Bron Breaker Breaks It Down For JD McDonagh: You’ve Got My Attention

Bron Breakker is usually a man of few words.

After all, the reigning WWE NXT Champion would rather let his actions in the ring do the talking.

But sometimes – with a microphone in hand – you just have to set the record straight and remind the locker room just what you’re capable of.

That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday night, as Bron Breakker finally addressed the cowardly attack by JD McDonagh a few weeks ago after his successful title defense against Cameron Grimes.

“JD, you’ve wanted my attention?” Breakker said, NXT Championship draped over his shoulder. “You got it. And you’re going to pay for what you did to me.”

Never a man to run from another, one has to think that maybe, deep down inside, Breakker almost respects JD McDonagh for viciously putting him through a table during the July 5 episode of NXT 2.0. After all, McDonagh showed similar drive and determination to make an impact as Breakker did on his road to becoming NXT Champion.

What JD McDonagh did to Breakker, although sinister, took cajones, to say the least. Not many Superstars would dare to cheap shot the NXT Champion from behind while he’s celebrating his latest successful title defense.

Any respect that Breakker may have felt man-to-man quickly disappeared, though – right when JD McDonagh showed up on the big screen in the Capitol Wrestling Center and gave a self-righteous, pompous medical lesson to the champion. Armed with a mannequin, McDonagh pointed out all the ways he could destroy Breakker’s shoulder should they ever meet inside the squared circle.

Never before has the WWE Universe seen such a calculated and brazen approach to getting under the skin of the NXT Champion.

At that moment, every single person in the CWC and every person watching at home realized the type of person JD McDonagh is.

McDonagh knows that in order to make an impact, he’s going to have to talk down to the champion. He’s going to try to get under Breakker’s skin, pompousness be damned.

JD McDonagh touts himself as the Necessary Evil, but savvy NXT viewers may recognize the Irish-born McDonagh as the man formerly known as NXT Superstar Jordan Devlin.

Yes, THAT Jordan Devlin - the man who holds the record for the longest NXT Cruiserweight Championship reign of all time at 439 days. The man who is no stranger to success in NXT and whose considerable skill set in the squared circle should be enough to make Bron Breakker sweat if the two of them ever meet inside the ring.

JD McDonagh’s pedigree is of the highest order. After all, he was billed as Finn Balor’s protege five years ago, showing that one of the most decorated WWE Superstars of all time saw what McDonagh’s potential could be – if harnessed correctly.

Not only is Bron Breakker’s latest challenger a force to be reckoned with inside the ring – after all, Breakker alluded to this fact Tuesday when he spoke about McDonagh’s vast successes in NXT UK – but he may be more cunning, smart, and cerebral than anybody had previously realized.

It’s clear that Bron Breakker is one of the most powerful Superstars to ever compete in NXT – that isn’t in question here. Neither is the in-ring ability and skill set of JD McDonagh.

What is in question is just how cunning JD McDonagh actually is. Based on his anatomy lesson this week, he may have just scratched the surface of what he’s capable of. Because just as in the same vein as WWE Legends like Triple H and Randy Orton, nothing is more dangerous than somebody who can combine excessively potent in-ring talent with a truly twisted mind that always seems to be one step ahead of his opponents.

So while it remains to be seen if JD McDonagh can step up to the level of a Triple H or Randy Orton, the fact remains that he's already shown glimmers of that kind of cerebral and evil mindset to Bron Breakker.

Will the mind games continue? Or will the NXT Champion make good on his promise to vanquish this latest thorn in his side?

Whatever happens, one thing’s for sure: once the war of words comes to an end, and when Bron Breakker and JD McDonagh meet inside the ring for the first time, the WWE Universe is in for one heck of a match.

Watch WWE NXT on Tuesdays at 8/7c on USA Network.