Lance Archer Talks Jon Moxley In G1, If His Time In WWE Was Similar To Moxley's, AEW - NJPW
New Japan's G1 Climax has a stacked lineup including Lance Archer and Jon Moxley. The two are in opposite blocks so the only time when they could meet up is in the Final but Archer is already looking forward to that potential match.
Archer explained all of the craze surrounding Moxley in the pro wrestling world right now when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.
"He's got the hype going and this business is the entertainment business and it's all about the hype," revealed Archer. "He's got that going and coming off that it was very well known he was leaving the other company. Some people were interested in seeing what was gonna happen as soon as that was over. Then he made an immediate impact at AEW and right after that he was announced for New Japan."
In regards to Moxley's infamous interview with Chris Jericho, Archer said he didn't listen to it, but his time in WWE was different than Moxley's.
"My time with the company was not what his was. He had a much more successful time and mine was back in 2009-10 and it was a different company at the time. Linda McMahon was trying to get into the Senate and the company was very mindful of every single thing that happened on TV," Archer said before mentioning WWE's anti-blood rule at the time and how matches were stopped at the sight of even a drop of blood.
"It was a very hard company to work for back then and I think it's opened up with the competition from New Japan to ROH to the indies. All that has changed how WWE runs their business. Again, I don't know what Moxley went through when he was there because I was out of there when he showed up and started making his name there.
"This will be our first time on any real touring situation where we're working together even though he's on a different block."
As seen with the G1 Supercard, New Japan and Ring of Honor have a strong working relationship and Archer said it benefits talent in both promotions.
"I think it's great. It's one of those things where when New Japan was expanding into the States, they needed that segue and a company to work with," said Archer. "ROH has been great with them and it provides opportunities for wrestlers to have more work on both sides of the pond whether you're in the US or Japan."
He then mentioned wrestlers like Jeff Cobb in the G1 and GoD as the ROH tag champs who are getting more opportunities because of this partnership.
"I think it's great for Ring of Honor. I think it's great for New Japan. I think it's great for the wrestling fan," stated Archer.
Something else in the wrestling world which is providing more opportunities is AEW and Archer echoes the thoughts of many other wrestlers who are happy to see its arrival.
"I think it is good for the business as a whole. It just creates more opportunity for all of the wrestlers," said Archer. "The internet has changed the game ? people talk about the old-school territory days ? and I think there is a whole new territory days era in a sense with the internet and the doors it opens visually for people around the world."
In line with the internet opening more doors, Archer brought up the high production quality used for many indie shows now. Indie promotions can look online and see what other indie promotions are doing and incorporate some of those elements into their shows.
"AEW is creating more eyes and more opportunities and more chances for the business to grow. For fans, it's a great time for the business because you have so many amazing choices," said Archer.
When asked about the possibility of a New Japan-AEW partnership, Archer seemed to believe it is a matter if "when" not "if."
"I think it would be good for the business but right now New Japan's relationship is with ROH, so that's our focus. Obviously Moxley and Jericho have worked with us and they are both AEW guys. So, you never know what the future holds for cross-promotional situations. I think it would only benefit everybody if and when that situation happens. But right now New Japan's relationship is with ROH and that's the focus and direction we're going," said Archer.
Lance Archer's full interview with Wrestling Inc was included as part of a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded player at the bottom of this post. In it Archer discusses the A Block that he's in as part of NJPW's G1, his tag team partner Davey Boy Smith Jr leaving NJPW, wanting to hurt Will Ospreay, Will Ospreay and Seth Rollins' Twitter feud, NJPW's creative process, the ROH – NJPW relationship and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.