Lance Archer Talks Wanting To Hurt Will Ospreay, Addresses Ospreay - Seth Rollins Feud
When Will Ospreay isn't engaging in Twitter feuds with Seth Rollins, Ospreay is preparing for his upcoming match against Lance Archer at New Japan's G1 Climax. Archer revealed his expectations for his Ospreay match when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast today.
"To hurt him in ways he's never been hurt before [laughs]," Archer said matter-of-factly as to what he wants to do to Ospreay. "We had an amazing match in New Japan that was eye-opening for myself and for the wrestling world. People had only seen me as a tag team wrestler and when Will and I stepped out there and did what we did, a lot of people were like, 'Oh! Hey, that's a really different side of Lance Archer the American Psycho.' So, I'm looking at this as an opportunity to continue to prove that to people.
"The fact that [the G1 Climax show's] in Dallas, Texas, my hometown and 20 minutes from my house, I'm expecting to go out there and kill it. ?It's gonna be really exciting to step out there and show my fans, my family, my friends exactly what they've in a sense have been missing since I've been in Japan."
Archer then gave his two cents on his upcoming opponent's back-and-forth on social media with Seth Rollins.
"I think that's the most interesting part about social media these days. You have such direct contact with anybody and everybody," said Archer. "Obviously, they both have strong opinions about themselves and the companies they work with. The fans love stuff like this, especially that inter-promotional banter going back and forth.
"I respect both of them and I personally think Will is one of the best in the world and I get the opportunity to show I'm one of the best when I step in the ring with him."
Archer talked about how it's cool for pro wrestling fans to have a "war" again like the 90s but also have social media as a backdrop as well. These social media exchanges get the fans talking about what dream crossover matches they could get and is sort of like fantasy booking.
"I think it's fun for the fans and for the wrestling world. I think it creates a lot of attention not only for Will and Seth and the companies they work for, but everybody involved in this business," stated Archer.
The G1 Climax is one of the most storied tournaments in pro wrestling history and Archer was asked how he handles the pressure of being a part of a huge event.
"I've been in this business for 19 years but I'm excited," stated Archer. "There's not pressure in a bad way, there's pressure in a good way and I'm excited. I've been trying to prove myself time and time again in this business for most of my career. So, I see this as another opportunity to step in the ring with somebody with a lot of buzz right now who's young, athletic and amazing in the ring.
"If he's that guy that's got a lot of buzz then a lot of people are watching him which means a lot of people will also be watching me which I'm excited about."
Archer is in his second stint with New Japan and has tasted gold three times, albeit all were tag team championships. He talked about his future goals in New Japan.
"This is prime opportunity now as we have a US title. The Intercontinental title debuted just as I did with New Japan. So, there's a lot of singles opportunities for me to gain IWGP gold and show the world exactly who I am and what I can do. Then obviously, I have eyes on the IWGP Heavyweight Title that Okada carries and winning the G1 is a direct line to that," said Archer.
"My goal is to win the G1 so I can go on and headline one of the Wrestle Kingdoms because we have two this year. One of those nights needs to be my night ? the American Psycho winning the IWGP World Title.
Wrestle Kingdom 14 will take place over two nights for the first time ever next January. Archer then joked that WrestleMania also takes place over two nights but unintentionally because it runs so long.
Lance Archer will take on Will Ospreay this Saturday, July 6th, live on AXS TV as part of NJPW's G1 Climax show from Dallas, TX. Archer's full interview with Wrestling Inc was included as part of today's 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.