JD McDonaghs scary landing during the January 27 edition of WWE RAW was even worse than it looked. Now, new details have surfaced about just how serious his condition isand how long hes expected to be out.
According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, McDonagh suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung during his World Tag Team Championship match alongside Dominik Mysterio against The War Raiders. The injury happened when he attempted an Asai moonsault and slammed the back of his head too hard on the announce table. The impact was so brutal that Michael Cole reportedly freaked out at ringside.
Despite the obvious severity, WWE officials didnt stop the matchpartly because McDonagh insisted he could continue. However, his legs werent steady under him, and as Meltzer noted, the match should have been stopped for safety reasons after seeing the replay.
McDonagh collapsed backstage after the match and was rushed to the hospital. While no exact return date has been set, an internal WWE estimate suggests he could be out for at least four months. That timeline is subject to change, but its clear McDonagh wont be back in action anytime soon.
This isnt the first time WWE has come under scrutiny for letting an injured wrestler continue. Dakota Kai suffered a concussion last week but was still allowed to wrestle for several minutes before being diagnosed. Meltzer compared WWEs handling of these situations to New Japan Pro Wrestling, which immediately stopped a recent Tokyo Dome match due to injury concerns.
JD McDonagh has proven hes tough, but even the toughest wrestlers need time to heal. Should WWE have stopped the match earlier, or was it the right call to let him finish? Let us know what you think in the comments!