As noted overnight, it was reported by Fightful Select that Jade Cargill is expected to join WWE after finishing up with AEW this week. Cargill took some time off after her 60-match undefeated streak and 508-day inaugural title reign ended at AEW Double Or Nothing on May 28 when she dropped the AEW TBS Title to a returning Kris Statlander. She then returned on the September 9 Collision episode, attacking Statlander after her successful title defense over Robyn Renegade. It was then announced on last night’s Dynamite that Cargill will challenge Statlander for the AEW TBS Title on Friday’s taped Rampage.
The overnight report stated that as things were at that point, Cargill is done with the company and last night’s tapings in Cincinnati look to be her final appearance. It was noted that the situation unfolded last week, and Cargill was brought back to Collision so that she could wrap up and put over Statlander clean. Furthermore, the report noted that sources within WWE and AEW believe Cargill is headed to WWE. It was stressed that there is no confirmation on how long Cargill has left on her AEW contract, but there was recent talk of option years being in play, but it wasn’t clear who held those options.
In an update, a new report from PWInsider notes how AEW sources believe Cargill’s current contract expires as soon as this week. While there was talk of Cargill staying with AEW, nothing new was ever agreed to, at least as of last word.
It was noted that Cargill is not currently booked for any AEW dates. If and when her contract does expire, she will be immediately free to sign with anyone.
Regarding Cargill’s rematch with Statlander that will air on Friday night, the two embraced and had a show of respect after it was over. Cargill was said to be emotional and “teary-eyed” but then left the ring and was escorted back by manager Mark Sterling.
There are some in AEW who believe Cargill is leaving to work the WWE NXT brand, according to PWInsider, but that has not been confirmed.
We noted last night how WWE insider Better Wrestling Experience indicated on September 9 that WWE was talking to Cargill, and that things would be moving fast. However, shortly after the update from BWE, Cargill made her surprise return on Collision to attack Statlander, so the WWE teaser did not get much traction as it appeared to be incorrect with Cargill back on AEW TV.
To add to that, BWE noted today that he knew WWE has wanted Cargill bad, but the surprise Collision return threw him off. He also indicated that Cargill will be going to the main roster, not NXT as speculated on in the aforementioned report from today
Raj Giri, formerly of WrestlingInc, weighed in on the reports today via X/Twitter and wrote, “I’ll put it this way… From what I’ve heard, I’m willing to put good money that she stays with AEW.”
Giri later added that he was not reporting anything as fact, but he heard she has already re-signed with AEW.
There is still no word on WWE making a specific offer to Cargill. If the reports are true, this will be seen as a significant loss for AEW as the company built Cargill up as their top homegrown talent.
Following the September 9 note from BWE and then Cargill’s surprise return that same day, there was a narrative among some that AEW President Tony Khan may have offered Cargill a big deal to stay after learning of the WWE talks, especially with how Cargill had praised Khan as a boss just two days earlier in a interview, adding that she would not want to work anywhere else. Cargill had also praised Khan in a pre-All Out interview, while Khan said he hoped to have her back in the mix soon while speaking during the post-All Out media scrum on September 3.
There had been talk of WWE being interested in Cargill over the last few years. She attended a WWE Performance Center tryout in April 2019, but was not signed. She then trained at AR Fox’s WWA4 Academy in Atlanta, but left for the Face 2 Face Wrestling School in Atlanta, owned by Heath Slater and Richard Borger, after the move was suggested by her mentor, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry, who had not joined AEW yet. Cargill then trained at The Nightmare Factory near Atlanta, under Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall. She signed a multi-year contract with AEW in November 2020, and made her debut on the November 11, 2020 Dynamite, confronting Cody Rhodes and teasing the arrival of NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal. Cargill worked with Cody and Brandi Rhodes to set up a tag team match with Shaq, but Red Velvet ended up replacing Brandi. Cargill’s in-ring debut came on the March 3, 2021 Dynamite as she and Shaq defeated Rhodes and Velvet. Cargill then had her singles in-ring debut on the March 17, 2021 Dynamite as she defeated Dani Jordyn. She was booked as a main star moving forward, and was put with top in-ring workers Sonjay Dutt and Bryan Danielson when they joined AEW in June and September 2021 as Khan wanted the best to mentor her.
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