it remain unclear. It was reported in the days that followed that Pac was found unresponsive in his car, not far from the arena he had wrestled in the night before, and seemingly on his way to the airport. His cause of death is currently unknown.