JD McDonagh


JD McDonagh


Jordan Devlin (born 15 March 1990) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name JD McDonagh. He is a member of The Judgment Day stable where he is one-half of the World Tag Team Champions with stablemate Finn Bálor in their first reign as a team and McDonagh's first reign individually. He previously performed in NXT UK, where he was a one-time and the longest-reigning NXT Cruiserweight Champion. His other accomplishments include being a two-time OTT World Champion and a one-time PROGRESS Tag Team Champion. Devlin is also known for his tenure in Japan with Pro Wrestling Zero1, wrestling under the name Frank David and becoming a one-time Zero1 International Lightweight Tag Team Champion.

Early life

Devlin was born on 15 March 1990 in Bray, County Wicklow. He was educated at C.B.C. Monkstown in Dublin's Monkstown suburb, and later graduated with a BA from University College Dublin.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2006–2018, 2019–2020, 2022)

Beginning when he was 16 years old, Devlin was trained to be a professional wrestler by Fergal Devitt (also known as Finn Bálor) and Paul Tracey. At the age of 21, Devlin spent six months wrestling for Pro Wrestling Zero1 in Japan, where he and Shawn Guinness would win the Zero1 International Lightweight Tag Team Champion.

Devlin is the inaugural Over the Top Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion, having defeated Timothy Thatcher in February 2018. He was defeated by WALTER for the title on 18 August 2018.

In 2013, Devlin began appearing for Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), where he unsuccessfully competed for several titles. In his debut, he and Shawn Maxer challenged the Bucky Boys for the ICW Tag Team Championships in a Three Way with Fight Club at ICW: Get Yer Rat Oot. He wrestled both Trent Seven and Joe Coffey individually for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship in 2017. He lastly unsuccessfully challenged BT Gunn (ICW: Fight Club) for the ICW Zero-G Championship in 2017 before getting another opportunity at ICW: BarraMania 4 in a gauntlet match where he was eliminated by Andy Wild. In non-title action, he also wrestled Kenny Williams, Stevie Boy and Mikey Whiplash among others.

Devlin became a Progress Tag Team Champion alongside Scotty Davis after defeating Grizzled Young Veterans and Aussie Open at Progress Chapter 95: Still Chasing but were later stripped of the titles after 278 days due to allegations made against Devlin during the Speaking Out movement

WWE

Beginnings (2017–2019)

On 15 December 2016, Devlin was announced as one of 16 men competing in the first ever United Kingdom Championship Tournament to crown the first ever WWE United Kingdom Champion on 14 and 15 January 2017. Devlin defeated Danny Burch in the first round, advancing to the quarter finals, where he was defeated by Tyler Bate. Devlin also appeared at several WWE live shows. On 18 May 2018, WWE announced via their YouTube channel that Devlin would be one of 16 contestants in the second annual United Kingdom Championship Tournament. He defeated Tyson T-Bone in the first round but lost to Flash Morgan Webster in round two.

After some disagreements on the following episodes of NXT UK, a match against Travis Banks was set for NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool. However, that night both competitors attacked each other before the bell rang, with Banks being the most affected. Devlin, getting into the ring, referred to himself as Ireland's best fighter, therefore establishing himself as a heel. He was interrupted by the general manager of the brand, Johnny Saint, who went out to schedule a match against an unknown fighter who turned out to be Finn Bálor.

On 26 and 27 January, Devlin participated in the Worlds Collide tournament which featured superstars from NXT, 205 Live, and NXT UK. He won a 15-man battle royal to earn a bye in the first round. He defeated Drew Gulak in the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Velveteen Dream in the semifinals.

NXT Cruiserweight Champion (2020–2021)

On the 23 January episode of NXT UK, Devlin defeated El Ligero in an NXT Cruiserweight Championship Qualifying Match to face Angel Garza for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. At Worlds Collide, Devlin won a fatal four way match, defeating Travis Banks, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, and Angel Garza to become the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion. Devlin would go on to successfully defend the title all over NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live against opponents such as Lio Rush, Tony Nese, Tyler Breeze and Banks.

In April 2020, it was revealed that Devlin was unable to defend the Cruiserweight Championship due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. This led to the announcement of a tournament to crown an interim Cruiserweight Champion, which was won by Santos Escobar. Devlin responded by calling whoever won the tournament a "fraud" and stating that he would prove himself as the true Cruiserweight Champion upon his eventual return. On 10 March 2021, it was revealed that Devlin would appear in NXT on the following week to enter into a feud with the interim Cruiserweight Champion, Santos Escobar. On Night 2 of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, Escobar defeated Devlin to end his reign at 438 days.

