Major AEW Star On His Nickname: ‘I Just Thought It Was Fun To Say’

Nicknames are fun, even when they are about murder. How wrestlers come up with their nicknames often make for fun stories and other times it really is as simple as the name being fun to say. Such is the case for AEW star Lance Archer.

The “Murderhawk Monster” nickname made its debut in the Summer of 2019 during the G1 Climax when Archer debuted his new look. With a fresh new haircut in a huge red mohawk, well, “Murderhawk Monster” does make sense. Here is the quote from Archer’s interview with Chris Van Vliet where he explains the story behind the name:

“So last year when the G1 happened it was one of those situations where I took it upon myself, I was like ‘This is a big opportunity’. Initially I wasn’t even in the G1 for that year, they were starting in Dallas, I was going to be on that show and then I was included into the G1. I had been part of a great tag team, KES, Killer Elite Squad for many years and this was my first real coming out part as a singles wrestler in New Japan since before Davey Boy Smith Jr. had joined New Japan back in 2012 and KES had just gotten started. I just did everything I could to change every part of me that was known to the wrestling world and the G1 was such a huge platform.

We were going to be live on AXS TV in the United States of America so it was just one of those situations where I was like I am going to change everything. The initial hair was not the braid, it was more of a crazy poofed up Mohawk thing and we started calling it this crazy Mohawk and this and that and I was like, ‘It’s not a Mohawk, it’s a Murderhawk’ and then it morphed into the Murderhawk Monster. Everybody’s had their ‘monster’ monikers in professional wrestling world throughout history but I just thought it was fun to say; Murderhawk Monster.”

Archer did not manage to win the G1 Climax but was received very well critically. His opening match with Will Ospreay was regarded by some as the best match of his career.

Lance Archer has since departed New Japan Pro Wrestling to join All Elite Wrestling, where he is partnered with Jake “The Snake” Roberts.

What are your thoughts on the above story? Let us know in the comments on Twitter or Facebook.

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