Lance Archer: ‘There Was Thought Of Leaving New Japan’ Before Title Win
Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images
Current IWGP United States Champion Lance Archer didn’t expect to be defending a title of any sort at Wrestle Kingdom this year. Subbing in for an absent Jon Moxley at King of Pro-Wrestling, he picked up the belt in decisive fashion against a game Juice Robinson. Now, he has two opponents on the biggest stage in Japan. Talking with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, the champ is ready for his big opportunity. “I get to kill two people in two nights on one of the biggest stages in professional wrestling. You can’t beat that, right?”
Of course, it’s possible that Archer could have missed all this. With a go-nowhere 2019, Lance was considering his options. “At the time, starting in 2019, I didn’t know if that was gonna be in New Japan. Obviously the business has changed even drastically since the beginning of 2019. So, I was just looking to see what was going to be the next best avenue for myself.”
As for his first opponent, Lance feels that Moxley has no claim on the belt he vacated last year. “He’s being a little bit of a crybaby and he wants his belt back. That’s to be expected, I guess.”
For more from Archer, you can check out the full interview in the video embedded below:
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