Interview with NWA Mountain State Champ “Canadian Lion”
Q: Lance you have been the NWA Mountain State champion for awhile now. How important is it to you to let the entire NWA know about the great wrestling in West Virginia?
A. Well Mr.Mitchell there is a lot of great professional wrestlers here in NWA Mountain State wrestling. I mean look we have had the best that the NWA has to offer here in the Mountain State since i became the champ and i have beat them all and thats from our new crowned WORLD CHAMP Adam Pearce to the North American champ Shaun Tempers, Jason The Gift Kincaid, Eric Darkstorm, Chase Owens, Damien Wayne, Boris Dragoff, The Maestro , Deadly Sin Seven, Matt Conard, Ace Rockwell and Legend Rock n Roll Ricky Morton, and the list goes on. And I have beaten all these guys 1,2,3!! We have great professional wrestling here in NWA Mountain State and great wrestlers and we wrestle and give the people what the NWA was built on and that’s solid wrestling. The NWA has had to stand up and take notice that Mountain State wrestling is for real and so is the Canadian Lion!!!
Q: You have been a fighting champion no doubt. Who has been your toughest opponent and why?
A.Without a doubt my toughest opponent has been Damien Wayne sinceIi became the champ here. we have been in a hell of a feud here the past couple months. We have had 5 star matches and tore down the house. We have had everything from a bloody phyiscal dog collar match to a coal miners glove match to a technical 2 out three falls match which had the NWA Mountain State title up in one of the falls, then the NWA DAWG title up in another and then in the final fall both titles were up for grabs and also the historic 3 way elimination match between Damien , Adam Pearce and myself for the NWA Mountain State title in which i came away still the champ!! So right now we have had 5 matches with me holding an edge of 3-2 in victories! Now we have people talking about a cage match to settle it!
Q: Last month you wrestled Ricky Morton. What was it like to face someone like him?
A.Wow what can i say about facing a Legend in Ricky Morton….you know a lot of people don’t know it but Ricky really finished my training up as a professional wrestler. Frank Parker trained me and then Ricky really polished me up! Took me under his wing and took me on the road some got me booked on some great cards in NC, GA, and SC in front of huge crowds and with huge marquee names in the wrestling business! But as for wrestling Ricky its a pleasure and a TRUE HONOR to share the ring with one of the men who put the NWA on the board as a national power in pro wrestling…..I still learn every time out after 16 years in this business especially when I’m in the ring with Ricky Morton!
Q: August 18th you debut for NWA Fusion. You will be facing Preston Quinn with the winner facing the NWA World Champion in September. Care to talk about this match and your opinion of Quinn?
A .Well on Aug.18th i do debut for NWA Fusion and my opponent is Preston Quinn with the winner getting a title shot in September, and I saw that they have already got a poster up with the homeboy PQ and Pearce , and that kinda upsets me because I have nothing but respect for Quinn, hes a true professional and a hell of a pro wrestler, BUT don’t exactly count the Canadian Lion out, because on AUG. 18 I’m not going to FUSION to be any ones stepping stone and I plan on being the winner and facing Pearce the 29th of September. As far as the match it will be hard hitting old school professional wrestling with two greatly skilled vets of this business going head to head , laying it all on the line at a chance to become the NWA World Champ! I feel very honored to have been chosen for this match by the board of directors at Fusion and it wil be an honor to share the ring with The PAIN TRAIN Preston Quinn!!
Q: If you had to choose someone to face for your retirement match who would it be and why?
A.Wow this is a tough question really, well Ill answer it like this……if it was anyone from any given time frame then I would say that I would want to wrestle Dick Murdoch. Ive been around this business a long time and Ive always enjoyed watching his matches and how GREAT he was, but I have always heard from the boys what a great wrestler he was and I would love to have went head to head with THE REDNECK! As if it was someone now and I was retiring now in the present day and moment then it would be HHH….the reason I pick Triple H is because he worked his ass off to get where he is in the business and he always has solid matches and I really feel that his style and mine would really click and we could have a 5 star match and headline any card that we was together on….
Q: What would winning the NWA World title mean to you?
A. Winning the world title would be a dream come true, I mean I have watched professional wrestling since I was big enough to crawl up to the TV and watch the glory days of the NWA and pro wrestling. I grew up watching the old Crockett days and the Georgia Championship days, and the World Wide Wrestling shows that showcased people like Ric Flair , Harley Race, Terry Funk, Ronnie Garvin, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Steamboat, Tully Blanchard , Arn Anderson , Ole Anderson, Barry Windham and the list goes on and on and for me to me mentioned in the same conversation with Legends like that as being an NWA World champ would be such an honor. You know a lot of people don’t look at the NWA as being what it use to be, but Ill tell you this, Adam Pearce has carried the torch well and has carried the World title and made it prestigious once again and I just want the chance to have my name etched in stone as one of the guys who carried the most prestigious title in the history of our business, the same title that Karl Gotch and Lou Thesz and the greats that laid the foundation of this business that gave myself and so many others the chance to be a professional wrestler!! The NWA is tradition and that is what Adam , Damien , Preston, Mark Bravura , myself and so many others are trying to bring back to the NWA, so to be called THE WORLD CHAMP , has no words to explain how I would feel, and someday I WILL BE THE WORLD CHAMP!!
Thank you so much for your time Lance and best of luck in your pursuit of the NWA World Title
Thank you so much Mr. Mitchell for the interview and I look forward to talking with you more in the future
Photo Credit- Jimmy Hunt