Jade Cargill: Bianca Belair & I are going to ‘make magic’ in WWE

Last Saturday’s WWE women’s Royal Rumble match featured a lot of surprises including the return of Naomi, TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace making her surprise debut, and the official WWE in-ring debut of Jade Cargill. 

The inaugural AEW TBS Champion entered at number 28, lasting a total of eleven minutes and three seconds and finding herself in the final three participants. Her notable moments in the Rumble included eliminating Nia Jax, Naomi and Becky Lynch (with help from Naomi).

Following the Rumble, Cargill attended the premiere of Bianca Belair and Montez Ford’s new Hulu reality TV show “Love & WWE,” walking the red carpet alongside her husband former and former MLB player Brandon Phillips. 

I caught up with Cargill during that event which you can watch above on YouTube. Here’s some highlights.

Making her WWE in-ring debut

Last September, WWE officially announced that Cargill had signed a multi-year deal. She began making backstage appearances on multiple shows including WWE Fastlane, Raw, SmackDown and even NXT — all while not making her actual in-ring debut.

Then, the Rumble moment happened.

“…I was just ecstatic. The locker room showed me nothing but love. I was a little nervous, but once I heard the sound of the WWE Universe, I felt like I was undeniable.”

As mentioned above, Cargill eliminated Jax in another big moment for her — one she said was “something big” for the division.

“I think Nia Jax is one of the strongest women in the locker room. So for me to just go out there and dominate her and eliminate her, I felt like I was doing something big for the women’s division.”

During the many TV appearances Cargill made when she first joined WWE, she had confrontations with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. However, we had not see her meet eye-to-eye with Bianca Belair until the Royal Rumble when both women found themselves across the ring from each other — a tease for something bigger down the road.

“We’re gonna see what happens. I think I would rather work with the great Bianca Belair. I think she’s phenomenal, I think she is great a representation for the African American community and we’re gonna make magic whether we work against each other or together. We’re gonna make magic.”

It is still not known which brand Cargill will officially be part of even though she appeared on Friday’s SmackDown and met with Nick Aldis.

How AEW prepared her for WWE

Prior to signing with WWE, Cargill was in AEW from 2020 through the fall of 2023.

During her run there, she became the inaugural and longest running AEW TBS Champion with an epic winning streak, one that lasted 508 days. 

“I felt like I would have never gotten a better start other than AEW. That’s me being very honest. I think the veterans in the locker room prepared me for the grander stage at WWE. I got a great experience there, being thrown in the water and being able to swim and survive prepared me for the big stage that WWE has. The locker room, the phenomenal staff that WWE has, I mean they have a front office like no other, I am just excited to be here.”