AEW’s Lance Archer is as tough as they come in the ring, but the Murderhawk Monster this week became the victim of crime. On X (formerly Twitter), Archer shared that his SUV was stolen in broad daylight in Duncanville, Texas.
My SUV was stolen today. Mid of day at a Costco in Duncanville TX. If you live In Dallas/Ft Worth TX and happen to see a 2018 White Yukon Denali License plate VGZ 9119 24 in rims w white wall tires Extra dark window tint. Please report to Duncanville PD
— The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer (@LanceHoyt) February 11, 2025
Archer’s situation is sadly only the latest example of theft affecting those in the pro wrestling industry. In December 2023, Slim Jim’s ‘Fast Meat’ car was reported stolen. The car had been used at that year’s Survivor Series: WarGames and had been featured in promotional videos alongside LA Knight and Bianca Belair. In 2024, former WWE Superstar Mandy Rose shared that her Louis Vuitton boots had been stolen and pointed the finger of blame at her delivery driver.
Lance Archer signed with AEW in February 2020 and would debut with the promotion the following month as a client of Jake Roberts. While he is yet to hold AEW gold, Archer won the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship in a Texas Deathmatch against Jon Moxley during Night Two of AEW Fyter Fest 2021.
Archer’s situation is unfortunate and hopefully he will be reunited with his SUV and the thieves brought to justice. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on this ongoing situation.
Lance Archer was a key wrestler in the early days of AEW, particularly the Pandemic Era at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville.
Back in 2021, Archer suffered a neck injury against Eddie Kingston. He did a moonsault from the top rope and landed on his head. He returned to TV in January 2022. Archer went to Japan to compete in the G1 a few months later.
Lance Archer’s Frustrations
(via AEW)
On Sunday, Archer tweeted “51 days since I laced up my boots last! NOT by choice!”
51 days since I laced up my boots last!
NOT by choice!
— The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer (@LanceHoyt) February 12, 2023
Archer hasn’t wrestled since December 23, 2022 for New Japan. Suzuki-Gun had their final match in an 8-man match against each other. Prior to that, Archer had been competing in the World Tag League as Minoru Suzuki’s partner.
The “Murderhawk Monster’s” last AEW match was on November 18, 2022. He lost to Ricky Starks in the first round of AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament. Prior to that, he had mostly been relegated to Elevation and Dark, except for competing in the AEW World Title #1 Contendership Grand Slam Golden Ticket Battle Royal.
Judging by his tweet, creative (in either AEW or NJPW) has nothing for him. His manager, Jake “The Snake” Roberts recently made his return to the company. He was named a special advisor to AEW Together, their outreach program.
There is frustration brewing over the booking of one AEW star.
AEW’s success has been quite impressive considering the company has only been around since 2019. Tony Khan has been able to score a TV deal with WarnerMedia and figures to be in for a massive broadcast deal once it’s time to renew.
Just as is the case with any other company, AEW does have its faults. Fans and experts have criticized the promotion for signing so much talent that many of them are off TV for weeks and only return in random spots.
It has left one Hall of Famer frustrated.
Jake Roberts Not Happy With Lance Archer’s Booking
(via AEW)
Jake Roberts, a wrestling legend who currently manages Lance Archer, had some things to say on a recent edition of the DDP Snake Pit.
Jake “The Snake” expressed frustration over how AEW has been using Archer.
“It is so frustrating for me to see Lance in the spot that he is in. He’s such a phenomenal athlete, he’s in such great shape, he’s got an unbelievable look. The only thing Lance doesn’t do really well is talk and that’s why they brought me.”
Archer has more often been seen on AEW Dark and when he has appeared on AEW TV, he’s been used to put others over. He did have a title match against Hangman Page but the booking just seemed random as AEW didn’t do much to build him up before he attacked Hangman to set up the match.
It’s a far cry from the promo Sting cut on Archer and Roberts back in 2021. Sting told Archer on an episode of Dynamite that he thinks he has what it takes to win the AEW World Championship.
It had been reported by Voices of Wrestling that there are some other stars in AEW that aren’t happy with how they’ve been used.
Archer will be able to show off more of what he can do soon as he’s been announced for this year’s NJPW G1 Climax.
Jim Ross believes that one AEW talent is rather underutilized.
AEW has a stacked roster. One criticism of the company has been that so many names are brought in that there’s no room for them on TV.
