War Raiders Win First World Tag Title Defense On WWE Raw, JD McDonagh Dodges Injury

In the first defense of their current reign, the War Raiders put the WWE World Tag Team Championship on the line against "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh of The Judgment Day. It was something of a rematch, as McDonagh and Finn Balor had been the champions until Erik and Ivar beat them for the belts back in December, and the result was ultimately the same, as the War Raiders emerged victorious. The match was notable for McDonagh appearing to suffer an injury early on, but ultimately finishing the match.

The potential injury occurred when McDonagh hit a moonsault on Ivar while Ivar was on the outside and smacked the back of his head on the announce desk on landing. McDonagh was quickly checked out by medical personnel and continued the match. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported on X (formerly known as Twitter) that "we were told Triple H asked a number of timed if he was okay, and he got checked," adding that "Michael Hayes asked if the desk was okay."

When we asked, we were told Triple H asked a number of timed if he was okay, and he got checked.

Michael Hayes asked if the desk was okay lol https://t.co/9k6grt2ppx

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) January 28, 2025

In the closing minutes of the match, Carlito got involved by pulling Erik off the apron and spitting an apple in Ivar's face, which allowed Mysterio to send Ivar into the ropes and hit the 6-1-9. McDonagh followed with a moonsault and Mysterio connected with a Frog Splash. Erik broke up the pin attempt just in time, and The War Raiders hit the War Machine on Mysterio to retain.