Cody Rhodes has a message for wrestling fans picking apart who did and didn’t post about PAC after his death — knock it off. The WWE star made it clear that Benjamin Satterley’s passing shouldn’t be turned into another online contest where fans keep receipts, compare tributes and decide who cared enough based on a social media post.
Rhodes addressed the issue during an interview with WrestleTalk while reflecting on Satterley, who wrestled in WWE as Neville before becoming PAC. Cody had a long history with him, from WWE live events to their years crossing paths again later in their careers, and recently called PAC someone who was more talented than “99%” of wrestlers.
The conversation turned to the way wrestling fans had come together after PAC’s death, and Cody said grief can send people straight into arguments that have nothing to do with the person they’re supposed to be mourning.
“I think something that I’d say is—and this is, I wish more people could understand this—is grief is difficult, and sometimes grief creates—you get mad about a thing that really distracts us and moves us away from the point.”
Then Cody got right to the problem. He said fans can start keeping score over which wrestler posted a tribute and which one didn’t.
“You start competing, ‘Well, he said something in tribute and she didn’t say something.’ None of that is as valuable as what you mentioned, the coming together over somebody.”
That was the line. Cody doesn’t want PAC’s death turned into another reason for fans to attack wrestlers online because somebody didn’t tweet fast enough, didn’t write enough or didn’t say anything publicly at all.
“That’s a different situation because that’s a wrestler we love, adore, and will continue to love and adore.”
Cody also dropped a backstage detail that makes his point even stronger. During the same interview, he revealed that Kevin Owens had a camera set up at WWE television so anyone who wanted to could record a personal message about Satterley.
Those videos may never hit social media. Cody even said they could end up being just for the family, which is exactly why judging people based on what fans can see online can get ugly fast.
The wrestling world has been flooded with tributes since Satterley’s passing, including messages from names across WWE, AEW and beyond. The Rock shared his own tribute, while Jim Ross later spoke out about the fan response surrounding PAC’s death.
But Cody’s point wasn’t complicated. A tribute doesn’t have to be public to be real, and grief isn’t something fans need to rank. PAC’s death hit the wrestling world hard enough without people turning the aftermath into a scoreboard. Cody Rhodes clearly wants the focus kept on Benjamin Satterley — not on who posted first, who posted longest or who didn’t post at all.
Do you agree with Cody Rhodes that fans need to stop judging wrestlers by whether they publicly posted a tribute to PAC? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
