Match #49
"Gentleman" Jack Gallagher vs. Oney Lorcan
WWE 205 Live - April 10, 2020
For once I'm not doing that because of how I think the quality of the match will be. It's just... FUUUUUCK Jack Gallagher. For all the sexual abusers who were revealed in mid-2020, he was pretty much the only one who admitted to it and was thus released in short order. Knowing that, pretty much every match he ever had is tainted. And looking at that date... this is going to be an empty Performance Center match. Those don't get any easier to watch as the years go by. Let's see what this has to offer.
At least he doesn't get an entrance to himself, as Tony Nese rants about wanting the Cruiserweight Title (remember the Cruiserweight Title eh??). They go nose-to-nose, and the man who got women drunk and forced himself on them manages to force off a man whose only crime is being one of the less interesting Cruiserweights. Speaking of uninteresting, Lorcan very much has a Generic McSuperstar entrance in this match.
Lorcan starts by trying to establish a full nelson, but Gallagher keeps his hands linked. They're soon on the mat though as Lorcan gets a headscissors. Gallagher manages to pull off an interesting counter by bundling his entire body around Lorcan's legs. It's at that point he begins to take control, doing a crossface-like hold before putting all his body weight on Lorcan. Lorcan can't quite get an ankle lock or any control over Gallagher's legs before he's dragged to the ropes. Both men are trying to gain control over each other's legs. Not entirely successfully. It occurs to me that what we're looking at is kind of shooty-styley, in a way. It's amazing what you could get away with when Vince McMahon wasn't watching.
Gallagher targets the ribcage while Lorcan is doing a number on the leg. Those punts to the torso by Gallagher sound VERY stiff. Lorcan's wincing when he has to move and Gallagher's full of confidence. Cries of "come on tough guy" as he shrugs off slaps. I'll be honest - I did quite like the audible trash talk in the silent Performance Center months. Gallagher's striking away until he decides it'll be a great idea to put on a headlock. Lorcan converts it into a back suplex. Gallagher taunts Lorcan some more, so Lorcan responds with some uppercuts (which Gallagher doesn't sell) and then gets pounded some more. Gallagher launches a flurry of headbutts that probably hurt him more than his opponent.
Lorcan's half-and-half suplex gets two, as does a running chop to the chest, and then a lariat. Lorcan appears to be losing his shit at the exact point commentary calls him "animalistic". Gallagher uses elbows to shake off an attempt at a top rope half-and-half, then hits a crossbody, but rolls right off and can't make the pin. Tony Nese is back with a chair, and Gallagher is distracted so Lorcan can roll him up for two. Headbutt by Jack Gallagher, but before anything else can happen, Nese jumps in and nails Gallagher to draw the DQ.
This one's a weird one. Pretty nice showcase of technical "realistic" wrestling which only ever goes to the top rope once, but the flow's killed off by the storyline stuff. We're not given much reason to care about Lorcan, which is weird as he'd appeared on Raw recently. Also: fuck Jack Gallagher.
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And for those of you wondering which show I'll be running all the way through for the Match 50 celebration...
Ah. This is going to be an interesting one.
