Jade Cargill is expected to join WWE after her contract with AEW expires this week.
Cargill’s undefeated streak of 60 matches came to an end on May 28 at AEW Double Or Nothing when she lost the AEW TBS Title to a returning Kris Statlander, ending her 508-day reign as the inaugural champion. Cargill took a break after her first career loss, but she returned on the September 9 Collision episode, attacking Statlander after her successful title defense against Robyn Renegade. Then, on last night’s Dynamite, it was announced that Cargill will face Statlander for the AEW TBS Title on Friday’s taped Rampage.
In an update on September 9, WWE insider Boozer Rasslin stated that WWE was in talks with Cargill and that things would move quickly. However, Cargill returned to Collision shortly after the insider’s update, so the WWE teaser didn’t get much traction because it appeared to be incorrect with Cargill back on AEW TV. Some speculated that AEW President Tony Khan may have offered Cargill a lucrative contract to stay after learning of the WWE talks, given that Cargill had praised Khan as a boss just two days earlier in an interview, adding that she would not want to work anywhere else. Cargill praised Khan in a pre-All Out interview, and Khan said he hoped to see her again soon during the post-All Out media scrum.
Having said that, Fightful Select reports that Cargill likely finished up with AEW at Wednesday’s Rampage tapings in the clean rematch loss to Statlander. According to AEW sources, Cargill is no longer with the company, and the September 13 tapings in Cincinnati appear to be her final appearance.
It was noted that the incident occurred last week, and Cargill was brought back to Collision to wrap up and clean up after Statlander.
Furthermore, sources within WWE and AEW believe Cargill is on her way to WWE, according to the report. There has been no word on whether WWE has made a specific offer to Cargill, and it was emphasized that things can and frequently do change in the world of pro wrestling, including in situations like this. It was also stated that there is no confirmation on how long Cargill’s AEW contract is valid. Option years were mentioned recently, but it wasn’t clear who held those options.
The general consensus among the rosters of both WWE and AEW is that Cargill will be joining WWE. If this is true, it will be viewed as a significant loss for AEW, as the company developed her as their top homegrown talent.
Over the last few years, there has been speculation that WWE is interested in Cargill. She tried out for the WWE Performance Center in April 2019, but was not signed. She then trained at AR Fox’s WWA4 Academy in Atlanta before leaving for the Face 2 Face Wrestling School in Atlanta, owned by Heath Slater and Richard Borger, after her mentor, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry, who had not yet joined AEW, suggested the move. Cargill went on to train at The Nightmare Factory near Atlanta, where he was mentored by Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall. In November 2020, she signed a multi-year contract with AEW and made her debut on the November 11, 2020 Dynamite, confronting Cody Rhodes and teasing the arrival of NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal. Cargill coordinated a tag team match with Shaq with Cody and Brandi Rhodes, but Red Velvet ended up replacing Brandi. Cargill made her ring debut on March 3, 2021, when she and Shaq defeated Rhodes and Velvet. Cargill then made her singles ring debut on March 17, 2021, defeating Dani Jordyn. She was booked as a main attraction going forward, and was paired with top in-ring performers Sonjay Dutt and Bryan Danielson when they joined AEW in June and September 2021, respectively, because Khan wanted the best to mentor her.
