Wrestler Jack Gallagher is set to make history on Tuesday night after becoming the first Manchester-born superstar to sign for the WWE.
Gallagher is an iconic name in Manchester thanks to Oasis music legends Noel and Liam, with Jack Gallagher now be hoping to achieve similar worldwide acclaim.
The 26-year-old professional wrestler already has a link to the famous brothers, having attended Barlow RC High in East Didsbury , the same school that Noel and Liam went to.
Jack will be in action on 205 Live on the WWE Network on Tuesday night, and he is delighted to be representing Manchester.
“I’ve been informed that I’m the first Manchester-born professional wrestler in the WWE so that’s a great honour,” he told MEN Sport.
WWE superstars enjoy Manchester City game ahead of wrestling show
“I’m very happy to be flying the flag over here. I was born and raised in Manchester and had a typical Manchester upbringing in the Withington area.
“My claim to Manchester fame is that I went to Barlow RC High School, which was the same high school that Noel and Liam Gallagher went to.
“I always wanted to be a professional wrestler and it has been an incredibly eye opening experience with the WWE over the last few months.
“I’ve learned a lot from it and it’s wonderful to be here. I’ve now left Manchester and I moved to Florida two weeks ago. It’s been hectic because of Thanksgiving in America but it’s a lovely place to settle down.
“I think joining the WWE has helped finally prove to my dad that I’m doing alright with this wrestling thing. He probably wasn’t convinced until I moved out to Florida, but now that he’s realised, it’s a sweet victory!”
Read More
Jack previously wrestled in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic earlier this year, and was immediately offered a full-time contract with the wrestling giants due to his impressive performances.
He is excited to now make his debut on a permanent basis, and is looking forward to facing off against other wrestlers in the cruiserweight division.
“The cruiserweight division is a unique division and I’m looking forward to testing myself against the likes of Cedric Alexander, Brian Kendrick and TJ Perkins,” he said.
“Noam Dar is part of the roster too and he’s from Scotland. It might feel a bit strange wrestling a fellow Brit, so maybe we should form a tag team and beat up all the Americans!”
Along with his success as a professional wrestler, Gallagher also has a career as a mixed martial artist, and holds a record of 2-0.
While he admits his MMA days are on hiatus at the moment, he would jump at the opportunity to face former wrestler and current UFC star CM Punk.
Read More
“I think I’d beat CM Punk and I even think some of my training partners could beat CM Punk,” he said.
“In all seriousness, he was a guy taking a very brave step to fight having not had any experience, so it took a lot of courage.
“There are a lot of similarities between MMA and professional wrestling, whether people want to admit it or not.
“They feed into each other more than people expect, and there are certain techniques from MMA that I have been able to bring into professional wrestling.”
205 Live premieres following SmackDown LIVE on Wednesday 30 November 30 at 3am exclusively on WWE Network.