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Gallows Grabs For the Gold Part 2

Posted: Aug 31st 2012 By: CMBurnham

Last Friday night saw Drake Gallows unsuccessfully make a bid to become a Triple Crown Champion, hoping to add the SRPW Title to the SWCW Hardcore & BYEW Caution titles he already owned.

The next night saw the tables reversed, as Gallows was defending his SWCW Hardcore Title against SRPW Tag Team Champion Jake O'Brien. The previous week, O'Brien had made a bid for the SWCW Hardcore Title, but in the opening moments of the show, the ring broke when Gallows whipped O'Brien corner-to-corner. Both combatants spilled to the outside and the match carried on there while several members of the SWCW locker room came out to fix the ring. The retaining wall was used as a weapon as well as a steel chair, which Gallows dropped O'Brien onto with an Emo Killer in order to retain the title.

Both men believed that the malfunction of the ring cost the fans an opportunity to witness a much better match, so a rematch was signed for August 24. Once again, the weapons came into play and the action went to the outside, but the ring DID stay intact. Anxious to prove himself as a serious contender, O'Brien did all he could to put the Hardcore Champion in precarious positions. After slamming Gallows to the mat, O'Brien ascended to the top rope and connected with an elbow drop, getting the 3-count and winning his 1st title in Oklahoma City.

His celebration was cut short, though. Shortly after the bell rang, the Franchise Players came to the ring in force. Two steel chairs were set up and O'Brien was dropped on them with the Emo Killer, then pinned. Due to the 24/7 rule in place while defending the Hardcore Title, Gallows was able to reclaim the belt less than a minute after he had lost it.

And then, the real shocker! Drake Gallows, who just 2 months before had fought for the honour of his brother's name, then 1 month ago turned his back on the fans, stepped forward and was announced by Stevie Caballero as the newest member of the Franchise Players. This gave Caballero control of both the Heavyweight and Hardcore titles and by the time the show was over, he had the tag team titles under his guidance as well.

Gallows has always been a team player. He's one of the originators of the Clockwork Clique. He stood in his brother's place in Nemesis at the Crisstopher Crow memorial shows. And now, he stands proudly as a member of the Franchise Players. With this kind of backup, it seems unlikely that he'll be losing his title anytime soon. But if he expects to claim any additional gold, especially outside SWCW, he's probably going to have to do that on his own. He's proven he's willing to stand on his own feet in SRPW. Perhaps he can stand atop the federation by himself as well.