Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis turned AEW star into 'Big Guy No. 3' after unplanned WWE debut
A top AEW star has just revealed that ahead of his WWE debut a few years ago, several last-minute changes were made to him backstage, including his look. This would be Lance Archer.
The Murderhawk Monster has made a name for himself in the pro wrestling industry. He has had brief stints with TNA, NJPW, and WWE, and he is now signed with AEW. Known as Vance Archer, he had a run in WWE from 2009 to 2010, where he appeared on both ECW and SmackDown.
In a recent edition of his The Hawk's Nest podcast, Lance Archer revealed that on the night of his debut, he did not have a clue what was taking place until mere hours before the show. He came in without even knowing he was competing later on in the night.
"I literally had no idea I was debuting until Joey Styles was like, 'Yeah, we'll get your information for the website later,'" Archer said. "And that's when I got first clued in to like, 'Oh, this is not just a look-at. This is a debut' (...) It went from not knowing that I was going to be doing anything, to finding out that morning."
He also talked about how both Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis came together and made some last-minute changes to his look. At the time, Archer revealed that he had a look similar to his current one. But he was then brought to hair and makeup to change his look before his match.
"Vince McMahon and Johnny Ace were standing there, and they're talking to each other. Johnny Ace was finally like, 'Kid, come here.' 'What's up?' 'Cut your hair.' Like, 'Okay, cool...' Johnny took me straight to the hair and makeup ladies, and was like, 'Change his look.' [then] They took me to Vince, and Vince was like, 'Yes! I love it! (...) I always say they turned me into 'Big Guy No. 3.' And that was Vance Archer." [H/T - WrestlingInc.]
Lance Archer is now part of a major AEW faction
Upon arriving in AEW, Lance Archer has been aligned with Jake "The Snake" Roberts. But last month, the WWE Hall of Famer was approached by Don Callis regarding a trade.
This brought Archer to the Don Callis Family, and Rush was given to Roberts. Now the former WWE Superstar joins the likes of Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Brian Cage, and Trent Beretta as members of the faction.
He has now been put alongside Cage, and the two have been completely dominant as a duo. This could be the break Archer needs to take him to much greater things in AEW.