WWE Fastlane 2017: Jack Gallagher May Face Problems After Championship Match

What could a loss at the hands of the WWE Cruiserweight Champion at Fastlane mean for Jack Gallagher going forward?

This Sunday, “The Extraordinary Gentleman” Jack Gallagher gets his first crack at a WWE title, when he goes face-to-face with Neville for the holy grail of the cruiserweights.

This will be the culmination of a slow build that started with Gallagher’s role in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, in which he defeated Fabian Aichner in the opening round but succumbed to Akira Tozawa’s crippling snap German suplex in the second.

Though he didn’t make it far in the tournament, Gallagher’s unique and oddly hypnotic escapist style of technical wrestling really put his character on display. He appealed to the masses as an old school, classical wrestler and it made for some great moments.

As a result, Gallagher then made an impression when he debuted in the ranks of 205 Live with an entertaining rivalry against Ariya Daivari, in which his gentlemanly demeanor was really put on display in the likes of a duel and an “I Forfeit” match.

It may have been a surprise to some to see Gallagher’s persona come across so well on such a big platform, but it has nonetheless, so much so that he even found himself as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match earlier this year.

Now, Gallagher has climbed past the likes of Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins, Rich Swann, Noam Dar, Cedric Alexander and Tony Nese in the rankings and has managed to weave together quite a riveting tale between himself and Neville for Sunday.

It’ll be interesting to see how the chemistry between these two men impacts the flow of the match. Gallagher is known for adding a sense of humor to the ring, but given how aggressive Neville has gotten over the last few months — even managing to bring out some fire in Gallagher as he defended his honor as a true gentleman — that seriousness is bound to cross over into the match when all is said and done.

As good as this bout promises to be, however, Neville is still a firm favorite to win.

Should that come to fruition, it would absolutely make sense, considering Neville has done a lot to turn the division around in the last few months, along with his own career with the WWE. Neville is still in the early days with regards to his potential as the self-proclaimed “King of the Cruiserweights”, with a suggested clash with Austin Aries possibly looming on the horizon, even as early as WrestleMania.

That’s good news for just about everybody other than Gallagher, who could be at risk of taking a dive in the rankings following a loss to “The Man That Gravity Forgot”.

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Despite only being active for about six months, the WWE Cruiserweight Championship has already had three previous titleholders, all of whom fell way down the pecking order following their time in the spotlight.

It’s strange to think that TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick was the premiere rivalry just a short time ago. Then Rich Swann was the center of attention.

All of these guys — as well as their respective challengers — are now up the creek without a paddle with regards to their progression on the roster.

They are going nowhere fast, and even with sub-feuds like the one we’ve been seeing with Swann and Dar with Alicia Fox thrown in there, it feels like everyone in the division takes several steps backward when they finish up in the title picture.

Of course, there’s not a whole lot that can be done about this with there only being one title, but the fact that wrestlers seem to go into a purgatorial state as soon as they lose their championship match certainly doesn’t help matters.

Jack Gallagher has had a great development from newcomer to challenger, but as much as his character sets him apart from the rest of the pack, he’s nowhere near immune when it comes to the bump these guys take when they exit the title picture.

It would help if Gallagher could immediately develop a story with someone else after the match, who does justice to his excellent portrayal of your stereotypical English gentleman over the last few months, and considering he’s been booked quite strongly since his debut, a tap-out finish probably wouldn’t do him any favors here.

But there’s a strong chance he receives zero direction when he comes out of Milwaukee, essentially undoing the work that’s been put in to make Jack Gallagher one of the cruiserweight division’s most alluring athletes.

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