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Jade Cargill reflects on her incredible growth in professional wrestling

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Matty Breisch | Last updated 4/17/24

As crazy as it may sound, Jade Cargill, the former AEW TBS Champion with a 50-match win streak and a focal point of WrestleMania 40, is still one of the least experienced wrestlers on television today, with just three years since her first-ever professional wrestling match.

And who, you may recall, was also in that match? Well, that would be Shaquille O’Neal and Cody Rhodes, aka two of the biggest stars in the world today, regardless of the sport.

Discussing how it feels for fans to watch her career literally develop in front of the world, with each step along her journey done in front of hundreds of thousands of eyes each week, Cargill celebrated her growth in an interview with Evan T Mack, noting that she’d had some pretty incredible support along the way.

“It feels great. What I want everybody to understand is you’ve seen my first match ever. You’ve literally seen me grow. Who gets to see that? That was my first match ever, that was Shaquille O’Neal and Cody Rhodes,” Jade Cargill explained via Fightful. “Who gives that? So I think everyone should give me grace and be understanding that you’re literally watching me go from a infant into a superstar. No one gets that. People go to the PC or whatever and they grind on NXT for years or the indies. Like, be thankful that you’re getting to see my progression. You can say, d**n, I seen her first match like, oh my gosh, look at her progression, and look what she’s done. It’s been great like I can see my improvement that I’ve done. I can see how I’m handling things way better and just the veterans in the locker room as far as AEW and WWE , who came to me and given me great, sound advice to succeed in this business. Everybody wants to see me succeed in this business, and you best believe I am.”

Between Tony Khan and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, it’s safe to say every promoter Cargill has worked for has taken a special interest in making sure she “makes it” in the sport, with both AEW and WWE booking the former basketball player like a force of nature whenever she graces the ring with the announcement of “A storm is coming.” Granted, that doesn’t happen if Cargill doesn’t put in the work to make herself an athlete worthy of heavy investment, but in the end, her assertion is spot on: she’s been afforded a chance to work with some incredible minds during her professional wrestling career, and now all she has to do it make good on that confidence.

Rhea Ripley wants to mix it up with Jade Cargill in the future.

While Rhea Ripley won’t be wrestling matches any time soon, with an arm injury forcing her to vacate her WWE Woman’s World Championship as she gets treatment and her body back to full health, in an appearance on Cheap Heat live in Philadelphia during WrestleMania weekend, Mami noted that she would love nothing more than to wrestle Jade Cargill at a huge show in the future, with their bout worthy of a spot at a future “Showcase of the Immortals.”

“…I mean, it really excites me. It does. I love a good challenge, and Jade Cargill is someone that I think could bring that to me,” Rhea Ripley said via SE Scoops. The champion also spoke highly of her potential rival and what impresses her about Cargill. “… She looks the part. She acts the part. She talks the part. She dresses the part. She does everything correct, and when that day comes, I think that’s a big match feel. I don’t know when that will be, whether it is WrestleMania 41, WrestleMania 42, (WrestleMania)43, I’m not sure, but when that day comes, people are going to be talking about it, and people are going to be looking forward to it, so I’m also looking forward to it.”

Could Ripley and Cargill actually link up in a program for the future, with the duo throwing down at an event as high-profile as WrestleMania 41 or WrestleMania 42? Totally, Ripley is already one of the top performers in WWE, and Cargill looks primed to reach that level, too, if she can prove to be on par with performers like Bianca Belair and IYO SKY moving forward. If everyone can get healthy and produce in their current storylines, who knows, maybe the day will come when one is a champion, and the other can challenge for their strap at the biggest show of the year.