Oney Lorcan, Sam Gradwell Praise JD McDonagh Following WWE Main Roster Call Up

JD McDonagh was one of the select "WWE NXT" talents who were called up to "Raw" in the 2023 draft. Following the news, McDonagh received praise on Twitter from two of his peers.

Former "NXT" Tag Team Champion and current producer Oney Lorcan tweeted, "In my opinion, one of the best wrestlers in all of WWE. Also, was one of the first people to get in the ring and train the day after he got drafted."

Additionally, former "NXT UK" star Sam Gradwell praised McDonagh for his dedication while working for the UK brand. He tweeted, "In 'NXT UK,' JD McDonagh would finish his in-ring session, jump straight into a second one, stay behind to help anybody who wanted it, then hit a weights and cardio session with me at night. He also agented matches on the same shows that he was putting on [match of the year] candidates. A true bull."

The 33-year-old got his start in WWE in 2017 as part of the tournament to crown the inaugural "NXT UK" Champion, which was won by Tyler Bate. Then known as Jordan Devlin, he was regularly featured on the weekly "NXT UK" program that premiered in 2018. At NXT Worlds Collide in 2020, Devlin emerged victorious in a four-way match to become the new "NXT" Cruiserweight Champion.

The global pandemic stalled plans for Devlin to do more work stateside, and he eventually lost the title to Santos Escobar in a unification ladder match the following year. In the summer of 2022, Devlin was renamed JD McDonagh for a run on "NXT" on USA Network. Since then, he's competed on several premium live events and challenged for both the "NXT" and "NXT" North American Championships.