With AEW’s prodigy Jade Cargill now on board with WWE, her stars could align with the current Women’s Champion for some timeless tussles.
If there was any doubt that WWE has big plans for its newest female signee, Jade Cargill, those should be erased. The fanfare she’s received is like none that many more proven talents have gotten upon their arrival to the promotion. Ms. Jade was truly welcomed with open arms by the folks in McMahonland, and they made sure to let the world know about her impending in-ring debut.
Anyone who doubts that Cargill is going to be pushed to the moon only needs to see the way she stepped out of her vehicle at Fastlane, looking like a Hollywood celeb, with Triple H waiting there to escort her inside the building.
Meanwhile, the fastest-rising Superstar in that same promotion’s women’s division, Rhea Ripley, has perhaps more than any other performer in the company – male or female. Playing the role of the vixen behind the villainous Judgment Day faction, she’s cheered by the fans regardless of the fact that she’s ‘playing’ a heel.
In what has become the hottest group in the promotion, Ripley stands above even her male counterparts and has become one of the most dominant figures in the WWE Universe. The audience has taken notice, and they are catapulting her to mega-star status every time she walks through the curtain.
Much like Jade Cargill, Rhea Ripley is a rare combination of size and power
In fact, she reminds many observers of WWE legend Chyna, but her in-ring skills are better, and she’s far superior on the microphone. And with all due respect to the late, great Eighth Wonder of the World, even NXT leader (and Chyna’s running mate in DX) Shawn Michaels says Ripley will be the better performer in the long run.
What a strange contrast in styles, and even paths so stardom, for both Rhea Ripley and Jade Cargill.
While Rhea went through the WWE system, spending almost four years working in NXt and eventually winning the Women’s Championship there, Jade is getting the carpet rolled out for her. Ripley sports a gothic, pseudo-dominatrix look. On the flip side, Cargill has all the makings of hip-hop royalty, right down to her Versace shades.
Basically, Jade Cargill looks like she spends a lot of time in a penthouse suite, while Rhea Ripley appears to be the kind of woman who might be down the street… in the middle of a barroom brawl.
Ripley is a dark angel, while Jade Cargill represents a shining superhero type. Right down to their images and apparel, the two femme fatales are just about as opposite as you can be. And that’s what drives a great storyline and a terrific long-term rivalry.
It’s the same type of dynamic that played into the Trish Stratus vs. Lita feud and the intriguing series of matches between Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair. The idea that, in any good story, having two equal but sharply different characters at odds is something that we all want to naturally see.
Jade Cargill Signs Multi-Year WWE Deal
Who will come out on top? The polished princess or the pitch-dark punk? It’s an angle for the ages and one we have seen before. But in the case of these two outstanding female entertainers, their roles can be interchangeable. They are equally capable of playing both the hunter and the hunted. That’s what makes a potential pairing of the two in a storyline so fascinating.
With their personalities – and the fact that both women are basically ‘tweeners’ – they could have a long-term rivalry, where they both switch from babyface to heel to suit the story.
The fans seem to be invested and intrigued when it comes to both Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley
One is a homegrown talent, while the other is being treated like a Major League free agent signing. They paint the perfect shadow of one another – a yin and a yang.
If all goes well, and the two women grow together as performers, Triple H and WWE could be looking at almost a decade of big matches and championship memories. That would be great for the future of women’s wrestling, and what’s best for business.
Ryan Boman is the author of the 2023 book, Pop Music & Peanut Butter: A Collection of Essays about Embracing Life with Laughter & Love, and has covered pro sports and wrestling for 30 years. Follow him on social media @RyanKBoman
