Oliver Claffey (January 7, 1990) is an English professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He was previously signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed on the 205 Live and NXT brands under the ring name Gentleman Jack Gallagher.
Professional wrestling career
Training and debut
Gallagher was trained by Alex Shane and the Futureshock staff. He made his professional wrestling debut at the age of 16 on 4 November 2006 at Futureshock #11, under the ring name Jack Toxic, teaming up with Alex Cyanide, Danny Hope, and Kris Travis. They defeated El Ligero, Charity, Faith, and Jamal Lewis. He also trained in Grappling, a catch wrestling style, under Billy Robinson at the Snake Pit in Wigan, Greater Manchester.
Independent circuit
Lethal Dose (2007–2009)
From the beginning of 2007, Toxic and Cyanide would continue to team up and eventually became Lethal Dose. They became a regular attraction at Futureshock, appearing on many shows. The team would have their first title shot at Grand Pro Wrestling's That's Entertainment when they took on WKD for the GPW Tag Team Championship. The team would travel to Real Deal Wrestling where in February and April, had to chances to become the RDW Tag Team Champions but lost both times. They then went to Hull to wrestle for New Generation Wrestling where they won all their matches. With this run of success, they returned to Futureshock at Futureshock #27 and defeated three other teams to become the first FSW Tag Team Champions. However, they would lose the titles to The Doogooders at Futureshock #29. they returned to GPW at Livin' On The Edge to take part in a number one contendership four-way elimination match and lost. For the rest of 2009, they continued to team up but would find little championship success and split up.
Grand Pro Wrestling (2007–2012)
Gallagher, performing as Jack Toxic, made his singles debut at GPW West Park Fun Day and lost to Scarlett Web. Between March and April, Toxic tried to qualify for the Crazy Cruiser 8 2008 but would fail multiple times, however, he won the Last Chance Saloon battle royal and therefore qualified for the tournament. On 2 May, he lost El Ligero in quarter finals. At Justice For All, he defeated Bubblegum in a rumble qualifying match and would go on to be eliminated from the rumble on the same night which was won by Martin Kirby. At Guts & Glory, he returned under the name Jack Gallagher to compete in a four way scrabble match for the GPW British Championship and lost. At Battlefield, he lost a thirty-minute iron man match involving Zack Diamond and Mikey Whiplash for the GPW British Championship, however, next month at Heroes & Villains he defeated Diamond for the title. He would hold the championship until Do Or Die, in December, where he lost it to Ste Mann. Gallagher would introduce his own belt after losing the British Championship, this was akin to the Million Dollar Championship held by Ted DiBiase. He would lose this title, however, at Fireworks to Ste Mann. Following his second loss to Ste Mann, he took a 12-month break from Grand Pro.
Gallagher made his Grand Pro return at the 2013 Crazy Cruiser 8 where he defeated Bubblegum in the Quarter Finals before being pinned by eventual winner El Ligero in the Semi-Finals. At the start of 2014, Gallagher was defeated by CJ Banks at "Back With A Bang". Dissatisfied by this result, Gallagher decided to prove HE was actually the better man and the two developed an intense rivalry. At "Friday Night Thriller 8" in October 2014, Gallagher issued an Open Challenge that was answered by Mike Track, Wahoo Thunderfoot and finally the masked British Bullfrog. During the match it became clear to fans that the "Bullfrog" was actually CJ Banks but fans were stunned when Gallagher managed to pin Banks with a surprise roll-up out of nowhere. Now tied at 1-1, the two met at Final Fight in an 20 Minute "Iron Man" Match. Neither man was able to score a pin fall or submission and the match went to a time limit draw.
