Jade Cargill

Jade Nicole Cargill (born June 3, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand, and is a former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. She is also known for her career in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from 2020 to 2023, where she was the inaugural AEW TBS Champion; her single reign of 508 days is the longest for any AEW championship.

Early life
Cargill was born in Gifford, Florida; her father was a first generation immigrant from Jamaica. She began playing basketball at the age of six. She attended Sebastian River High School, Florida Air Academy, and Vero Beach High School, helping her teams to two basketball district championships. In 2009, Cargill played Amateur Athletic Union basketball for the Orlando Comets.

Cargill attended Jacksonville University, where she played basketball for the Jacksonville Dolphins as a forward/guard. In her sophomore year, she was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week. In her senior year, she led the Jacksonville Dolphins in rebounds and steals, and was named to the Atlantic Sun Preseason First Team. While at Jacksonville University, Cargill joined the Omicron Delta chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. After graduating from Jacksonville University with a social science degree, Cargill spent time in France, where she played basketball and modelled. Cargill later attained a master's degree in child psychology and worked with foster children as a child psychologist until 2019.

Training (2018–2021)
Interested in becoming a professional wrestler, Cargill was introduced to WWE veteran Mark Henry by a mutual friend. Taking advice from Henry, who she described as her "mentor", in 2018 Cargill attended the Face 2 Face professional wrestling school in Morrow, Georgia owned by Heath Slater, Ron Simmons, and Teddy Long. In April 2019, Cargill attended a WWE tryout at the WWE Performance Center. Subsequently, Cargill began training at AR Fox's WWA4 Academy. She then trained at Nightmare Factory under Q. T. Marshall and Dustin Rhodes. Sonjay Dutt and Bryan Danielson started coaching her when they arrived in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2021, at the request of AEW founder and owner Tony Khan.

All Elite Wrestling (2020–2023)
Cargill made her professional wrestling debut with AEW on the November 11, 2020, episode of Dynamite on TBS, interrupting Cody Rhodes, and teasing the arrival of Shaquille O'Neal. The next day, Tony Khan announced that Cargill had signed a multi-year contract with AEW. She began feuding with Rhodes and his wife Brandi, leading to a tag team match pitting her and O'Neal against Rhodes and Red Velvet on the March 3, 2021, episode of Dynamite; the match was won by Cargill and O'Neal. On the March 17 episode of Dynamite, Cargill wrestled her first singles match, defeating Dani Jordyn. Despite Matt Hardy offering his managerial services to Cargill, he was shunned in favor of Mark Sterling, which was announced on the May 28 episode of Dynamite. Over the following months, Cargill defeated opponents including Leyla Hirsch and Kiera Hogan. At All Out in September 2021, Cargill competed in a Casino Battle Royale to determine the number one contender to the AEW Women's World Championship that was won by Ruby Soho.

In October 2021, it was announced that Cargill would participate in a tournament to determine the inaugural AEW TBS Champion, and would be one of four women to receive a first round bye. Cargill went on to defeat Red Velvet in the quarterfinals on November 24 and Thunder Rosa in the semifinals on December 29. On January 5, 2022, she defeated Ruby Soho in the tournament final to become the TBS Champion. Cargill was named "Rookie of the Year" for 2021 by both Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Throughout early 2022, Cargill continued her undefeated streak and retained her title against numerous opponents, including The Bunny, Tay Conti, Willow Nightingale, and Leila Grey. In mid-April 2022, she formed her own stable called the Baddies, which consisted of her, Kiera Hogan and Red Velvet. At Double or Nothing, Stokely Hathaway became her new manager, replacing Sterling. In June 2022, Leila Grey became part of the Baddies, replacing an injured Red Velvet. Around the same time, Cargill began feuding with the debuting Athena. At All Out, Cargill squashed Athena in a match that lasted less than five minutes. After defeating other challengers such as Madison Rayne and Diamante, Cargill began a feud with Nyla Rose, who stole her TBS Championship belt. The feud between the two culminated at Full Gear, where Cargill defeated Rose to retain her title. On January 5, 2023, Cargill reached the one-year mark as TBS Champion. The following week, she became the longest-reigning champion in AEW's history at 373 days, surpassing Hikaru Shida's 372-day reign as AEW Women's World Champion.

Cargill's reign as TBS Champion lasted until Double or Nothing in May 2023. At the event, Cargill made her entrance as her line sisters from the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority performed a dance routine to "Pretty Girls Walk" by Big Boss Vette. Cargill defeated Taya Valkyrie in a scheduled title defense, before she lost the title in an open challenge to the returning Kris Statlander in less than 50 seconds, ending both her reign (at 508 days) and her 60-match unbeaten streak. After a hiatus of several months, Cargill returned on the September 9 episode of Collision, attacking Statlander. On the September 15 episode of Rampage, Cargill lost to Statlander in a title rematch. This marked Cargill's final match in AEW.

WWE (2023–present)
Following Cargill's departure from AEW, she reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida in September 2023. Later that month, WWE announced that Cargill had signed a multi-year contract and had begun training at the Performance Center. She was WWE's first signing under TKO Group Holdings. Cargill made her first appearance on WWE programming during the Fastlane pre-show on October 7, where she was shown arriving at the arena and was met by WWE chief content officer Triple H. She subsequently made brief appearances on Raw, NXT, and SmackDown, teasing which brand she would join.

In January 2024, Cargill made her in-ring debut for WWE at the Royal Rumble, competing in the women's Royal Rumble match. She entered the match at number 28, eliminating Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, and Naomi before being eliminated by the number 30 entrant, Liv Morgan. Cargill was subsequently assigned to the SmackDown brand. She made her debut on the March 29 episode of SmackDown, saving Naomi and Bianca Belair from an attack by Damage CTRL. At WrestleMania XL, Cargill, Naomi and Belair defeated Damage CTRL in a six-woman tag team match when Cargill pinned Dakota Kai. At Backlash France, Cargill and Belair defeated the Kabuki Warriors to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Cargill then participated in the 2024 Queen of the Ring tournament; she defeated Piper Niven in the first round but was eliminated after losing to Nia Jax in the quarterfinals by disqualification. At King and Queen of the Ring, Cargill and Belair successfully defended their titles against Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell. At Clash at the Castle: Scotland, Cargill and Belair lost the titles to Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, ending their reign at 42 days.

Professional wrestling style and persona
Cargill wrestles in a powerhouse style. Her signature moves include a bicycle kick and a chickenwing facebuster which she calls Jaded. While in AEW, she was nicknamed "That Bitch".

Cargill has credited female wrestler Chyna and X-Men character Storm as her inspirations. She has also cited Jacqueline Moore and Jazz as being among her favorite wrestlers.

Personal life
Cargill met her partner, former Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, in 2015; the couple have a daughter together. In March 2023, Cargill and Phillips were announced as owners of the Texas Smoke, the fourth franchise of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF), based in Austin, Texas. Cargill's cousin Peter Cargill played for the Jamaica national football team in the 1980s and 1990s.

Championships and accomplishments



 * All Elite Wrestling
 * AEW TBS Championship (1 time, inaugural)
 * TBS Championship Tournament (2022)
 * AEW Dynamite Award (1 time)
 * Breakout Star – Female (2022)
 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * Ranked No. 5 of the top 150 female wrestlers in the PWI Women's 150 in 2022
 * Rookie of the Year (2021)
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Rookie of the Year (2021)
 * WWE
 * WWE Women's Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bianca Belair