The Rock’s emotional tribute to PAC didn’t just hit wrestling fans hard — it also caught people inside WWE off guard. Dave Meltzer says some within WWE were “very surprised” by Dwayne Johnson openly praising AEW and Tony Khan while honoring the late Benjamin Satterley.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Garrett Gonzales brought up Rock’s September 29 tribute and specifically asked how his words landed with Nick Khan and other TKO executives. The question carried some extra weight because Johnson sits on the TKO Board of Directors while AEW remains WWE’s biggest American competitor. Meltzer said Rock and Nick Khan are still close, but revealed that people inside WWE definitely noticed the wording.
“Rock and Nick Khan are close. I do not believe that that has changed. Were there people in WWE who were very surprised at his wording and what he said, especially with them being on the TKO board of directors? Yes. Okay. They were very surprised.”
The surprise wasn’t about Rock paying tribute to PAC. Meltzer made it clear that nobody was taking issue with Johnson honoring a wrestler who had just died at 40 years old. What stood out was Rock going out of his way to praise AEW, call Tony Khan his friend and frame the company as a positive force in wrestling.
“Not that he did the video or anything like that, but the wording in the video, you know, where, you know, he praised them and, you know, essentially gave the stamp of, yeah, you guys are good for business and work hard and you’re helping make wrestling. Not the message that I think that the company wants out, you know, not, you know, the idea of him doing the video. I don’t, you know, no one’s gonna be mad at that. But, yeah, the wording. People brought it up to me. Yeah, yeah.”
As for Nick Khan personally, Meltzer was careful not to claim he had any issue with Rock’s comments. He said he doesn’t know what Nick thought and even suggested Rock could have spoken with him before posting the video.
“But as far as Nick Khan, I couldn’t tell you. I mean, Nick Khan and him, you know, he may have called Nick and told him, and Nick’s just like. It’s not like, what’s Nick gonna say? Oh, you know, you can do the video, but. But you can’t praise Tony Khan.”
“I mean, he. He doesn’t have that power over Dwayne. He can’t say that. You know what I mean? No one can say it to Dwayne, I think.”
That reaction traces back to Rock’s Instagram tribute on September 29, 2026, after AEW announced PAC’s death at 40 years old. Satterley had wrestled Andrade at AEW All Out on September 26, 2026 before later appearing during the Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay main event. Rock opened his video by sending love directly to Satterley’s family while explaining PAC’s career to anyone outside the wrestling world who might not have known him.
“Man, it hurts my heart to do this. I want to send out into the universe and to the Satterley family, my love and my condolences, my support, my light, my mana as you are enduring the loss of your loved one, Benjamin Satterley. For those who are watching this, who don’t know who Benjamin Satterley is, he was a professional wrestler known in the WWE as Neville. Had met him a few times, shook his hand and most recently known as PAC in AEW, All Elite Wrestling. And he passed away sadly young, too young, I believe he was 40, and just so sorry to hear this news.”
Rock then crossed the company lines that fans spend so much time fighting over. He talked about WWE, AEW and wrestlers around the world as one group tied together by the same business.
“As global as professional wrestling is, as global as WWE is, as much as AEW is growing into this phenomenal wrestling company, and wherever you’re wrestling at, around the world, Asia, Latin America, Europe, it doesn’t matter. As global as professional wrestling is, we’re still a very tight-knit unit and a tight-knit group because we all share the same DNA. And that is our love and our passion for the squared circle and to perform for audiences around the world.”
That “phenomenal wrestling company” line was one of the comments that made Rock’s message stand out. Johnson wasn’t merely acknowledging AEW existed — he was openly praising the promotion while serving as a TKO board member. Rock then got brutally direct about PAC’s death.
“And we’re a little crazy and that’s okay, but when we lose one of our own, it hurts. And when they’re young and so insanely talented, it really, it really fucking hurts. And especially when a life is robbed and you don’t get that opportunity to live a full life.”
Then came the Tony Khan portion. Rock called Khan his friend and sent condolences straight to the AEW locker room before also acknowledging the people in WWE who knew PAC.
“So to my friend, Tony Khan, I’m so sorry for your loss, my friend. QT and the entire locker, all the locker rooms, the men and women of AEW, I’m so sorry for your loss. And to those, of course, my colleagues in WWE who knew him well, I’m so sorry. So sorry all around.”
That was the part that apparently had people inside WWE paying attention. Rock wasn’t treating PAC’s death like a company issue, and he wasn’t pretending AEW was some forbidden name. He praised the company, praised the people inside it and spoke to Tony Khan like exactly what he said he was — a friend.
Meltzer and Gonzales also discussed why Rock may view things differently from people obsessed with the WWE-AEW rivalry. Gonzales pointed out that Johnson still seems to see himself first and foremost as a professional wrestler, and Meltzer agreed. Meltzer argued that Rock, along with Steve Austin, played a major role in making wrestling valuable enough to television networks that the current landscape could exist in the first place.
“Tony Khan created that and against all odds too, you know, really. But I mean, like, if you want to say he and Steve Austin were the guys who got wrestling strong enough to where it could command rights fees, and those rights fees allowed AEW and WWE to survive at a much higher level than it had ever been, and AEW to survive where it could not have without this. And he sees himself as one of the keys to that. He’s not wrong.”
Satterley had competed less than 24 hours before his death, losing to Andrade in a National Championship match at All Out before resurfacing later in the show. He was found unresponsive inside a rental vehicle in Des Plaines, Illinois, the following day and was later pronounced dead. His cause of death has not been officially announced, with additional testing still pending. Rock never speculated about what happened. Instead, he closed his tribute by telling people to use losses like PAC’s as a reminder that life can flip without warning. He then gave PAC one final goodbye from one wrestler to another.
“Let this heartbreaking loss, may it inform us all, as all losses do when we lose people we love and care about, young, not young, family members, etc. Let it guide and inform us on how we should live every day, in every moment, try to be as present as we possibly can in everything we do. Because you just never know what’s waiting around the corner.”
“God bless you, Benjamin, and thank you for the memories and thank you for entertaining the masses. And as I like to say, thank you for moving the crowd and as we say in wrestling, thank you for the house. Satterley strong.”
The Rock clearly wasn’t thinking about WWE versus AEW when he recorded that video, but people inside WWE still noticed exactly what he said. Praising AEW as a “phenomenal wrestling company” and publicly calling Tony Khan his friend is not the kind of message wrestling fans usually hear from someone sitting on TKO’s board, and that’s exactly why the tribute became more than just another celebrity condolence post.
What do you make of people inside WWE being surprised by The Rock’s praise for AEW and Tony Khan, and do you think his comments show how different the rivalry looks from inside the wrestling business? Let us know your thoughts and feedback 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.
