Lance Archer On When He Found Out He Was Winning IWGP US Title, The G1 Turning Things Around For Him

– Lance Archer spoke with Busted Open Radio for a new interview and discussed his IWGP United States Championship win at King of Pro-Wrestling earlier this month. Archer defeated Juice Robinson to win the title after it was declared vacant due to Jon Moxley being unable to make it to the show due to travel issues arising from Typhoon Hagibis. Highlights from the discussion are below:

On when he found out he was winning the title: “Thank you man. I didn’t see it coming either. I was flying into a typhoon, and didn’t know what the heck was going on when I got to Japan, you know? Like everybody, we all had some crazy travel issues, and I literally landed at 2 PM on the day of the show, and the show started at 5 pm. And I didn’t find out anything until I got there as far as what was actually happening as far as the match and all that that was concerned.”

On when things turned around for him: “I mean, the G1 has to be the biggest turning point, you know? I mean, this business changes on a dime daily. You’ve been around it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You have your ups and your downs, your goods and your bads, you know. Luckily, I have been a part of New Japan Pro Wrestling for eight years, and it’s been a great run. And it’s been a lot of cool things, a lot of awesome experiences. But you know, when K.E.S ended and I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen as far as me as a singles competitor with New Japan. And with the G1, the opportunity came about and like I said, I took every chance. And I keep saying opportunity, the opportunity to change myself in every way I possibly could to advance myself. And then the company got behind me, and I didn’t even know if they knew what was going to happen. And the G1, from night one all the way through, it kind of exploded into like, ‘Holy crap, what the hell is going on?’ And even for myself, that was a kind of experience. And again, the time and opportunity came about with the whole situation, Moxley not being able to make it out to Japan, and then changing the match into a title match between Juice and I. And then ultimately capturing the U.S Title. It’s just been a whirlwind experience but a cool one. And you know, I’ve worked really had to get to this point, now it’s time to work even harder.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.