Jack Gallagher Says He Doesn’t Need To Break Free From The Cruiserweight Division

Ring Rust Radio recently interviewed WWE Superstar Jack Gallagher. You can see the full interview at this link, and see submitted highlights below.

Ring Rust Radio: With a drastic character change over the last several weeks, do you prefer playing a face or a heel and what are some of the challenges you face trying to get over as the bad guy after, so many fans came to love you?

Jack Gallagher: I’ve always preferred being a good guy, but I think a lot of that has stemmed from being a smaller competitor. There’s a certain amount of menace that is difficult when you’re being villainous. I think every good and interesting bad guy in fictional history has had a certain amount of menace and danger to him. In terms of overcoming that physically that’s kind of difficult for me since I’m a smaller guy. I tend to default to things like Hannibal Lector and people like that for influences; kind of an intellectual sort of scary people. It was a strange trait and change I thought myself. I was enjoying what I was doing but then again, I thought this was something no one is going to see coming so it’ll probably work when I did a little bit of a switch.

Ring Rust Radio: You've been working closely with Brian Kendrick lately, forming one of the most interesting alliances in WWE. What has that been like for you, and how has working with a WWE veteran like him helped you?

Jack Gallagher: When we first arrived, and I say we as the British group Noam, Zack and myself. When we first arrived in America, the people that we were driving to the classic with because we all carpooled were TJP and Brian Kendrick. Brian was one of the first American wrestlers I had any interaction with in WWE. In fact, after my first match here, Brian got my contact information and complimented me, and we had a little bit of a talking about wrestling now and again and the business of it even before the cruiserweight division was a thought in anyone’s mind. It’s been really wonderful for me because I get to pick his brain and he obviously has the experience on me and in a strange way as well it occurred to me that when Brian first started in WWE his mentor was William Regal and he sort of has a reverse situation now where he’s mentoring a new little William Regal in WWE. I enjoy the sort of mirrored aspect of that.

Ring Rust Radio: Very early on in your career with WWE it was evident that you were somebody that would transcend the cruiserweight division. What do you think you need to do on your end to break away from the cruiserweight championship and into the conversation for the Universal championship and other main event-level opportunities?

Jack Gallagher: I don’t think it’s about breaking away from the cruiserweight division, I think it’s about elevating it in people’s mindsets. I think the 205 show on the network is currently fourth or third, it’s one of the most watched shows on the network. In fact, it’s probably higher watched than some of the wrestling shows on the network as well. I think it’s just overcoming the perception of people don’t like cruiserweights. I understand that’s the narrative that goes around where actually we get a lot of positive feedback both on social media and in person. During WrestleMania Access with the amount of people that were big fans of the cruiserweight was startling to us. So, for me it’s not escaping the division, it’s about elevating it. NXT went from a developmental system which was considered a step down, to a completely separate brand unto itself where people are stars and they sell out stadiums and they tour by themselves. In my head I think, if we all work hard, then 205Live becomes good, the division becomes good, the division raises, and then there’s more opportunities and then there’s more interesting things for everyone as well.