Lance Hoyt Lance Hoyt ( February 28 , 1977 ) is an American professional wrestler , currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling as Lance Archer , where he teams with Davey Boy Smith , Jr . as the Killer Elite Squad ( K . E . S . ) . He is also known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he was a two - time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Kid Kash while the title was under the TNA banner . He also worked in World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) under the ring name Vance Archer . Professional wrestling career . Texas ( 2000 – 2009 ) . In 2000 , Hoyt began training as a wrestler under Solo Faitala , and debuted in July 2000 , facing Tarzan Taylor in his first match . He spent the next four years working on the Texas independent circuit , using the ring name s Lance Steel and Breakdown , the latter being a character created in the spur - of - the - moment by Hoyt in Corpus Christi when he had forgotten his usual ring attire and was forced to wrestle in his street clothing . Hoyt ' s most notable tenure within the Texas independent circuit was in Professional Championship Wrestling ( PCW ) , where he debuted in 2000 as Shadow , a dark heel character . Throughout his time in PCW , he faced notable opponents including Paul London and Ahmed Johnson and early in his tenure , he created a stable called " The Dark Circle " . Hoyt later left PCW upon signing with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) before later making his returned to the promotion in 2006 under his real name , while using his former Shadow ring name simply as a nickname . Soon after his return to PCW , Hoyt proceeded to win the Tag Team Championship with Wally Darkmon in 2006 . Beginning in 2008 , Hoyt reverted to his Shadow ring name and gimmick , while also adopting a mask . This was short - lived , however , as Hoyt unmasked and suddenly began using his Rock ' n Rave Infection gimmick from TNA a few months later . Following his release from TNA , PCW announced they had released Hoyt from his contract , which turned out to be a storyline , leading to Hoyt revealing he had a PCW " legends contract " . Hoyt would go on to briefly become the commissioner of PCW before it was announced that he had signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Singles competition ( 2004 – 2007 ) . Hoyt was hired by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) in March 2004 and immediately teamed up with X Division mainstay Kid Kash as Dallas , Kash ' s bodyguard , tag team partner and on - screen relative . He and Kash took part in a tournament for the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championship and won the vacant titles by defeating Low Ki and Christopher Daniels in the finals on April 7 . They lost the titles to D ' Lo Brown and Apolo the subsequent week , then regained them from Brown and Apolo the week following that . Their second and final reign ended on June 4 of that year when they were defeated by America ' s Most Wanted . After Kash was suspended by TNA in June 2004 , Hoyt was reduced to wrestling dark matches . He appeared sporadically with TNA throughout the remainder of the year , and aided Kash in his feud with A . J . Styles upon his return from suspension . In January 2005 , Hoyt began wrestling under his own name at the instruction of booker Dusty Rhodes . The common explanation for this is that they wanted no confusion between Hoyt and Diamond Dallas Page . Hoyt and Kash competed in the tag team division , unsuccessfully challenging America ' s Most Wanted for the NWA World Tag Team Championship at Against All Odds on February 13 , until Kash was released by TNA on April 19 , 2005 . Left without a partner , Hoyt teamed with Chris Candido to face Sonny Siaki and Apolo in a cage match at Lockdown . In the course of the match , Candido suffered a serious leg injury and was stretchered out , and Hoyt was pinned shortly thereafter . Following the match , Candido ' s cohorts , The Naturals , attacked Hoyt , thus turning him into a face character . < Hoyt began developing a strong fan following , leading to his introducing a gimmick known as " Hoytamania " , a reference to the " Hulkamania " surrounding Hulk Hogan . He Feud with Team Canada throughout mid - 2005 , and lost to Abyss at Sacrifice . He lost to Monty Brown at Bound for Glory and was involved in the 10 - man Gauntlet match later in the night to determine the number one contender for Jeff Jarrett ' s NWA World Heavyweight Championship . In that match , Hoyt was eliminated by eventual winner Rhino . He later began teaming with Matt Bentley in mid - card tag matches until a misinterpreted steel chair incident led Bentley to believe Hoyt had " screwed " him , and he severely turned on him with a spontaneous brawl by ringside , consisting of several chairshots . Hoyt defeated Bentley at Destination X . He returned to TNA at No Surrender in the Triple Chance