A good chunk of wrestlers are seen on AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation as a result.
Lance Archer Underutilized?
(via AEW)
During an edition of his Grilling JR podcast, AEW play-by-play ace Jim Ross expressed his belief that Lance Archer could be used more on TV.
“Smart move by Tony Khan to bring Jake [Roberts] in. We have such a young roster that you can’t get too many mentors, coaches, or whatever you want to say. Tony did a good job with that. I liked the pairing of Lance Archer and Jake.
“I think Lance is one of the more underutilized guys in the wrestling business.
“Big, rugged son of a gun. Nice man, reliable. You can’t get too many Lance Archer’s on your roster, I can promise you that. I thought that was a smart hire, and it came out of the blue to me.
“I’m not involved in the hiring or firing of talent in AEW, nor do I want to be. I’ve done that and been there. I’m happy that Tony made that hire, and it was good for all of us.”
Dustin Rhodes worked a match against Lance Archer this week on AEW Rampage, and Rhodes revealed on Saturday that he did not walk away from the match unscathed.
Rhodes won the match but was attacked by Archer after the final bell. In a post to social media on Saturday, Rhodes revealed that he had to get five stitches and also suffered a ruptured eardrum.
“Hey guys, rough night, told you all I’d give you an update,” Rhodes said. “Got five stitches in the head. Pretty sore. The main thing is that I have a busted eardrum. Cannot hear out of it at all. But guess what? I’m in good spirits and I’m not going anywhere.”
You can view Rhodes’ video addressing the injury below.
Rhodes looks to remain a member of the AEW roster for the immediate future as his brother, Cody Rhodes, prepares to return to WWE this week as part of WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, Texas. This is likely what he was referring to with the “I’m not going anywhere” comment, at least tongue-in-cheek. It’s unknown how long the injury will keep Dustin out of action.
At the first-ever AEW event back in 2019, the Double or Nothing PPV event in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the Rhodes brothers had what is still arguably one of the top matches in the history of AEW. Dustin walked away bloody from that encounter as well.
Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
All Elite Wrestling talent Lance Archer has detailed the severity of the neck injury from last year.
Wrestling fans were concerned about Archer’s wrestling career in a match against Eddie Kingston at AEW Dynamite on Oct 23, 2021. The neck injury occurred when he landed on his head doing a moonsault from the top rope. While he finished the match, the damage caused him to miss two months from wrestling.
Archer returned to AEW on Jan 12 by attacking AEW Heavyweight Champion Adam Page. He challenges the champion for the title in a Texas Death Match on AEW Dynamite on Feb 9. The title challenger appeared on Busted Open on Sirus XM to discuss his neck injury and if he’s ready to wrestle again.
“I feel great. Beyond blessed for the fact that I actually didn’t break my neck,” said Archer. He explained,”… A centimeter a different way and, it could’ve been a different result. I basically gave myself an extreme version of whiplash because I bounced off my forehead, but if it had been any part of the crown of my head, I probably would’ve been paralyzed or dead. So beyond blessed that it didn’t happen, and then the medical staff here has been extremely amazing.
They kept me on the road and kept me in physical therapy here with our guys and, I’ve done everything they asked me to do before coming back and even before this match. You know every day that the different physical exercises that they asked me to do, I’ve stayed on top of them and, they’ve been extremely happy and like I said I feel great.”
(via AEW)
Is Archer Concerned Taking the Buck Shot Lariat?
Archer feels confident challenging Page for the AEW title. He has competed in a Texas Death Match before and has a win over Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship at Fyter Fest on Jul 21, 2021. Although, recovered neck injury does create concern if he could take certain moves, including Page’s Buck Shot Lariat. The champion connects with the lariat to the neck and chest area, potentially causing whiplash to the opponent’s neck. However, Archer isn’t concerned and plans to win the championship.
“…If you go into this business if you go into any match with any trepidation and worry that when you get hurt. If I’m worried about his finish, If I’m worried about any of these moves, If I’m worried about doing another moonsault and landing on my head, If I’m worried about any of that when I’ll get hurt,” said Archer.
It’s unclear if Page will try to be extra protective of Archer after his neck injury. Although it seems the challenger is ready to do what it takes to defeat the AEW champion.
Lance Archer is back and he just showed Hangman Page that “EVERYBODY DIES!”
