Jade Cargill, a fitness star with a collegiate sports background, debuted in All Elite Wrestling in November of 2020, not only was that her AEW arrival, but her professional wrestling debut as well. She didn't get the chance to work on the independent scene to hone her craft or polish her presentation. However, she had such a charismatic presence and the look of a star that many understandably assumed that she had major potential to be a drawing card for the organization.
Unfortunately, after more than two years in the organization and a lengthy undefeated streak, her status still hasn't changed much. Despite the push, Cargill is still a project rather than a finished product.
Don't get me wrong, that's not a jab at her skills, but rather an evaluation of where she stands now, nearly three months since her disappearance from television after she dropped the TBS title to Kris Statlander at Double or Nothing in May. It's less about Jade as a performer and more about how she was used in All Elite. You have to ask, should she have been put on television with literally no experience? In some ways, it was almost unfair to expect her to flourish under those circumstances, especially because her first exposure on AEW TV was the horrendous promo segment with Brandi Rhodes that was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Granted, she did very well given her lack of experience, but at the same time, at some point the level of expectations must extend beyond that for a talent to draw major money for an organization.
The way that Jade was booked initially with short one-sided matches was smart because it let her strong points shine, but didn't expose her inexperience. The flip side is, you can only do that for so long if you want a talent to progress to become a more versatile performer. It might've been a case of management didn't want to risk exposing any weaknesses she might've had or she simply wasn't ready for it, but for whatever reason, the playbook for Jade more or less remained the same throughout her entire AEW tenure. She always worked short television matches and even her pay-per-view bouts were only six or seven minutes. Maybe Tony Khan was too cautious, but Cargill just wasn't booked in any scenario where she could've been presented as a star the company wanted to showcase rather than a rookie they were looking to protect.
After she began an extended winning streak, there were naturally some comparisons to Bill Goldberg because he was another rookie that went on an undefeated streak in his prime, but beyond that, it was almost an unfair comparison. Goldberg went on a hot streak when the business was at a boom, and the eliminate of the industry was partially responsible for the stellar run he had at the top of WCW. The state of the business, with an extra spotlight put on the sport, allowed him to make the most of his incredible intensity and charismatic presentation. On the other end of the spectrum, Jade started in the sport during the pandemic when the crowd was stocked with extras from the Youtube shows.
As mentioned, despite the one-year title reign with the TBS championship that was more or less created for her and the 60-0 record prior to Double or Nothing, Jade still isn't necessarily a major star, mostly because she was kept in the same place, as far as the type of matches she was booked for. If that push didn't get her to the next level, what else can she do in AEW?
Make no mistake about it, getting her to drop the championship in an impromptu scenario was definitely the right call since it was done in a way that didn't diminish her status, and it gave the Statlander a boost for her return to television, but without any follow-up, was there truly a payoff for the undefeated streak? In the time since the title switch, Jade hasn't been on TV, and Statlander is more or less stagnant in a women's division that doesn't seem to have a solid direction.
This is why the report from The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer that Cargill's AEW status is unknown creates questions about her future in the sport.
Obviously, you have to take anything Meltzer says with a grain of salt, as that's the nature of internet rumors, but there might be something to the reports, considering that Jade hasn't been on television since she dropped the title. There are several possible reasons, but given the way she was used and the limited progress it yielded, I wouldn't be surprised if she exits the company. Keep in mind, Jade started when the organization was based at Daley's Place in Jacksonville for the pandemic tapings so there was a very limited schedule with limited travel. With the addition of Collision to the All Elite line-up, it's possible that Jade might not want to travel on a weekly basis. Another possibility is that she might've become disenfranchised with the sports entertainment business, which would be understandable, given the often political and carny nature of the industry.
She might simply be taking time off and then all of the speculation was moot.
If that is the case, it would almost be as though she'd return to AEW in a less prominent spot based on the limited role she had previously and that she wouldn't be the TBS champion. Hopefully, an injury didn't put her on the sidelines because the longer she's out of action, the more it could limit her progress.
Of course, any time there are rumors of a possible exit from an organization, there will be speculation of a jump to the other company. I have to say, I think if Jade Cargill signed a WWE deal, she would work very well within that system. Bianca Belair, Bayley, Iyo Sky, Asuka, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte are just some of the names that could be good opponents for her in the future. With AEW being a newer organization, there aren't nearly as many veterans and prehaps that was part of the reason that Jade made less progress because she worked with other athletes that had a similar level of experience that she did in the ring.
The bottom line is, Jade didn't really have major matches in AEW since the formula for her remained the same. At 31, she still has prime years ahead of her, but again, given her lack of progress as far as a solidified spot on the card and options outside of the wrestling business, it's very possible that she might just put the sport behind her. It's a very puzzling situation because Jade Cargill has a lot of talent and still has the potential to be a star, but was stagnant for the vast majority of her AEW tenure, which says a lot about the booking of the product.
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