Championship pursuits (2021–2022)

The following week, Devlin confronted Ilja Dragunov. Although he did not say anything, he made his intentions to challenge Dragunov for the NXT UK Championship quite clear. Devlin faced Ilja Dragunov in an empty arena, but failed to capture the NXT UK Championship. After trading verbal shots with Ilja Dragunov, Devlin would get another chance at the NXT UK Championship, under the stipulation that the loser leaves NXT UK. The match would take place on the 200th episode of NXT UK where Devlin failed to win the title, marking his final appearance for the brand.

On the 21 June episode of NXT 2.0, a vignette aired announcing Devlin's arrival on the NXT brand under the new ring name JD McDonagh. At NXT: The Great American Bash on 5 July, he made his debut by attacking NXT Champion Bron Breakker after Bron defended the title against Cameron Grimes. On the 12 July episode of NXT 2.0, McDonagh interrupted Grimes on stage and attacked him, only for the latter to retaliate, thus setting up a match between the two the following week, which he won. At NXT Heatwave on 16 August, McDonagh unsuccessfully challenged Breakker for the NXT Championship. McDonagh received another title shot, at Halloween Havoc on October 22, in a triple threat match also involving Ilja Dragunov, but once again failed to win the title; this marked McDonagh's final appearance in NXT prior to being drafted.

The Judgment Day (2023–present)

As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, McDonagh was drafted to the Raw brand. In his debut match on the 29 May episode of Raw, he fought Dolph Ziggler to a double count-out draw. Following this, McDonagh started appearing in backstage segments with his real-life mentor Finn Bálor, a member of The Judgment Day stable. After a brief hiatus, McDonagh returned on the 7 August episode of Raw in weekly attempts to gain favor with The Judgment Day but was kept at arm's length by Damian Priest. At Payback, McDonagh interfered in Bálor's and Priest's street fight match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to help them successfully capture the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. On the following episode of Raw, McDonagh gave Priest a customized Money in the Bank briefcase. Later that night, McDonagh defeated Zayn after interference from Dominik Mysterio. In the following weeks, McDonagh would aid the group in their matches, including helping Mysterio recapture the NXT North American Championship on the 3 October episode of NXT. On the 13 November episode of Raw, McDonagh officially joined The Judgment Day after Priest gave him a new Judgment Day-themed jacket. McDonagh participated in his first WarGames match at Survivor Series: WarGames alongside The Judgment Day and Drew McIntyre against Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins and the returning Randy Orton in a losing effort. At the closing stages of the match, McDonagh was thrown off the cage by Zayn and Rollins into an RKO from Orton. On the 18 December episode of Raw, McDonagh was defeated by R-Truth in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight match with a Loser Leaves The Judgment Day stipulation. Later that night, Priest informed McDonagh that he is still a part of The Judgment Day. At Royal Rumble on 27 January 2024, McDonagh entered the Royal Rumble match at number 23 lasting only three seconds being eliminated by Jey Uso after a distraction from R-Truth. On the 24 June episode of Raw, with the help of Liv Morgan, McDonagh and Bálor defeated World Tag Team Champions Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) for the titles. This is his first title win in the main roster.

Other media

In May 2017, Devlin appeared in the WWE 24 network special on Finn Bálor. Devlin is a playable character in WWE 2K22 as Jordan Devlin, and in WWE 2K23 and 2K24 as JD McDonagh.

Personal life

In June 2020, during the Speaking Out movement, Devlin was accused of physical abuse by a former partner. He would be suspended indefinitely by Progress Wrestling following the allegations. Devlin denied the allegations, calling them "completely and utterly false."

Championships and accomplishments

  • British Championship Wrestling
    • BCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sean South
  • Fight Factory Pro Wrestling
    • Irish Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA Ireland
    • NWA Ireland Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    • NWA Ireland Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Sir Michael W. Winchester
  • Over the Top Wrestling
    • OTT World Championship (2 times)
    • OTT No Limits World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Progress Wrestling
    • Progress Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Scotty Davis
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • Ranked No. 58 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2019
  • Pro Wrestling Zero1
    • NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Shawn Guinness
  • TNT Extreme Wrestling
    • TNT World Championship (1 time)
  • WWE
    • NXT Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
    • World Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Finn Bálor
    • Slammy Award (1 time)
      • Faction of the Year (2024) – as a member of The Judgment Day

References

External links

  • JD McDonagh on WWE.com
  • JD McDonagh's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
  • JD McDonagh on X
  • JD McDonagh at IMDb 

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: JD McDonagh by Wikipedia (Historical)



 








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