New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co., Ltd. was established in January of 1972. By April 1973, the “World Wrestling" expanded its market by being broadcast by NET TV (now: Asahi TV). In April 1989, the IWGP Heavyweight Title was established and the First champion was "Antonio Inoki".
In 2009 New Japan Pro Wrestling signed a deal with CMLL (a professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City) which expanded their market on an international scale. They proceeded to sign a deal with Ring of Honor Wrestling Entertainment in 2014 which also allowed them to expand into the US market. In 2017 New Japan Pro Wrestling had their first G1 Special in Long Beach match in the USA.
Now we are very excited to see New Japan Pro Wrestling expand into the Australian market!!.
Twinmusix got to chat to Lance Hoyt about the upcoming New Japan Pro Wrestling tour, and we had a very interesting chat.
In Japan your crowd gives you a reaction when you make a big move and then goes back to concentrating on the match, how is the crowd different in other countries compared to Japan?
In Japan It is very respectful. The culture as a whole is very high on respect, I think the fans carry that over when they are watching any type of Sport, including professional wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. They watch very intensely with everything that we are doing. They enjoy the big moves, they enjoy the story, the fight and the struggle to get out of submission holds. Whatever is happening in the ring they seem to enjoy, they respect it as a whole so they respect the wrestlers and the Fighters.
I think the differences in some parts of the world it's more of a buzz. USA there's always a constant buzz of people yelling, screaming, chanting and booing and when you do something big you get a big reaction.
In 2012 you joined a team with Davey Boy Smith how did you come to work with him?
I've been in New Japan Pro Wrestling since 2011, Davey Boy had worked with New Japan Pro Wrestling science 2005. Both of us we're in WWE at the same time. The company decided they wanted us to be together because we were too big bad guys. They like the Dynamic that him and I created together as a team.
He and I decided we wanted to make the team work and work well together, killer elite squad has captured the IWGP tag team titles 3 different times, and have had more successes in other teams around the world.
If you could choose any metal band member to wrestle live who would you choose?
Danzig or James Hetfield from Metallica.
In 2017 you suffered from a herniated disc in your back, what made you decide to start wrestling again?
New Japan Pro Wrestling is coming to Australia this week which I have been with science 2011. I am part of a larger group called suzuki-gun and Suzuki is coming to Australia as a group we wrestled for another company called pro wrestling Noah in Japan for about two years. We return to New Japan Pro Wrestling at the beginning of 2017.
I unfortunately had an injury where I had to have surgery, 1 year anniversary to my surgery I had severe a herniation in my back and I had to have major surgery on my lower back. I was in the Japanese hospital and I had to spend some time there, it took about 6 or 7 months before I was able to come back and wrestle.
My motivation for coming back to Wrestling was, it's a business and i have been a part of it. It is a business I love, it is a business I have a passion for!. Injuries happen all the time because it's a very physical business and it was my motivation to get back to the highest level I could possibly get to.
New Japan Pro Wrestling is the second largest company in the world at the moment, it's growing and getting bigger, with us making a tour down to Australia at the moment shows you that a Japanese company is expanding beyond Japan.
My motivation was to get back into a passion that I have had for 18 years, a business that I constantly prove myself to be worthy of being in. There are always wrestlers that are always working hard and trying to prove themselves and I have been lucky enough to be one of those people to breakthrough in the wrestling business and wrestle with some of the biggest companies in the world like WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
You transferred from TNA to WWE and didn't have any dark matches or practice matches, How come you did not have to do these matches?
When I was coming from TNA to WWE my transition was very quick, there company within their own company has a program where you're learning to wrestle for them that is WWE and I had to do that for about 6 months. I never did dark matches or practice matches on the main roster but I did try and have to prove myself within their own system before I got my opportunity on WWE television.
Do you have any funny stories you can tell us well you have been on tour?
I'm not a big drinker and not someone who drinks a whole lot But I'll have drinks with my friends sometimes.
One night in Japan me and Davey Boy Smith Jr, had a night where we had done a show and had a sponsor and we were going to be near our hotel which was the Tokyo Dome Hotel.
On this night I was like, well I'm going to have a good time and i am in walking distance of my hotel, I don't have to get a taxi and I am definitely not driving so I am going to have some fun.
Smith who was a real big fan of hot sake at the time, as Smith mentioned to the sponsor that you liked sake and the sponsor lit up. There's not a lot of communication to the sponsor's sometimes because some of them don't speak any English. So as soon as Smith said sali the sponsor knew that word, so if you've ever had sake at a restaurant you know it comes in a small little ceramic vile.
At the restaurant we were eating at we had 9 of those, I had also had a few whiskey and coolers and Davey had been drinking some beer, so we were pretty lit at this point. After this they were like oh we're going to karaoke, Smith and I would like screw it were going, we are so close to the hotel it's no big deal. We got to the next place which was the karaoke spot, and it's last call for drinks so the the sponsor orders us 15 more vials of hot sake and puts it right in front of us. We were like holy s*** where going to die.
We were trying to pass it out to everyone we had one girl with us that was already in the bathroom throwing up, before we even left that place. Smith and I pretty much down the whole thing, and it was literally like one of those scenes for a movie we are walking like a snake through the grass singing and dancing and acting like absolute fools. Amazingly I didn't throw up, I probably should have thrown up.
The next day I tried to get out of my bed three different times, took pre workout determined I was starting to get out of the hotel, I got up fell down about 6 times. That night I had dinner with another sponsor and I was like I have to get out of my room, I have to go and eat, at this point i am still drunk and I go downstairs to eat with them. While at dinner I say Smith, man I'm still a little drunk. I asked him if he had done anything and he said oh yeah, I got up and went training with the original tiger mask and did kickbox training at 11 o'clock this morning. Then he told me, "he was sweating sake out of his pores".
Is there anything else to announce to your fans?
I hope that all our fans come to our shows.
Check Out the New Japan Pro Wrestling Press Release - HERE
BUY TICKETS: http://www.destroyalllines.com/tour/new-japan-pro-wrestling/
New Japan Pro Wrestling Fallout Down Under Tour Dates:
Friday 16th February – ADELAIDE, Titanium Arena
Saturday 17th February – MELBOURNE, Festival Hall
Sunday 18th February – SYDNEY, Quay Centre
Monday 19th February – PERTH, HBF Stadium