AEW World Heavyweight Champion Hangman Page made his way out to address fans when heel manager Lambert decided to spoil the party. Dan bashed Hangman and questioned his cowboy gimmick.
Lance Archer Dismantles Hangman Page
Lambert was interrupted by Lance Archer, who hadn’t been seen since October when he landed awkwardly on his head off a moonsault. It was a scary-looking mishap but Archer is healthy and back in the game.
If you’ll recall, Archer had been feuding with Lambert and The Men of The Year before he suffered the injury. On the Jan. 12 episode of Dynamite, Archer sent Hangman Page crashing through a chair instead of Lambert.
Lance Archer has been out of action since last month after a botched move. Now Tony Khan has provided some updates on his condition
The AEW owner commented on Archer’s health during the post Full Gear media scrum. He revealed that the heavyweight star has passed the impact and concussion tests successfully after his injury:
“Thankfully, he came out of it good. It was a neck injury, not a head injury. He cleared all the impact testing, concussion, all the stuff over the last several weeks. He twisted his neck, but he’s good,”
When asked when we may see the AEW star back in action, Khan said that he doesn’t know and exact date and he doesn’t want to rush things.
For those who don’t know, Lance Archer faced Eddie Kingston in the first round AEW world title eliminator tournament match during the October 23 edition of Dynamite.
The former NJPW star attempted a moonsault off the top rope during one spot. Though he couldn’t rotate enough and landed on his head.
The officials called an audible to end the match after this scary spot. Kingston ended up rolling his opponent for the win. It appeared that the heavyweight star was fine after he walked to the back by himself
Lance Archer also made a tweet about the botched spot claiming that things could have been worse but his absence from AEW since then had fans puzzled. We will have to see how long he has to stay out of action before returning to AEW TV.
Lance Archer has provided an update on his health after his scary landing during match with Eddie Kingston on last night’s episode of Dynamite. The murderhawk monster took on his Twitter to thank the AEW officials for taking care of him. He suggested that the injury wasn’t as bad as it looked and promised that he will be back:
“Listen. We choose to do this and take our health n lives in our hands every night. I’ve done that move hundreds of times over my career. Just under rotated. Coulda been MUCH worse. Thank you to ALL at @AEW for taking AMAZING care of me and protecting me. I’ll BE BACK!”
Listen. We choose to do this and take our health n lives in our hands every night. I’ve done that move hundreds of times over my career. Just under rotated. Coulda been MUCH worse. Thank you to ALL at @AEW for taking AMAZING care of me and protecting me. I’ll BE BACK!
— The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer (@LanceHoyt) October 24, 2021
Last night’s episode of Dynamite saw the former champion facing Kingston in a first round AEW world title eliminator tournament match. At one point during the bout, Lance Archer tried to hit a moonsault off the top rope. However, he couldn’t rotate completely and landed on his head.
The referee and Doctor Sampson both checked on the AEW star. The officials then wrapped up the match quickly and Kingston rolled his opponent for the win. The injured star will obviously be going through more testing. Though his tweet and the fact that he was able to walk back to the locker room area by himself are positive news for his fans. We’ll keep you updated on his status.
The NJPW Strong Showdown tapings were held from the 2300 arena in Philadelphia over the weekend. The tapings featured stars such as Will Ospreay, Jon Moxley, Minoru Suzuki and more.
SEScoops correspondent Samira was on hand for both nights and sent in these detailed results.
Showdown saw several big announcements, including the confirmation of the NJPW debut of former WWE star Buddy Matthews for an upcoming show in November.
The main event match of the first night of tapings saw Suzuki going up against Chris Dickinson. He defeated Dickinson using his signature gotch-style piledriver.
The second night featured a Philly street fight between the teams of Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer and Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston for the main event.
This extreme match was won by the team of Suzuki and Archer with the opponents shaking hands at the end. Here are the quick results from both nights of NJPW Strong Showdown tapings
NJPW Strong Showdown Night 1 Results:
Hikuleo defeated Kevin Knight
Bateman, Misterioso, and Barrett Brown, defeated Brody King, Karl Fredericks, and The DKC: Bateman pinned DKC to win the match for his team.
JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs, and Jorel Nelson defeated David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, and Yuya Uemura: Isaacs won the match for his team when he pinned Uemura with some help from Nelson. Kratos and Coughlin got into a fight after this match. Crowd chanted “F**k you Kratos” and in response, Kratos flipped everyone off.
