Former AEW Wrestler Jade Cargill Makes WWE Debut at Royal Rumble — Did She Win?

Keisha Hatchett
·2 min read
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The She-Hulk has arrived in WWE!

Former AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill made her WWE in-ring debut on Saturday as the 28th entrant in the women’s Royal Rumble match during the titular premium live event.

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Cargill first took Nia Jax out with a Samoan drop and tossed her over the top rope before setting her sights on both Becky Lynch and Naomi (who made her WWE return at the Royal Rumble after a year and a half away). Cargill then eliminated Naomi, remaining in the final three alongside Bayley and returning wrestler Liv Morgan. Bayley took out both Morgan and Cargill, winning this year’s Royal Rumble for the women and securing her spot at WrestleMania.

Cargill wrestled her last AEW match on the Sept. 15 edition of Rampage, losing against the then TBS Champion Kris Statlander. After the bout, the pair tearfully embraced, and Cargill was subsequently removed from the roster on AEW’s website.

The ex-champ made her official AEW debut on the November 11, 2020 episode of Dynamite, where she interrupted Cody Rhodes to tease NBA great Shaquille O’Neal’s arrival. She and O’Neal later defeated Rhodes and his tag team partner Red Velvet during her in-ring debut on the March 3, 2021 edition of Dynamite.

In January 2022, Cargill defeated Ruby Soho to become the inaugural TBS Champion and held onto the title for 508 days — the longest reign of any AEW champion — before losing to Taya Valkyrie at the pay-per-view Double or Nothing this past May.

During an appearance on the Talk Is Jericho podcast in 2022, Cargill shared that she previously turned down a WWE contract after attending a tryout in 2019.

“They wanted me. The problem they found that they had mixed feelings about, was that I don’t need wrestling… A lot of people, especially at the tryout, they need this,” she explained to host Chris Jericho.

“I came [to AEW], I got the experience and I felt calm… I could call the owner of our company and talk to him… I wasn’t just a number… So, that made me feel comfortable. And yes, the other company was pissed off that they sent me this 100-page contract, but I made the best decision for my family, and I made the best decision for myself.”

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