The WWE is a lot like the NBA, NFL, and MLB. It is the place many wrestlers strive to reach much like basketball players, football players, and baseball players aspire to enter their sport’s prestigious leagues. Many do not make it. Some get there and go elsewhere for a variety of reasons.
Some people start out elsewhere and find success, but in the back (or front), of their minds, the WWE is the place they want to be. Those who make it are fortunate enough to have their dreams come to fruition. For Jade Cargill, the most dominant champion in AEW history, this rings true. And she’s finally made it.
“I feel great. I feel phenomenal. I feel like I’m about to tear the house down,” she told VIBE. “It’s just beginning. I feel accepted. I feel that I have done nothing but take an alternative route to get to where I needed to be to create those phenomenal moments and to create that household name.”
The 31-year-old powerhouse’s September signing caused a shockwave throughout the wrestling community. She was featured all over WWE’s socials and has been the subject of many reports speculating on what show within the promotion she would join.
That curiosity peaked as she appeared on Smackdown for an interaction with 14-time Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Monday Night Raw for a conversation with seven-time Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, multiple appearances on the developmental brand NXT, and even a segment during the October premium live event WWE Fastlane.
Cargill hasn’t been seen on television since, but reports indicate that she has been training in the WWE Performance Center, which is what she was most excited about, beyond all of the dream matches. “I just want to learn the system here first,” she asserted.
“I come from an alternative system where everybody trains in other places and just come together and make something work. [I want to create] that foundation here and [get] the fan base to rally with me, and just [work] with my opponent and [embrace] the system, culture, and universe that they have here.”
Make no mistake about it, she is ready for the smoke with anyone interested. “I have a lot of dream matches, but right now I’m calling out everybody,” Cargill said. “I can come down to NXT and prove why I am Jade Cargill and why I am where I am. I can definitely do that. That’s easy for me to do. If they want to call me out, I can definitely come down there and show them exactly why I’m positioned in the perfect spot.”
When one looks at Jade Cargill, one sees a strikingly beautiful woman with an impressive physique and a countenance that conveys all of the confidence in the world.
She has the look of a star and believes that she is one. Cargill initially tried out for the WWE in 2019 before joining AEW in 2020 and having a dominant three-year run.
While on the surface it may seem like she did not get what she initially wanted, she savored the opportunity to be presented in a special light on another platform. “I would say I made the most of what I got,” she said about her AEW tenure. “My first match was with Cody Rhodes and Shaquille O’Neal. Who gets that? No one gets that coming into wrestling. That was my first match ever and it was on national TV, so I can’t take that away but nothing beats this program. It’s where dreams are made. It’s the grand stage and I’m ready to dance.”
Cody Rhodes was, and is, the talk of WWE after leaving AEW in early 2022 and debuting at Wrestlemania 38. Since then, he has been positioned as one of the top babyfaces, otherwise known as good guys, in the company and been prominent in all of their branding in and out of the squared circle. The “American Nightmare” is the blueprint for how a company can take top talent from another promotion and, rightfully, make them look more important than ever before.
Rhodes and Cargill built a relationship during their time in AEW, and the latter had glowing compliments for him when discussing her excitement to be his co-worker once again. “I’m excited,” she said. “He’s a phenomenal guy. A phenomenal father. Just seeing how the system treated him and just seeing how happy he is. He’s a hard worker and he goes after what he wants. I know that if I come in with those same tools that the sky is the limit.”
Beyond WWE’s ability to create true megastars, they have also emphasized the Black talent within the company over the years. Jade entered years after some monumental moments such as Kofi Kingston becoming the first African-born WWE Champion at Wrestlemania 35. Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair became the first Black women to main event a Wrestlemania in their 2021 bout over the WWE Women’s World Championship, formerly the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Cargill emphasized a sense of belonging when reflecting on those moments.