Juice Robinson defeated El Phantasmo: After the match, Juice called out Impact Wrestling star Moose.
Alex Zayne defeated Ariya Daivari: The two showed respect to each other by shaking hands at the end.
Fred Rosser & Rocky Romero defeated Tom Lawlor & Danny Limelight: Rosser pinned Lawlor for the win. In response, Lawlor attacked him after the match. Danny then gave scissors to Lawler. Lawlor ended up cutting Rossers’ hair while the crowd chanted “you sick f**k”
Ren Narita & Clark Connors defeated Will Ospreay & TJP: Ospreay tried to attack Narita after the bout but Narita countered. He then got on the mic and expressed the desire to face Will Ospreay.
Jay White defeated Fred Yehi: post-match, Jay White issued an open invitation for anyone from any company to come and fight him for the Never Openweight title.
Minoru Suzuki defeated Chris Dickinson: After the match, Suzuki says tomorrow night: “Jon Moxley. Eddie Kingston. F**k you.”
NJPW Strong Showdown Night 2 Results:
Yuya Uemura & Kevin Knight defeated Juice Robinson & David Finlay
El Phantasmo & Chris Bey defeated Lio Rush & Ariya Daivari: Bey pinned Daviari for the win
Jonathan Gresham defeated Alex Coughlin: The two shaked hands after the match
Fred Rosser, Karl Fredericks, Rocky Romero, Ren Narita & The DKC vs. Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs, Jorel Nelson & Danny Limelight: The match ended in DQ after everyone started attacking each other. Rosser showed up with a shaved head after last night. At one point, Tom got onto the mic and said that he was tired of Romero and Rosser who he called with his WWE name Darren. He said that Darren will be the next loser to the title.
Brody King, Daniel Garcia and Chris Dickinson defeated Bateman, Misterioso Jr and Barrett Brown: King picked up the victory for his team.
TJP defeated Clark Connors: Connors was holding the rope but the referee didn’t see it
Jay White & Hikuleo defeated Fred Yehi & Wheeler Yuta: White won the match by pinning Yuta. He grabbed the mic after the match but dropped it and then left without saying anything.
Will Ospreay defeated Alex Zayne
Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer defeated Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston: The brawl went all over the place including the parking lot. The opponents shook hands after the bout.
The Casino Ladder Match participants for the Oct. 6 edition of AEW Dynamite have been revealed.
AEW is gearing up for its big second-year anniversary show. The Casino Ladder Match will be making its return on that edition of Dynamite. The winner will receive a shot at the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.
The participants have been announced and they inclulde:
Pac
Andrade El Idolo
Jon Moxley
Lance Archer
Orange Cassidy
Matt Hardy
Of course, there is also the Joker entrant. This wrestler will not be revealed until he makes his entrance. Speculation has run wild on who this participant may be. Who do you think will walk down the aisle?
Kenny Omega is the reigning AEW World Heavyweight Champion. He’s been having issues with Bryan Danielson as of late. Omega will be teaming with his Elite buddies (Adam Cole and The Young Bucks) to take on Danielson, Christian Cage, and Jurassic Express on the special anniversary Dynamite show.
Be sure to stick with SEScoops for coverage of Dynamite on Wednesday night. We’ll update you on who the Joker entrant is as well as who wins the Casino Ladder Match. Of course, we’ll also provide full results once the show has wrapped up.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts is back in AEW. The pro wrestling legend has been off television for over a month. Roberts recently had foot surgery, as first reported by Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net.
“The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer has been without his mentor. That all changed this week at a taping of AEW Dark: Elevation. Roberts once again accompanied Archer to the ring, reuniting one of AEW’s most dangerous pairings.
Here’s what Roberts had to say about his return on Twitter:
After 5 weeks off 4 surgery I was bk in the saddle again. Wow what a rush!! (Thx HAWK!!!) I love all the fans that show their appreciation! I came alive!! Thx AEW for making me a part of it. Life is so good
At Wednesday’s AEW TV tapings from Rochester, NY, Archer won a quick squash match over a local talent in a match taped for Dark: Elevation. He wore a Brodie Lee wristband to honor the former leader of the Dark Order.
This episode of Elevation will air on YouTube on Oct. 4.
