Tony Khan says AEW made Jade Cargill two ‘very big’ contract offers

Tony Khan says he tried to re-sign Jade Cargill and even offered her an amount “higher than her original ask.” 

The AEW president was asked about Cargill leaving his company and signing with WWE during the WrestleDream post-show media scrum on Sunday. Khan says he was hopeful AEW would be able to re-sign Cargill but when it became clear they wouldn’t, he wanted to give her the best sendoff possible. 

“We were talking about a new contract and I was very interested in Jade coming back and we were having a negotiation,” Khan said. “I made a very big offer and I thought it was a very fair offer and I think she was considering it and then she asked for a bigger offer and then I went up again. I kind of thought that was going to do it and 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. So, I don’t know what I would have had to do at that point.”

“I think I tried to handle it when we were down to the nitty gritty and we’re in the final couple of weeks and we still hadn’t agreed to something then it was at the point I said, ‘Well if you’re not going to stay, I want to give you the best possible exit.'” 

Khan reiterated that the door is open for Cargill to return in the future if she chooses to. 

“I have only good things to say about Jade. I really enjoyed working with her. She was a great part of AEW, she’s always welcome here. I tried to give her the best possible sendoff I could,” Khan continued.  

Cargill’s WWE signing was announced last week. She addressed her decision to leave AEW and join WWE during an appearance on The Ringer podcast. 

“I want to create a legacy. I want to be in the Hall of Fame. I want to wrestle with the best women in the world. I mean, there is no grander stage than this stage. The opportunities are endless for this company. It’s a no-brainer. It was very welcoming. I didn’t have any second thoughts about it at all. It was just an easy choice. It wasn’t easy, but it was easy,” Cargill said.