Tag Team battle royal as a partner to Ron " The Truth " Killings , but he was one of the first eliminated from the match . Hoyt made his Spike TV return , teaming with Killings to defeat hazarian ( Matt Bentley and Kazarian . ) Hoyt participated in the Fight for the Right Tournament , where he was one of the last two remaining men , making it to the third stage of the match . He lost to Abyss , who won a bye to the tournament finals for a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Even so , he wrestled Ron Killings in the quarterfinals of the tournament on the 2 November episode of " Impact ! " , but was defeated . At Genesis , Hoyt and Killings defeated Austin Starr and Alex Shelley with Kevin Nash at ringside . The Rock ' n Rave Infection ( 2007 – 2009 ) . After Killings was given a new program , Hoyt started teaming up with the Voodoo Kin Mafia ( VKM ) . His role with the team seemed to be that of a friend and bodyguard , watching their backs during their matches , and working the occasional six - man tag team match with them on " Impact ! " . At Slammiversary , VKM defeated Basham and Damaja when Kip James pinned Basham , but Hoyt turned his back on VKM when Kip was about to attack Christy Hemme . He kissed Hemme after the match , thus re - establishing himself as a heel . Hoyt lost to Abyss on an episode of " Impact ! " and a week after that he lost to Kip James . He would then become part of a tag team managed by Hemme alongside the returning Jimmy Rave , later named The Rock ' n Rave Infection . They soon became a comedic rock band trio , with Hoyt and Rave entering the ring with " Guitar Hero " game controllers and Hemme screaming on a microphone . Hoyt competed at Lockdown in a " Cuffed in the Cage " match losing to the eventual winner , Super Eric . He changed his ringname to Lance Rock on the July 17 episode of " Impact ! " , where he defeated Matt Morgan shortly after Morgan . Since then , The Rock ' n Rave Infection defeated the teams of Abyss and Matt Morgan , The Latin American Xchange , and The Prince Justice Brotherhood ( Super Eric , Shark Boy , and Curry Man ) , the latter of whom soon began a feud with The Rock ' n Rave Infection . On February 10 , 2009 , Hoyt was released from his TNA contract . World Wrestling Entertainment . Florida Championship Wrestling ( 2009 ) . After a brief stint in All Japan Pro Wrestling as a member of the Voodoo Murders , on April 26 , 2009 , Hoyt announced he had signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment . He wrestled in WWE ' s developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) under the ring name Lance Archer . For his first match , he teamed up with Jon Cutler and was defeated by Duke Rotundo and Vic Adams . His ring name was then tweaked to Vance Archer . ECW ( 2009 – 2010 ) . On the November 3 episode of " ECW " , Hoyt , now clean shaven and sporting both a short haircut and new attire , made his WWE debut under his Vance Archer ring name as a heel , defeating a local competitor . After defeating several enhancement talents over the following weeks , Archer defeated Tommy Dreamer on the December 8 episode of " ECW " . Archer continued his winning streak when he once again defeated Dreamer on the December 17 , 2009 episode of " WWE Superstars " . On the December 22 episode of " ECW " , Archer defeated Goldust in an " ECW Homecoming " qualifying match to advance to a battle royal where the winner would face ECW Champion Christian at Royal Rumble for the ECW Title . He then started a Feud with Shelton Benjamin , which saw Archer lose to him via disqualification on the December 31 episode of " Superstars " . However , Archer ' s unpinned streak was left intact . On the January 12 , 2010 episode of " ECW " , Archer was unable to win the " Homecoming Battle Royal " as he was eliminated by Benjamin . The next week on " Superstars " , Archer was defeated by Benjamin , thus breaking his streak of not being pinned . The two continued to exchange victories , as Archer defeated Benjamin on the February 2 episode of " ECW " while Benjamin defeated Archer in a no disqualification match the following week . Hoyt made his WrestleMania debut on March 28 , 2010 as he competed in a 26 - man pre - show battle royal at WrestleMania XXVI , where he was eliminated . The Gatecrashers ( 2010 ) . Following the disbanding of the ECW brand , Archer competed in dark matches and in FCW , and was eventually moved to the SmackDown brand , forming a tag team with Curt Hawkins . They made their television debut as a team on the May 13 episode of " Superstars " , defeating two local competitors . After the match , Hawkins stated that he and Archer had been given a 30 - day contract to " make an impact . " The team made its " SmackDown " debut on the May 21 episode , winning another squash match . In an attempt to make an impact , the duo attacked Montel Vontavious Porter ( MVP ) and Christian on consecutive episodes of " SmackDown " on June 4 and June 11 , which they followed up on by defeating both in a tag team match on June 18 . The next week the duo was officially named " The Gatecrashers " . The team came to an end on the October 7 episode of " Superstars " after a match between Archer and Chris Masters . Archer accidentally struck Hawkins outside the ring , after which the two argued and a distracted Archer lost the match . Afterwards , Hawkins assaulted Archer . Archer returned to singles competition on the November 4 edition of " Superstars " , losing to Luke Gallows . On November 19 , 2010 , Archer was released from his contract along with five other Superstars . New Japan Pro Wrestling . Suzukigun and K . E . S . ( 2011 – present ) . On May 15 , 2011 , Hoyt made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling , during the promotion ' s first - ever tour of the United States , attacking Satoshi Kojima after a match . The following day it was announced that Hoyt , under the ring name Lance Archer , had joined Minoru Suzuki ' s Suzukigun , who had recently begun feuding with Kojima . Archer made his in - ring debut on June 18 in Osaka , teaming with Suzuki in a tag team match , where they defeated Kojima and Togi Makabe . Three days later , the Suzukigun team of Archer , Taichi and Taka Michinoku was eliminated from the J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament in the first round by Kojima , Makabe and Tomoaki Honma . In August , Archer took part in the 2011 G1 Climax , where he would manage to win four out of his nine matches , including defeating former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Togi Makabe in his opening match , finishing eighth out of the ten wrestlers in his block . Archer had his to date highest profile match in New Japan on September 19 , when he was defeated by Togi Makabe . In the 2011 G1 Tag League , Archer teamed with Minoru Suzuki and , after four wins and one loss , the team finished second in their block , advancing to the semifinals of the tournament . On November 6 , Archer and Suzuki first defeated the CHAOS Top Team ( Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano ) in the semifinals and then IWGP Tag Team Champions Bad Intentions ( Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson ) in the finals to win the 2011 G1 Tag League . On November 12 , Archer and Suzuki failed in their attempt to capture the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Bad Intentions . On February 12 , 2012 , at The New Beginning , Archer , Minoru Suzuki , Taichi , Taka Michinoku and Yoshihiro Takayama of the Suzukigun took a dominant 5 – 1 win over Kushida , Tiger Mask IV , Togi Makabe , Wataru Inoue and Yuji Nagata in a ten - man elimination tag team match , with Archer scoring eliminations over Kushida , Tiger Mask and Inoue . Afterwards , Archer and Takayama challenged Tencozy ( Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima ) to a match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship . On March 18 , Archer and Takayama were unsuccessful in their title challenge . On July 22 at Kizuna Road , Archer , Suzuki , Michinoku and Taichi defeated Prince Devitt , Ryusuke Taguchi , Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata in an eight - man elimination tag team match , with Archer scoring three of his team ' s four eliminations . Following the match , Archer had a staredown with Makabe , building up to their upcoming match in the 2012 G1 Climax tournament . The match took place on August 1 , the first day of the tournament , and saw Archer pick up the win over the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion for the second year in a row . After four wins and three losses , Archer headed to the final day of the tournament on August 12 tied at the top of his block , however , a loss to MVP in his final match caused him to get eliminated from the finals . In the aftermath of Suzukigun ' s July 22 win , Archer had also made a challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Championship , held by Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima , but did not specify who his partner for the match would be . On August 13 , Harry Smith , later renamed Davey Boy Smith , Jr . , was revealed as Archer ' s partner and the newest member of Suzukigun . On October 8 at King of Pro - Wrestling , Archer and Smith , now known as the K . E . S . ( Killer Elite Squad ) , defeated Kojima and Tenzan to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship . K . E . S . made their first successful title defense on November 11 at Power Struggle , defeating Tenzan and Kojima in a rematch . From November 20 to December 1 , K . E . S . took part in the round - robin portion of the 2012 World Tag League , finishing with a record of four wins and two losses , advancing to the semifinals of the tournament in the second place in their group . On December 2 , K . E . S . defeated Always Hypers ( Togi Makabe and