Now that Jake “The Snake” has made his return, it’ll be interesting to see what’s in store for him and Archer going forward. Archer is coming off a loss in a Lights Out tag team match with Minoru Suzuki on Rampage. The two were defeated by Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston thanks to interference from Homicide.
Some more matches have been added to the upcoming AEW Grand Slam edition of Rampage.
AEW is making its way to Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. The promotion will be airing Dynamite live on Sept. 22. They will also be taping a special two-hour edition of Rampage.
Three more matches for the Rampage show have been revealed. Leading the pack in terms of the announcement is a Lights Out match featuring Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston vs. Minori Suzuki & Lance Archer. An eight-man tag team match between Lucha Bros & Proud N Powerful vs. Private Party & The Butcher and The Blade has also been announced.
There will also be a singles match between Anna Jay and Penelope Ford.
Lance Archer believes that cross-promotion between AEW and NJPW is healthy for the wrestling business.
Archer enjoyed great success during his time with NJPW. Along with Davey Boy Smith Jr. as Killer Elite Squad, Archer became a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. When Smith made his exit from the promotion, it opened the door for Archer’s singles run. He ended up capturing the IWGP United States Championship.
In Feb. 2020, Archer signed with AEW, signaling the end of his run with NJPW. Luckily for wrestling fans, the “Forbidden Door” has been busted open. Archer ended up winning the IWGP United States gold a second time when he defeated Jon Moxley in the main event of an episode of AEW Dynamite.
During an interview with NJPW, Archer discussed the importance of cross-promotion.
“It was absolutely special for me, one of the more special moments of my career. I was able to twice represent NJPW as its US champion, even if the second time wasn’t in a New Japan ring. It really feels for me now that, along with Jon Moxley and some other guys, I’m part of that bridge between NJPW and AEW, and that’s huge because I think that bridge is important to both companies, and to the whole business.”
Archer put the U.S. title on the line against Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW Resurgence. Tanahashi ended up defeating Archer to capture the championship for the first time. After the match, Archer said he wants a rematch with Tanahashi under the AEW banner.
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the talent involved for their New Japan Showdown event. The talent includes big names like former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay and the Never Openweight Champion Jay White.
“October 16 & 17 will see NJPW STRONG taped in Philadelphia, as Showdown 2021 emanates from the legendary 2300 Arena across two nights. An already hot ticket is set to get hotter, as big names have been added to this landmark event,” said NJPW.
Tickets for the event have gone on sale.
All Elite Wrestling Talent Involved at Showdown
While New Japan Showdown will be an NJPW event, they have also acquired an All Elite Wrestling talent to appear. The former NJPW United States Heavyweight Champion Lance Archer participate in the event. NJPW also added Archer to NJPW’s Autumn Attack in September.
Archer lost his championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW Resurgence on August 14th. It is unclear if Archer will get a rematch for the title. Although plans can change, NJPW hasn’t advertised Tanahashi for the event.
While Ospreay vacated the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in May, he now claims he is still the champion. He is also in the New Japan Showdown poster with the championship. However, NJPW hasn’t officially acknowledged Ospreay as their champion.
It’s unclear at this time if NJPW will make Ospreay the IWGP Heavyweight Champion for their NJPW strong brand. Ospreay, in his return to NJPW, said that NJPW Strong would be his new home. He also has issued an open challenge for contenders to face him for “his” IWGP Heavyweight Championship under the NJPW strong brand. While the matches are unknown for New Japan Showdown, Ospreay will likely want to defend “his” title.
Three big names have been added to the NJPW Strong Autumn Attack cards.
NJPW Strong will be making its way to the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX. NJPW will be holding tapings on Sept. 25 and 26. NJPW has announced that three major names will be making their appearances.
One of those names is former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay. The leader of the United Empire made a surprise appearance on the Resurgence show this past Saturday (Aug. 14). He cut a promo proclaiming himself to be the real IWGP World Champion and Shingo Takagi as just an interim titleholder. Takagi defeated Kazuchika Okada for the gold when Ospreay was forced to vacate it due to an injury.
Another name added to the NJPW Strong Autumn Attack card is Minoru Suzuki. Suzuki is a legend in Japanese wrestling. He is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion as well as a former IWGP Intercontinental and NEVER Openweight titleholder. He hasn’t wrestled in the United States in nearly two years.
