Jordan Devlin (born 15 March 1990) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Rawbrand under the ring name JD McDonagh. He is a member of The Judgment Day stable, and is one-half of the World Tag Team Champions with fellow stablemate and mentor Finn Bálor in their first reign as a team and McDonagh's first reign individually.
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.
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.
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.[21]
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.[22] 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.[23]
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 ChampionBron Breakker after Bron defended the title against Cameron Grimes.[24] 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.[25] 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.
As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, McDonagh was drafted to the Rawbrand.[26] 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 and was included into the Judgment Day stable, becoming a member on the 13 November episode of Raw.[27] 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.[28] On the 18 December episode of Raw, McDonagh was defeated by R-Truth in a Miracle on 34thStreet 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.[29] On the 24 June episode of Raw, with the help of Liv Morgan, McDonagh and Bálor defeated World Tag Team ChampionsAwesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) for the titles. This is his first title win on the main roster.[30] On 3 August at Summerslam, After Balor turned on Priest costing him the World Heavyweight Championship.[31] On the 5 August episode of Raw, JD McDonagh was revealed to be part of the retooled Judgment Day with Carlito and Morgan replacing Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley.
In June 2020, during the rise of the Speaking Out movement, Devlin was accused of physical and domestic abuse by Hannah Francesca, a former partner.[32] Francesca tweeted photos of what she commented on as bruises dealt by Devlin on her legs and that "this is just the physical damage".[33] According to Francesca, she was also "told to reach out to [Devlin]" by an unknown promoter in what was deemed by them a "misunderstanding".[34] He would be suspended indefinitely by Progress Wrestling following the allegations.[35] Devlin denied the allegations, calling them "completely and utterly false" and that he it was "a case of a malicious personal agenda being executed against [him] on the back of a very brave telling of true experiences by other women."[36] WWE stated that they were looking into the allegations and that they "take any allegation of this nature very seriously". At the time, Devlin had been at home due to COVID-19 lockdowns. He made his television return to WWE in March 2021, seemingly confirming that WWE's investigation into the matter had resulted in no punishment for Devlin.
At the same time as when Devlin was accused of abuse, Devlin had also faced accusations that he had been in an affair with another woman, Hope Brookes, whilst he was dating Francesca. Brookes accused Devlin of inappropriate conduct on a plane to the 2019 and later ghosting her. Brookes also alleged that Devlin also had sex with "30 other girls" whilst he was dating Francesca.[37]
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