JD McDonagh Recalls His Thoughts Immediately After WWE Raw Injury

JD McDonagh has opened up about the injury he suffered on WWE Raw in January 2025 that would write him off television.

The January 27 episode saw him team with Dominik Mysterio to take on The War Raiders (Erik & Ivar).

Although McDonagh was able to complete the match, he would be hospitalized after a spot saw him suffer injury.

With McDonagh suffering a punctured lung and broken ribs, he has recently revealed what he was thinking and going through in the moment that it happened.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, the Judgment Day member was asked how he feels at the moment, revealing that he’s waiting for his bones to knit together before he can be cleared, saying:

“Time heals all. I wasn’t like this the first week or two after but I’m feeling a lot better now. (I’m feeling) pretty good.

“My lungs are good. My ribs are good. I’m just kind of waiting for the bones to knit back together before they clear me.”

McDonagh would go on to discuss the planned spot that would lead to the injury and how it happened, stating:

“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.”

As for what went though his mind when he realised that he was injured, McDonagh would reveal that he wasn’t knocked unconscious as he processed it all, explaining:

“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.”

JD McDonagh would be able to continue with the match, with The War Raiders eventually winning, and touched upon getting back into the ring, saying:

“Everything goes really slow in moments like that. I wasn’t thinking I gotta get through this match. It was just okay, what’s next? Can I do that? Let’s do it.

“So I wiggled my fingers and toes and I was like, okay, I can do that. I got a breath back. I can probably stand up. So I stood up and got back in there.”

In the moment, McDonagh believed he had cracked his ribs, with adrenaline driving him to continue, as he went on to state:

“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.”

JD McDonagh would go on to say that he didn’t think of quitting the match, with the referee checking on him and the match continuing.

The Judgment Day member would address the heat that the referee got online for letting the match continue, revealing that WWE doctor also checked on him during the break.

He would also reveal that, while fans caught sight of him backstage, he hadn’t actually collapsed, stating that had to lie down as he tried to catch his breath.

While McDonagh is yet to be cleared for an in-ring return, he hoped that he would be back in around a month.

Transcript from chrisvanvliet.com.