JBL says Vince McMahon wanted Neville to be WWE’s 'Mighty Mouse'

JBL revealed on the "Something to Wrestle" podcast, in remarks published on 2026-10-04, that Vince McMahon had originally intended Neville — now known as PAC — to portray a "Mighty Mouse" character in WWE. He said Vince "loved Mighty Mouse" and wanted Neville to assume that superhero-style role despite Rey Mysterio already occupying a similar slot.

Neville made his NXT debut in 2013 and joined the WWE RAW roster in 2015, building a reputation as a high-flyer and technically gifted performer. The article describes his athleticism, innovative offense and spectacular aerial moves as having won him a strong following and refers to him as the "King of the Cruiserweights." The piece notes Neville left WWE in 2018 and that his presence remained significant among fans of modern high-flying wrestling.

On the podcast JBL recounted McMahon's attraction to the "Mighty Mouse" idea and how that influenced plans for Neville. "When Neville came in, man, he was unbelievable. I mean, just unreal. You know, Vince loved Mighty Mouse, and he wanted Neville to be Mighty Mouse, but he already had one in Rey Mysterio. You know, one thing with the themes for Rey was that it was based on what Vince thought Mighty Mouse would have. You know, that’s how much Vince loved that character."

JBL said he and Michael Cole were closely involved in WWE's creative and production meetings when Neville arrived, with access to plans for upcoming shows and direct instructions from McMahon. He described being entrusted with confidential information because they were considered reliable and did not leak, and recalled his efforts to shape Neville's presentation: "And I remember several times in the meetings, wanting to position Neville more as Mighty Mouse, which obviously he’s perfect for. You know, it was something that he could have done. That superhero, the superhero that could do things. And he was that. He was perfect for that."

JBL also described McMahon treating the live WWE crowd as a "test audience" and cited social media metrics showing Neville's early impact. "I was sitting there one day, and they talked about how many impressions he was getting. He was getting double the impressions of everybody else when he came in, because when social media first came in, we started getting the social media reports and the impression reports about who was getting what." JBL concluded by praising Neville as a world-class talent and a genuinely good person who was always pleasant and easy to talk to.

Following Benjamin Satterley’s sudden demise at the age of 40, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson posted an emotional video tribute and offered condolences to PAC’s family, Tony Khan, the AEW locker room and his former WWE colleagues. The Rock said, "When we lose one of our own, it hurts. And when they’re young and so insanely talented, it really, really f*cking hurts." He added, "God bless you, Benjamin, and thank you for the memories, and thank you for entertaining the masses… thank you for moving the crowd… thank you for the house." The article states WWE officials "found another angle to Rock’s speech."

Neville left WWE in 2018 and joined AEW in 2019, where he became the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion (AEW International Championship) and a two-time AEW Trios Champion. His final match was against Andrade El Idolo at AEW All Out on September 26, 2026, where he lost via pinfall; in WWE he won the Cruiserweight Championship twice and captured the NXT Championship and the NXT Tag Team Championship once.