Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Gets New Ring Name

This new name is, erm, quite difficult to chant...

by Michael Sidgwick
Jordan Devlin
WWE

A vignette aired on last night's episode of NXT 2.0 confirming the arrival of a new name.

Not a new wrestler, as such, but a new name: the former Jordan Devlin, who incidentally is also a former NXT Cruiserweight Champion, is set to make his "debut" imminently (!). He is now going by the name "JD McDonagh," which in addition to being fairly generic is something of a syllable nightmare to chant out loud. To many wrestling fans, this might not be such a disaster.

The new character is an ambitious moneyed playboy type who, in the vignette, is giving up his penthouse flat in Dublin "for a damn good reason" which the audience "will find out soon enough". McDonagh has kept his 'Ace' moniker.

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This development is a particularly odd extension of an already puzzling WWE practise; changing the name of a performer is par for the course, but it was almost suggested that this was the first time the audience had been introduced to McDonagh, even though he has held gold on this very brand, for which he made his first appearance in 2020.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!