7 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Oct 23)

4. A Welcome Return

Gentleman Jack Gallagher was one of early 205 Live’s few high spots—a very charming character that conspired to adapt slapstick silliness into a genuine, submission-savvy threat. It’s nice to see him back in any capacity of decent profile, much less the old, best version of himself.

He discovered that old fusion here, particularly in a neat spot in which he cowered at the prospect of an Angel Garza dive as an amusingly optimistic counter—only for the quasi-stripper to slap him on the back of the head.

This contrast in his character literally reared its head when he struck it against Garza’s in a wince-inducer of a counter of his own.

This wasn’t sold, at all, and it could not have been not sold at more glaring time: Garza shrugged it off right at the finish, which he sprinted into with a Cabrada.

Still, this was a decent enough showcase for the integrated Cruiserweight division, and it made sense to not completely geek-ify Garza in order to not undermine his sentimental favourite status.

Michael Sidgwick

Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!

See more from Michael