Wataru Inoue ) to advance to the finals of the tournament , Archer ' s second in a row . Later that same day , K . E . S . was defeated in the finals of the 2012 World Tag League by Sword & Guns ( Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson ) . On January 4 , 2013 , at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome , K . E . S . defeated Sword & Guns in a rematch to retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship . On February 10 at The New Beginning , Archer and Smith defeated Tenzan and Kojima for their third successful defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship . On March 3 at New Japan ' s 41st anniversary event , Archer unsuccessfully challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship . On April 5 , Archer and Smith made their fourth successful defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship against Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii . On April 20 , Archer and Smith defeated Ryan Genesis and Scot Summers in Houston , Texas to not only retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship , but to also win the NWA World Tag Team Championship . On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013 , K . E . S . lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship back to Tencozy in a four - way match , which also included Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano , and Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man , though neither Archer nor Smith was involved in the finish . K . E . S . received a rematch for the title on June 22 in a three - way match , which also included Iizuka and Yano , but were unable to regain the title , when Kojima pinned Archer for the win . On August 1 , Archer entered the 2013 G1 Climax . The tournament concluded on August 11 with a match , where Archer defeated his tag team partner Davey Boy Smith , Jr . , costing Smith a spot in the finals and giving Archer a record of four wins and five losses . On November 9 at Power Struggle , K . E . S . faced Tencozy and the team of Jax Dane and Rob Conway in a two - fall three - way match . In the first fall , they lost the NWA World Tag Team Championship to Dane and Conway , but came back in the second to defeat Tencozy for the IWGP Tag Team Championship . From November 24 to December 8 , K . E . S . took part in the 2013 World Tag League . After winning their round - robin block with a record of five wins and one loss , they were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by their old rivals , Tencozy . On January 4 , 2014 , at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome , K . E . S . lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to the winners of the tournament , Bullet Club ( Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson ) . K . E . S . received a rematch for the title on February 9 at The New Beginning in Hiroshima , but were again defeated by Bullet Club . On May 25 at Back to the Yokohama Arena , K . E . S . failed to regain the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Tencozy in a three - way match , which also included Rob Conway and Wes Brisco . On June 21 at Dominion 6 . 21 , K . E . S . received another shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship , this time in a regular tag team match , but were again defeated by Tencozy . From July 23 to August 8 , Archer took part in the 2014 G1 Climax , where he finished tied sixth in his block with a record of four wins and six losses . On October 13 at King of Pro - Wrestling , K . E . S . defeated Tencozy to regain the NWA World Tag Team Championship . From November 22 to December 5 , K . E . S . took part in the 2014 World Tag League . The team finished their block with a record of four wins and three losses , narrowly missing the finals of the tournament . On January 10 , 2015 , K . E . S . , along with the rest of Suzuki - gun , took part in a major storyline , where the stable invaded a Pro Wrestling Noah show . During the attack , K . E . S . beat down GHC Tag Team Champions TMDK ( Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste ) . This led to a match on February 11 , where K . E . S . defeated TMDK to become the new GHC Tag Team Champions . In May , K . E . S . made it to the finals of the 2015 Global Tag League , where they were defeated by Masato Tanaka and Takashi Sugiura . Global Force Wrestling ( 2015 – present ) . On May 6 , 2015 , Global Force Wrestling ( GFW ) announced Hoyt as part of their roster . Other media . Hoyt , as Vance Archer , made his video game debut in " WWE SmackDown vs . Raw 2011 " . Personal life . In high school , Hoyt played basketball , football , and baseball . He attended Texas State University , where he played college football as a quarterback . He has a degree in English . While in college he worked at a nightclub , where an acquaintance introduced him to Solo Fiatala , who trained him to be a professional wrestler .