Jade Cargill has been wrestling for less than a year and is already the AEW TBS Women's Champion.
Cargill comes from the world of basketball and her athletic background eventually led to her to the world of wrestling and a tryout with WWE.
The tryout turned into a full-blown offer from the company.
"They called me back. I'm not going to name the person whose hand I shook, but they wanted me," Cargill told Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho.
Cargill continued, explaining why things didn't work out between her and WWE.
"The problem they found, that they had mixed feelings about, was that...I don't need wrestling. I don't need to do this. A lot of people, especially at the tryout, they need this. This is how they feed their families and they've been doing this forever. For them to get to this point, they would give anything and everything to do it. They were like, 'we want you. We're going to sign you, but we're kind of worried about how bad you want this. We're not just some reality show.' I didn't know anything about a reality show. I was so far away from knowing what was happening at that time with wrestling. I was like, 'what?' 'We're not just glitter and lights and camera. Also, you have a child. What are you going to do?' At the time, my daughter was two. 'What are you going to do about your daughter?' Thankfully, because I have money, we can pay a tutor to help being that we have to relocate to Orlando. I can do that. I can have a 24-hour nanny to take care of that as well. They were like grilling me about it and I was kind of put off. 'My spouse can travel with me wherever we go, this could be easy for me. I thought about all the precautions and have been warned about the travel. I get it.' He said, 'Yeah, I get what you're saying, but this is your family now. I want you to know that.' 'I get it and understand that. I thought about it and I want it. I've been training for this and this is what I want.' 'Alright, we'll see.' They sent the contract, they wanted me to do it," she said.
Cargill opted to join AEW instead of WWE and a conversation with Chris Jericho helped.
"AEW came about. I came here, got the experience and I felt calm. You and I, we had this conversation in the car and it made me feel at ease about the decision I wanted to make. I didn't have to relocate. I felt at home. I could call the owner of our company and talk to him. He knew my name and purpose. He knew that I wanted to do this. That mattered to me. I wasn't just a number. He knew exactly who I was. That made me feel comfortable. Yes, the other company was pissed off that they sent me a 100 page contract, but I made the best decision for my family and for myself. Look at me, I don't think I would be anywhere close...I know I made the best decision, and you made me make the best decision," she said about Jericho.
Jericho noted that he thought Cargill would be perfect in AEW compared to WWE as they could offer her the same training but in a different system and environment.
"Cookie-cutter system, that's what I didn't want. I didn't want to be a number. One thing that stood out to me was that I could call and text TK and he knows who I am. That mattered. I've always been a believer and I've always been an underdog. I love being the underdog and we're hungry. I want to be part of something that is hungry and wants to change things. That's why I came here. The locker room, I felt at ease. I didn't feel like it was a bullying system or athlete vs. wrestling type of system. It felt natural and easy," she said.
Cargill continued by saying, "There's more security. There's a safety net here. [EJ Nduka] gave up everything he had, had a newborn baby, and got cut with no warning. He gave everything. I remember when I told him I was thinking about coming [to AEW], he couldn't believe it. 'Why would you ever choose [WWE] over [AEW]?' You don't understand. I feel good here. I don't want to be cut or have to worry. I feel like somebody and I don't want to be a number. He was so for this company and look at him. I'm like, damn, that sucks. You were all about this company, we talked about this, you tried to convince me to come over, you just had a baby, your wife passed the bar in Florida for your career. It sucks. I know I made the best decision."
Cargill is undefeated in AEW, racking up a 25-0 record with victories over the likes to Ruby Soho, Thunder Rosa, and Anna Jay.
In an interview with Chris Mueller of Bleacher Report, Cargill gave her goals for 2022. You can find her full comments by clicking here.
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