Dan Lambert apparently told Lance Archer to really lay into him with an elbow on AEW Dynamite.
Lambert is the head coach of the renowned MMA gym, American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Lambert has helped coach a slew of elite MMA fighters such as current UFC Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes. He’s also a huge wrestling fan.
Lambert has appeared in angles for Impact Wrestling and, most recently, AEW. On the July 7 edition of Dynamite, Lambert cut a heel promo before being laid out with an elbow by Lance Archer. Lambert was then nailed by the Blackout.
Olympic judo gold medalist and 2019 PFL Women’s Lightweight Champion, Kayla Harrison, appeared on MMAFighting’s The MMA Hour. She claimed that Lambert wanted Archer to legitimately elbow him to avoid getting an earful from the ATT fighters.
“That was his Olympics. That was his moment. He was rapidly texting me, ‘I’m going on at 9:30, you gotta watch. Wait until you see this.’ Then he does this nerdy spiel about all these wrestlers and styles. Afterward, I told him, ‘Dan, I’m happy for you if you’re happy. You are the biggest nerd I’ve ever met in my life, but I’m happy.’ He’s like, You wanna hear a funny story?’ He starts talking about how they prepared all this and he said, ‘I had to tell (Lance Archer), can you do me a favor? When you elbow me, I need you to really elbow me. Everyone at my gym will give me sh*t if you don’t really give me the business.'”
Lambert is set to return to Dynamite tonight (Aug. 18) and he won’t be alone. During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Tony Khan said Lambert will be bringing “two great UFC Champions” with him on Dynamite.
AEW star and the former IWGP United States Champion Lance Archer recently spoke to Nick Hausman on The Wrestling Inc. Daily. The former champion discussed several topics during the interview, including Deathmatch King, Nick Gage.
“I’ll gladly put him through some broken glass and kick his ass,” Lance Archer revealed. “I’m good with that.”
Archer would also discuss the ‘forbidden door’ angle that has seen performers from several companies cross the borders over the past year. NJPW, NWA, AEW, IMPACT and more have seen wrestlers from around the globe perform on their cards.
Lance Archer on The Forbidden Door
“I think it intrigues everybody,” Archer noted. “I think that’s the fun part. Again, we keep going back and forth on the Forbidden Door, and the fact that we have a working relationship with New Japan right now, we have a working relationship with Impact.”
“And whatever it is, the different people that are coming in and out of AEW on a consistent basis” Lance Archer added. “I think that would be interesting for anybody. The fact if there was some kind of supershow that involved several different companies with talents from every one of them, fighting each other, fighting for their championships, whatever the case may be. I think that’s the perfect element for a place like MSG.”
Earlier tonight (Aug. 14), NJPW Resurgence emanated from The Torch at LA Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The main event saw IWGP United States Champion Lance Archer put his gold up for grabs against Hiroshi Tanahashi. In the co-headliner, Jay White defended the NEVER Openweight gold against David Finlay.
Resurgence also saw a surprise appearance from former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay. He revealed that he has been medically cleared to compete but he will not be participating in the G1 Climax due to issues with NJPW brass.
We also got an appearance from Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa. The two confronted Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson after their match against Jon Moxley and Yuji Nagata. After a back-and-forth verbal exchange, the Good Brothers left the ring.
Here are quick results for NJPW Resurgence.
Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Lance Archer – For IWGP United States Championship
Jay White (c) def. David Finlay
Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson def. Jon Moxley & Yuji Nagata
Tomohiro Ishii def. Moose
Juice Robinson def. Hikuleo
Lio Rush, Adrian Quest, Chris Dickinson, Fred Yehi & Yuya Uemura def. Tom Lawlor, JR
Kratos, Jorel Nelson, Royce Issacs & Danny Limelight
Ren Narita, Clark Connors & TJP def. Rocky Romero, Fred Rosser & Wheeler Yuta
Former WWE star Daniel Bryan is said to be interested in competing for NJPW. The current IWGP US champion Lance Archer is not backing away from a fight if he does show up at the company.
The NJPW and AEW star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc where he talked about things such as the success of AEW through the pandemic era and more.