The rivalry between Gallagher and Banks continued into 2015 and at Back With A Bang, both men were able to choose their own opponents for the evening. Jack defeated Bubblegum in a rematch from their CC82013 encounter while CJ Banks bested Craig Kollins. With the feud at fever pitch, Grand Pro management decided to settle it at "Saved By The Bell" as they would compete in a match with no time limit. Banks picked up the win to end the feud. Following a loss to Chris Ridgeway at "Cruel Summer", Gallagher took another hiatus from Grand Pro.
The Circus (2015–2016)
Gallagher made his return at Friday Night Thriller 9 where he was revealed to be the fourth member of The Circus alongside "The Ring Master" Nicholas Cartier, Noah and "The IT Girl" Melanie Price. With Gallagher's help, The Circus were able to defeat The Bad Lads and Alex Jones-Casey and enjoyed more success in 2016. Gallagher's final appearance to date took place at the Dom Travis Memorial show, "A Night To Remember" when he defeated former tag team partner, Cyanide.
Futureshock (2006–2016)
On 8 June 2008, Gallagher as Toxic, took part in the Lotto-Thunder Tournament and reached the semi final where he was defeated by Jack Domino. On 13 September, he participated in the FSW Trophy Tournament 2009 and was eliminated in the first round by Sparx. In 2010, he began using the ring name Jack Gallagher. At Futureshock #48, Gallagher won the FSW Trophy Tournament 2010 when he defeated Dave Breaks in the final. On 6 November 2011, Gallagher defeated Dave Rayne to become the FSW Champion. He would hold the championship for fourteen months before losing it to Davey Richards at Futureshock #61. At Futureshock #62, he defeated Stixx and Zack Gibson to become the number one contender for the FSW Championship. Chris Egan announced that Jack Gallagher would be facing Sonjay Dutt at FutureShock #74, but Gallagher instead faced Jay Lethal at FutureShock #74. At the event, Gallagher defeated Dutt by pinfall.
Pro Wrestling Zero1 (2013)
On 3 March 2013, he made his debut for Pro Wrestling Zero1 in Japan, under the ring name Jack Anthony. He joined a tag team match alongside Ikuto Hidaka. On 15 April 2013, Anthony came together with Craig Classic, James Raideen, Jason New, Maybach β, Sebastian Concrete, Steven Walters and Tama Williams to form a gaijin stable named "New Age Wrestling Future" (NWF) under the guidance of Akebono. The stable was shortly afterwards joined by Jonathan Gresham and Mark Coffey.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Cruiserweight Championship pursuits (2016–2017)
On 24 April 2016, Gallagher earned a place in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic by defeating Pete Dunne in a qualifier match at Progress Wrestling's Chapter 29. On 3 August, Gallagher defeated Fabian Aichner in his first round match, but was eliminated from the tournament by Akira Tozawa in his second round match.
On 29 November, on the inaugural episode of 205 Live, Gallagher made his debut, defeating Ariya Daivari. On the 5 December episode of Raw, Gallagher defeated Daivari. On 27 December episode of 205 Live, Gallagher and Daivari participated in a Gentleman's Duel, where both men chose a weapon for their opponent and began the match back to back before moving five paces away from each other, but Daivari attacked Gallagher while his back was turned until Gallagher attacked him with a headbutt, causing Daivari to forfeit the duel. Their rivalry concluded in an "I forfeit" match on the 17 January 2017 episode of 205 Live, which Gallagher won. On 29 January at the Royal Rumble event, Gallagher participated in the annual Royal Rumble match and was eliminated by Mark Henry. On 7 February episode of 205 Live, Gallagher defeated Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Noam Dar, and T.J. Perkins in a fatal five-way elimination match to become the number one contender for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. At Fastlane, Gallagher faced Neville for the title in a losing effort. Gallagher made a guest appearance on the 26 April episode of NXT, unsuccessfully challenging Tyler Bate for the WWE United Kingdom Championship in the main event.
