After wrestling his final match on NXT before being assigned to RAW on May 8th, a match he won against Dragon Lee with a little help from Noam Dar, JD McDonagh sat down in the locker room with a WWE camera to reflect on the journey that brought him the indies in the UK to NXT and eventually, the main roster.

“That’s a wrap,” McDonagh said. “It’s funny, it feels like a down breaking, I suppose. You know when you’re pushing, and you’re pushing, and you’re pushing, and you feel something building your whole life, your whole life, man. I’ve been doing this 21 years now, and for 15 or 16, I felt like I was spinning my wheels, I might never make it, but all of a sudden, things happen; it all just clicks, you know? Coming here to NXT, getting to get in the ring every single week against the best young wrestlers in the world, bar none, it helped unlocked something in me and helped me to unlock the next level.

“I can’t wait. I can not wait for the next chapter. It feels like I’ve been walking forever, and I’ve reached the mountaintop, but I’ve got to keep pushing the goalposts back because I want to ride this thing until the wheels fall off, man I absolutely love this. I love NXT, I loved my time here, I loved testing myself, and now the next step, Monday Night RAW, Monday Night McDonagh.”

Will McDonagh find the same success on RAW that he found in NXT, where he held the NXT Cruiserweight Championship for 439 days? Only time will tell, but after traveling down the wrestling world for 21 years and counting, having been originally trained by Finn Balor all the way back in 2006, it's certainly nice to see “The Irish Ace” get some shine and acknowledgment for his overall efforts.

JD McDonagh has a serious bone to pick with Finn Balor.

In 2019 at NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool, JD McDonagh was supposed to have his moment in the sun. After feuding with Travis Banks for months, McDonagh was ready to leave it all in the ring in the hometown of William Regal, but his opponent was unable to go, as he was beaten up a little bit too much to be cleared the night before by “The Irish Ace.”

So naturally, to avoid turning in an underwhelming show, NXT UK found a replacement, with Johnny Saint announcing that none other than Balor, McDonagh's mentor and trainer, would be taking part in the match in the middle of a wildly successful run on RAW. While the match in question was great, earning a weirdly low 3.5 rating from Dave Meltzer in The Wrestling Observer, it firmly turned McDonagh on his former mentor, as he noted in an interview after defeating Banks a few days later in NXT UK.

“For two year now, every interview I do, everyone always comes up and asks me about Finn Balor,” McDonagh said. “I don’t care about Finn Balor, okay? He comes over here to NXT UK to take my spotlight for himself and what did he do? Flew across the Atlantic Ocean to take my moment away from me, I’m not answering any questions about Finn Balor. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not in his shadow, alright? On zero notice, I pushed RAW’s top star to his limit. Where is he now? At RAW. Match of the night, again, NXT UK’s Ace, the MVP, the top dog. Do not ask me again about Finn Balor.”

Now granted, could McDonagh have lightened up over the years, appreciating the opportunity to test his mettle against Balor on a national stage and really get his name on the map within the WWE Universe? Potentially so; heck, The Judgement Day has mentioned adding more members after WrestleMania; maybe McDonagh could be the new cruiserweight member of the faction since Dominik Mysterio is really more effective as Rhea Ripley's manager than The JD's underguy. But before that happens, it would be very cool to see the two Irish aficionados get in the ring for another WWE-sanctioned match and see if McDonagh can best his mentor, or at least give him another run for his money. If that happens, then the world really could be “The Irish Ace's” oyster on the main roster, as he'd not only be able to immediately get in with the top heel faction on the Red Brand but benefit from the opportunities inside of the ring and out that come along with it.