One of the reasons why Bryan has chosen AEW over WWE is said to be the freedom to compete in NJPW as well. When asked about these rumors and potentially facing the former world champion, Archer said that he hears the same rumors as everyone else:
“I hear the same rumors you hear. I’m only talent, so I just kind of step in the ring, and if he wants to show up, I’ll gladly kick his butt too, that’s kind of how I view any of the rumors. That just makes it fun for any pro wrestling fan because you hear those rumors, and you just never know who’s gonna show up where, when and how.”
Lance Archer went on to praise Bryan as one of the best in the world before also commenting on the rumors of CM Punk showing up in AEW as well:
“I think he’s one of the best in the world, He’s always proven himself time and time again wherever he’s gone. He’s an amazing talent. Wherever he goes, it’s gonna be a good show, but if he shows up and tries to fight me, sorry, bad luck, brother, if he (CM Punk) shows up, he shows up, and I’ll kick his ass too.”
Apart from this, the IWGP champion also discussed the upcoming Rampage episode from Chicago on August 20 selling out very quickly and more.
Lance Archer has been cutting a ruthless path through AEW since making his debut, including his recent Texas deathmatch with Jon Moxley at Fyter Fest.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRngK5MJd6W/
Talking during a recent episode of AEW Unrestricted, the Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer spoke about how he chose to sign with AEW over a contract offered by NJPW.
Lance Archer wrestled for nine years out in Japan but revealed he never had a full-time contract with the Japanese promotion.
“I did. New Japan, as far as Japanese wrestling is concerned, a lot of times. The old school way of doing business, especially with the foreigners, was just a tour-by-tour thing. That’s how I’d actually been with the company for nearly nine years,” Lance Archer explained.
It wasn’t until he was offered a contract by AEW that Archer was offered a full-time deal with NJPW. However, by that point, the options available to Lance Archer, were far broader than ever before.
“I don’t even think, to a degree, I would have received the offer from New Japan if AEW didn’t exist. They didn’t even know that AEW offered me the deal. I’m just saying that AEW was changing the wrestling world completely from how everybody was doing business.”
Lance Archer Liked the Idea of Coming Back to Wrestle in the US
Wrestling a foreign country is never easy, even before the pandemic hit, different cultures and language barriers can be big obstacles to overcome. For Lance Archer, there was an allure to coming back to wrestle full time in the United States.
“So, the opportunity to come back home, to tour the United States, this is prior to anybody knowing what was going to happen in 2020, the new challenges of coming back to the U.S. and being in AEW, a company that was growing and changing the world professional wrestling, all these things were just too enticing and something that I actually wanted to take on. I wanted to bet on myself and be a part of AEW.”
Lance Archer has an affinity with the New Japan crowd. Thanks to AEW’s open relationship, it is likely he will wrestle in Japan in the future. Especially now that he is the IWGP United States champion. However, for the Murderhawk Monster, it would seem that there really is no place like home.
Lance Archer is currently the #3 ranked wrestler in AEW’s men’s singles division. So far, his only losses in the promotion have been to Cody Rhodes and Jon Moxley. He spoke with Chris Van Vliet recently and talked about his “Everybody Dies” gimmick as well as what led to him signing with AEW.
“There’s kind of that underlying meaning to the phrase ‘Everybody Dies’ that’s like everybody’s career ends at some point. I’ve been lucky and blessed over 20 years now and still going strong and at a top level with a top company in the business of professional wrestling but at some point, it will come to an end. I don’t know when and I don’t plan on it being any time soon,” Archer said on the show.
Lance Archer On Signing With AEW
The Murderhawk was also asked about what led to his signing with AEW last year.
“It was December of 2019 when I had just finished up the New Japan Tag League tour literally two days prior and AEW came to town to Dallas, Texas so I went there just to see some friends and whatnot because there’s a lot of people that I’ve been around the business with and become really good friends with. That was kind of where the seed was planted because people were asking what my situation was. And at that time, my situation with New Japan was that I did not have a full-time contract.”
Archer continued to say that his deal with NJPW was tour by tour and that he had done that for over 8 years. He also expressed he feels quite fortunate with all the places he’s gotten to wrestle throughout his career.
“I’ve worked in a lot of different places from TNA to WWE for a short cup of coffee, I showed up in Ring of Honor a few times, I worked down in Mexico with AAA and different places like that. So I’ve bounced around and been a journeyman to say the least.”
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed AEW’s ALL OUT PPV. Bully Ray would mention a number of topics from the show, including the winner of the Casino Battle Royale and Matt Hardy’s potential concussion.