Various storylines (2017–2020)
In June, Gallagher entered a feud with The Brian Kendrick, with Kendrick impersonating and mocking Gallagher after the latter's matches. Their feud ended on the 29 August episode of 205 Live, in which Gallagher was defeated by Kendrick in a no disqualification match. On 12 September episode of 205 Live, Gallagher attacked Cedric Alexander during his match with The Brian Kendrick, turning heel in the process. To reflect his turn, Gallagher stopped wearing his fluorescent trunks and began wrestling in a full suit instead. He also switched to a more technical, ground-based style and began using the umbrella as a weapon. In June 2018, Gallagher and Kendrick formed an alliance with Drew Gulak. On 3 October episode of 205 Live, Gallagher and Gulak attacked Kendrick, calling him the "weakest link" in the faction. On 31 October episode of 205 Live, Gallagher was defeated by Kendrick after Akira Tozawa prevented the interference from Gulak. The two sides went on to trade victories over the next few weeks. On 19 December episode of 205 Live, Gallagher and Gulak were defeated by Kendrick and Tozawa in a Street Fight to end the feud. Starting in February 2019, Gallagher and Gulak attempted to recruit the debuting Humberto Carrillo to their faction while also trying to prevent him from using high flying moves and instead using a more ground based offence. On 9 April episode of 205 Live, after Gulak attacked Carrillo during his match with Gallagher, Gallagher came to the aid of Carrillo and headbutted Gulak out of the ring, turning face in the process.
In the following months, Gallagher would find himself in a losing streak, and after losing to Angel Garza on 29 November episode of 205 Live, he would headbutt General Manager Drake Maverick, thus turning heel again in the process. Gallagher returned on 28 February 2020 episode of 205 Live, attacking Lio Rush, while sporting a beard, shorter hairstyle and new tattoos covering his body. With his new attitude, Gallagher would develop a winning streak on 205 Live defeating the likes of Tyler Breeze and Oney Lorcan. On 10 April 2020 Gallagher was announced for the Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament representing Group B in the tournament. Gallagher lost to El Hijo del Fantasma and Akira Tozawa but was able to defeat Isaiah "Swerve" Scott to secure one win in the tournament.
On June 19, 2020, Claffey was released by WWE amid sexual assault allegations that were made public.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Achilles lock
- Crossface chickenwing, sometimes with theatrics – 2017–present
- Crucifix armbar
- High-angle senton bomb
- Shotgun Dropkick (Running corner dropkick) – 2016–present
- Signature moves
- 77 Snap (Snap DDT)
- Art-I-Ficial Elbow (Elbow drop)
- Clash Landing (Diving knee drop bulldog)
- Roadrunner (Running high knee)
- Stagedive (Diving headbutt)
- Standing dropkick
- Nicknames
- "The Extraordinary Gentleman"
- "The Mat Wizard"
- "The Grappler"
- "Punk Rocket"
- Entrance themes
- "Toreador" by Adya (Independent circuit)
- "March of the Toreadors" by Georges Bizet (CWC; June 23, 2016 – July 14, 2016)
- "Les Toréadors" by CFO$ (WWE; November 29, 2016–2019)
Championships and accomplishments
- Futureshock Wrestling
- Futureshock Wrestling Championship (2 times)
- FSW Trophy Tournament (2010)
- Futureshock Wrestling Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Alex Cyanide
- Grand Pro Wrestling
- Gallagher's Gold Championship (1 time)
- GPW British Championship (1 time)
- Great Bear Promotions
- URSA Major One Night Tournament (2015)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #273 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
- Scottish Wrestling Alliance
- Battlezone Rumble (2014)
- Tetsujin Shoot Style Wrestling'
- Tetsujin Shoot Style Tournament (2015)
External links
2018 WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament participants |
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Amir Jordan • Ashton Smith • Dave Mastiff • Drew Gulak • Jack Gallagher • James Drake • Joe Coffey • Jordan Devlin • Joseph Conners • Kenny Williams • Ligero • Morgan Webster • T-Bone • Travis Banks • Tucker • Zack Gibson |