Tony Khan opens up about his negotiations with Jade Cargill prior to her AEW departure.
Jade Cargill had been absent since AEW Double or Nothing 2023, but she returned on the September 9 episode of AEW Collision to set up a rematch with TBS Champion Kris Statlander. Statlander then beat her to retain the title on the September 15 episode of AEW Rampage. After the match was taped on September 13, Fightful Select reported that Cargill was finishing up with AEW, and it was believed that she was heading to WWE. WWE confirmed that they signed Cargill on September 26.
During the AEW WrestleDream post-show media scrum, Khan was asked about the road up to Cargill's departure and whether he knew that "this" was the game plan. He discussed their contract negotiations and stated that he made two big offers, but they didn't get the deal done.
"I knew Jade’s contract had been ticking down and we were talking about a new contract and I was very interested in Jade coming back and we were having a negotiation. I made a very big offer and I thought it was a very fair offer. I think she was considering it, and then she asked for a bigger offer and then I went up again, and I kind of thought that was going to do it. Then, it didn’t, which I was surprised because to be honest, I came up to a number that was higher than her original ask. I don’t know what I would have had to do at that point. I was a little surprised. I did really hope that Jade would be back. I think I tried to handle it, when we were down to the nitty gritty and we were down to the final couple of weeks and we still hadn’t agreed to something, then it was at the point where I said, ‘if you aren’t going to stay, I’m going to give you the best possible exit.’ I have only good things to say about Jade. I really enjoyed working with her. She was a great part of AEW, she is always welcome here, I tried to give her the best possible send off I could. The classiest send off I’ve ever seen in wrestling was, at the time, was when Ric Flair left the WWF. He did a match with Mr. Perfect, who was a natural person for him to wrestle, and that was it, he was gone. They didn’t do anything to embarrass him or mess him up, they let him leave, and he was still Ric Flair. He wrestled the match against the person he should have, finished up and left with not only his dignity and probably a better position than he came in. That’s what I tried to do. I wanted to give her the best possible send off," Khan said.
Khan continued by stating that he ties to make AEW a great home for wrestlers, whether they're coming or going, as he aims to treat people well. He made it clear that he respects and values Jade, so he wanted to give her a big send-off. Khan emphasized that he wished Cargill the best, and she would always be welcome back.
"The natural thing was, there was no rematch against Kris Statlander, so I had her do a run in knowing it would set up the match where she would likely finish up unless we came to an agreement at the last minute, which I was really still hoping would happen, down to the last minute. I only have positive things to say. I thought I had a good plan where, ‘if this is it, that’s where we’ll finish up.’ When she did the segment where she returned and did the run in, Tony Schiavone came to the monitor as my desk and said, ‘you’re a classy guy, boss.’ I think he meant it, it was a classy way to send her off. I try to make this a great home for wrestlers and I want people to see whether you’re coming in or coming out, we’re going to treat you well and I respect and value Jade, so I wanted to give her a big send off. I wish her the best and she would always be welcome back if she wanted to comeback," Khan said.
Fightful Select has reported more information about Jade Cargill's AEW departure and her signing with WWE.
Check out Cargill's comments about signing with WWE here.
Click here to catch up on our coverage of AEW WrestleDream. For a full review, check out the post-show podcast on our YouTube channel.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