AEW held their ALL OUT event this past weekend from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville Florida. The PPV was notable for a number of reasons, some unwanted, such as the aforementioned Matt Hardy fall.
The Casino Battle Royale during the show determined a new number 1 contender to the AEW Championship. The ‘Murderhawk Monster’ Lance Archer won the match and now he is set to take on Jon Moxley at some point in the future.
Bully Ray on Lance Archer
“No doubt the right guy won, 100%” Bully Ray began on Busted Open, discussing the Battle Royale match. “Lance Archer. In my opinion? He has not been used in his wheelhouse for a while. When you call yourself the MurderHawk? Nobody should be standing after you plough through everybody.”
Bully Ray would then discuss why Lance Archer and Jon Moxley will be a good main event feud for AEW going forward. The tag team wrestling legend would say how Moxley is a strong babyface with the audience fully behind him.
“I hope they can get back on track [with Lance Archer]. Because when you have a champion like Moxley? Okay, I want to see Moxley sell. I know Moxley can do all his stuff with his CZW-esque style matches and his toys…but? I know he can wrestle also. Jon doesn’t need all of the bells and whistles to work as he can have a great wrestling match that we’re emotionally involved in. Because? We [the audience] genuinely like Jon Moxley.”
Do you agree with Bully Ray? Do you think this’ll be a great feud in the AEW main event scene going forward? Let us know in the comments
AEW star Lance Archer recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The ‘Murderhawk Monster’ answered a litany of questions on the show, mostly surrounding AEW’s recent television night moves and how the company have appeared to ‘retain’ their audience.
Lance Archer would also discuss the ‘Demogod’ Chris Jericho. Archer would talk about Jericho’s recent character nuance where he would tout his ratings success; saying how backstage Jericho doesn’t actually ‘broadcast’ the success to the whole locker room but just as an aside if you spoke to him directly.
The ‘Demogod’ character plays on AEW’s success in the 18-49 demographic. The 18-49 demo has been referred to by numerous members of AEW staff as a measuring stick for success; it is the pivotal demo for advertisers and AEW have consistently drawn well in this range, mostly bettering Wednesday night rivals NXT.
“I think if you had your own personal conversation with him [Jericho]? Yeah absolutely” Lance Archer began on the show, discussing the ratings success and Jericho’s approach to it. “It’s not a situation where I think; we’re not all coming together and having a big meeting and going rah rah rah ‘here we are’ and whatnot.”
“Because everybody’s very focused on doing the very best they can at what they’ve got on the show” Lance Archer continued. “If you need to speak to him [Jericho] or anybody that has that information? He will absolutely let you know and keep you abreast of what’s going on and what needs to be done. And he absolutely is one of those locker room leaders when you start talking about it that way.”
Do you like Chris Jericho’s new shtick as the Demogod? Let us know in the comments.
AEW star Lance Archer recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The ‘Murderhawk Monster’ answered a litany of questions on the show, with some dynamite comments being thrown at NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.
Shaquille O’Neal recently spoke to The Athletic and stated that he would ‘love’ to come to AEW and go up against the ‘face’ of the company, Cody Rhodes. Shaq stated “I’d love to fight Cody. Write it. Print it. Text it to him. Call AEW up and tell them.”
Lance Archer took exception to the fact that Shaq wanted a shot at Cody and not someone who is a lot closer to his stature. Shaq has previously appeared for WWE and stood toe to toe with the likes of The Big Show in-ring.
Lance Archer on Shaq
“I mean, Cody IS the face of AEW” Lance Archer began on the show. “So he [Shaq] wants to be in that picture with the face of AEW. That IS Cody, and who knows what Cody’s condition is right now?”
Cody Rhodes was recently ‘written off’ television after his TNT Championship loss to Brodie Lee. It was reported that this was due to an upcoming television role elsewhere and the plan is for Cody to take on the ‘Exalted One’ Brodie Lee when he returns.
“But that’s where Shaq thinks he wants to go” Lance Archer continued. “And it’s cool. [Go on] look in a different direction Shaq. Don’t pay attention to the biggest baddest SOB on the card. Because if you’re not paying attention? I’m gonna kick you in the back of the knee and take your face off your head.”
Would you like to see Lance Archer vs Shaq Fu in AEW? Let us know in the comments
