WWE Superstar JD McDonagh has revealed how his stage name came about.
The Irish star first signed for the company when NXT UK was running. Then performing under his real name Jordan Devlin until he debuted for NXT under the revised moniker of JD McDonagh.
When speaking to Chris Van Vliet McDonagh disclosed how and why that ring name happened.
“They’re not too happy with you having your birth name as your wrestling. I kept it as close to home as possible. McDonagh is my mother’s maiden name, and then JD is Jordan Devlin.”
“My Ribs Were Like Rice Krispies”: JD McDonagh Recalls Terrifying WWE Raw Moment, Aftermath And Provides Recovery Update
In the same interview, McDonagh recalled the scary spot that took place on Monday Night Raw that had many fearing for his wellbeing.
On the January 27th episode of Raw, McDonagh teamed with Dominik Mysterio to challenge The War Raiders for the World Tag Team Championships. In the opening moments of the match, JD McDonagh performed a moonsault to the outside but collided with the announce table, seemingly hitting his head.
A panicked Michael Cole on commentary screamed for someone to check on McDonagh as there were concerns that a serious injury had been suffered. Somehow able to get back to the ring and finish the match, McDonagh later posted on social media that he had a punctured lung and a couple of broken ribs, admitting that it could have been a lot worse.
McDonagh detailed what took place that night. When asked what went wrong, the former Tag Team Champion noted that he needed to be on that side of the ring and slightly misjudged his landing:
“I guess it was in the planning stage really. I needed to be on that side of the ring for something that was going to come up later on. So I said, I’ll just do it on the announce table side. I’ve done it on that side before, but whatever happened on this one, I just was maybe a foot too far forward or a foot too far back and wiped out.”
When asked about his immediate reaction, McDonagh stated that he knew he did not have a serious head injury as he knew where he was but added that he had sustained serious damage to his ribs.
“In that moment I was just thinking, when’s the next breath gonna come? I knew that I didn’t hit my head that hard, because I knew I’d missed a spot in the match and I knew what was coming up next. So I knew I wasn’t unconscious or anything like that, and then I don’t know, it was like an out-of-body experience, listening to Michael Cole with the concern in his voice.
I’ve heard him all through the years being like, ‘We got to get a medic down here’, and then all of a sudden you’re lying at his feet and he’s saying it about you.
I thought it was maybe cracked ribs. I could feel my ribs on this side were like rice krispies under my skin, they’re definitely messed up. I couldn’t get a full lung full of air but I just thought that was because I was winded from hitting the table. Then the adrenaline kicked in and I was okay, I can do this. I can get back in there and do my part in the match.
I didn’t want to leave the guys, especially because it was one of the first few weeks that we were on Netflix. Everyone’s excited about it, huge audience watching you for the Tag Team Titles, War Raiders’ first defense, yeah, I didn’t want to [quit]. If I can stand up and keep participating, then I’m gonna.”
Addressing if he thought about stopping the match, McDonagh admitted that he was not going to quit the match but if the doctor checked his ribs then he would not have had a choice:
“The thought of stopping didn’t even enter my mind. The referee came down, and he asked me what city we were in and what date it was. I told him that I’m okay and I told him where we were and what we were doing. I said, ‘Tell Dom that I’m okay and I just need a minute.’
He passed the message on, and then the ref actually got a lot of heat for it online, Shawn Bennett. But as far as him doing his job he can only relay the message of what I’m telling them and I told him I was good to go.
One of the WWE docs came out in the ad break. She checked me over, and I knew if she touched my ribs she wouldn’t let me back in there. So she’d thankfully asked me about my head and my neck rather than my ribs. And there was a spot coming up in the match where I was needed so I was like, I gotta go.”