On 29 November, on the inaugural episode of "205 Live", Gallagher made his debut, defeating Ariya Daivari. On the 5 December episode of "Raw", Gallagher defeated Daivari. On 27 December episode of "205 Live", Gallagher and Daivari participated in a Gentleman's Duel, where both men chose a weapon for their opponent and began the match back to back before moving five paces away from each other, but Daivari attacked Gallagher while his back was turned until Gallagher attacked him with a headbutt, causing Daivari to forfeit the duel. Their rivalry concluded in an "I forfeit" match on the 17 January 2017 episode of "205 Live", which Gallagher won. On 29 January at the Royal Rumble event, Gallagher participated in the annual Royal Rumble match and was eliminated by Mark Henry. On 7 February episode of "205 Live", Gallagher defeated Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Noam Dar, and T.J. Perkins in a fatal five-way elimination match to become the number one contender for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. At Fastlane, Gallagher faced Neville for the title in a losing effort. Gallagher made a guest appearance on the 26 April episode of "NXT", unsuccessfully challenging Tyler Bate for the WWE United Kingdom Championship in the main event.