Interview With Lance Hoyt On Victory Road |
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Tuesday, 17 June 2008
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GEARING UP FOR THE VICTORY ROAD PAY-PER-VIEW WITH LANCE HOYT By Charles Rice It’s a known fact that when people think of Texas, they think big. The two go hand in hand. So it’s no surprise that some of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling’s biggest stars hail from the Lone Star State. One in particular is Lance Hoyt, who at 6’ 7” tall and 290 lbs. is one of the bigger athletes to enter the six sided ring. In honor of this big Texan making his homecoming to Texas for Victory Road live on Pay-Per-View from Houston, Texas on July 13th , we here at TNA wanted to take a look back at Hoyt’s career and get his thoughts on this event of epic proportions.  Many are shocked the first time they see Hoyt wrestle, because despite his size he is quick and isn’t afraid to take to the air. When Lance makes his way to the top turnbuckle, fans and opponents alike know what is usually set to follow; one of the most spectacular and well executed moonsaults in the sport today.But, Lance hasn’t always been TNA’s resident rock star. In fact, way before the Rock N’ Rave Infection there was Shadow (Lance’s first wrestling persona), then there was Dallas (the name Lance first wrestled under in TNA) and even before that there was just a kid from Texas with a dream. Well, the young Lance Hoyt followed his dreams and it has led him down the path of superstardom and rock star glory. Texas has always been home for Lance. He began his wrestling career in a city known for great bars and live music scene, Austin. One has to wonder if this may have had some influence in to what Lance has become today. Six months after he began his training, opportunity knocked for Lance. “A friend of mine was training down at Shawn Michaels’s school and was going to work over at Professional Championship Wrestling (PCW), and told me to come with him.” PCW is based out of Arlington, Texas and is still run by the Bussey family. Some wrestling fans may remember the Bussey’s and their promotion from their short lived reality TV show, “The Bussey Bunch” which aired on TLC. PCW was a chance for Hoyt to continue his dream and move back closer to home. From there one of the most recognizable characters in PCW history was born, Shadow. Lance wrestled under the name Shadow and garnered much success from it. He held every PCW title at some point or another that the promotion has to offer. Eventually, Hoyt was ready to move to the next level. “I have always had a confidence in myself and what I can do,” Hoyt said. After trying a couple of different times to make it to the big leagues, an opportunity presented itself to Hoyt. I was working a PCW show and one of the former TNA dancers, Lollipop, was down there as well, Lance explained. He went on to say that she liked his look and ability and asked him if he had a tape of his work. Next thing Lance knew, his tape had been given to Bob Ryder, a member of TNA management who was working talent relations at the time, and he was called by TNA to work an Xplosion match. “My first match was against Don Harris,” Hoyt said. “The match was short, quick, and fun.” The rest is history. Fans worldwide know that Lance Hoyt has become one of the most feared members of TNA’s tag team division. As one half of the “Rock N’ Rave Infection” Lance along with his partner Jimmy Rave have their sights set on not only being the best wrestlers in TNA, but also the biggest rock stars this generation has seen. “The Rock N Rave Infection comes into each gig ready to rock out with our socks out,” An enthusiastic Hoyt exclaimed. When asked if he and Rave had their sites set on the current TNA Tag Team Champions, The Latin American Xchange, Lance held nothing back. “We want to hold all the gold, I want to be a heavyweight champion, Jimmy wants to be the X-Division champion, and we want tag team gold,” Hoyt said. “Nothing is gonna stop us because we have the talent, the looks and the most rockin chick around when it comes to Christy Hemme. Who knows she may even get the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship before all is said and done if the Rock N’ Rave Infection has anything to say about it.” As far as the the LAX goes, “We have a lot of Latin American fans that want to rock out too,” Hoyt said. Lance admitted that in the past the thing holding the Rock N Rave Infection back from their quest for gold was all the late nights of partying. He claims however, that they are more focused than ever now. Don’t let that fool you he said, we are still going to be spreading the infection. The bottom line is Hoyt is more than capable of achieving championship gold. He has proved this before. When he first started in TNA, Hoyt held the World Tag Team Titles on two different occasions along with then partner Kid Kash. This of course was back when he wrestled under the name of Dallas. So as Victory Road makes its way to Houston, Texas, Lance has several things on his mind. His biggest is hope is that his family will be there to see the one day legendary rocker perform in front of all his fans. “My family only lives one and half hours away from Houston, in Hearne, Texas. So if they can get away, they will be there,” said Hoyt. Furthermore, Lance is excited to make another journey to his home state, even more so because this time it will be live for all his fans all over the world to see on Pay-Per-View. “We’ve done the live shows in Texas before and those were awesome,” Hoyt Said. “I can only imagine how cool the Pay-Per-View will be for them to see with all the pyro and extra stuff that goes into an event.” One person who is really excited to see Lance make his Texas Pay-Per-View debut is friend and co-owner of PCW, Thomas Bussey. “I’m excited because Lance has become a really good friend of mine,” Bussey said. “It’s cool to see him have his own action figures and trading cards, not to mention seeing him on Spike every week.” So, to all the fans of TNA in Texas, Lance offered one warning. GET READY TO GET INFECTED! Note: TNA Wrestling would like to thank The Bussey Family and the PCW promotion for their continued support of TNA and our upcoming Victory Road Pay-Per-View event. To learn more about PCW, click here to visit their official website |
