While J.D. McDonagh has been associated with The Judgment Day on WWE Raw for quite some time now, he’s never been fully accepted as an official member of the group. That changed tonight, with Damian Priest extending an official invitation to McDonagh by presenting him with a Judgment Day vest.
The action followed Priest calling himself the group’s leader near the start of tonight’s show. He later apologized to the other members of the group, with Rhea Ripley still making Priest the leader of The Judgment Day for their WarGames match at WWE Survivor Series next Saturday. Though Priest’s statement seemingly gave Finn Balor some pause, the former WWE Universal Champion was around to support the addition of McDonagh backstage later on and joined Priest to defend the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships in the main event.
Earlier in the night, McDonagh pushed Priest out of the way and ate a spear from Jey Uso. In the process, it seems McDonagh finally won the respect and approval of Priest. For months, Priest has been hesitant to include McDonagh as an actual member of the group, but McDonagh will now walk into WarGames as an official part of The Judgment Day.
McDonagh first began his association with The Judgment Day in the latter days of this summer. It was Balor who brought McDonagh into the fold, feeling that the team needed the numbers. Over two months later, Priest accepted Balor’s ally, coincidentally on the same night that Priest accidentally revealed how he sees himself in relation to the other members of the group.