Jade Cargill Says WWE Was Worried About How Bad She Wanted To Be A Pro Wrestler

Jade Cargill has certainly been making quite the positive impression in AEW. She is breaking both boundaries and records. She is of course the first ever TBS Champion, and the history she plans on making surely won’t stop at just that. She recently recalled her WWE tryout and the contract they offered her and why she decided to reject it in favor of a run with AEW instead.

It was while she was a guest on Talk Is Jericho that Cargill went deeply into the WWE tryout she had, the contract the company offered her, and just what it was that rubbed her the wrong way in reference to her WWE experience. She also specifically went into what it was that made AEW a much more attractive place to wrestle.

“They (WWE) were like, ‘we want you. We’re going to sign you, but we’re kind of worried about how bad you want this. We’re not just some reality show.’ I didn’t know anything about a reality show. I was so far away from knowing what was happening at that time with wrestling. I was like, ‘what?’ ‘We’re not just glitter and lights and camera. Also, you have a child. What are you going to do?’

At the time, my daughter was two. ‘What are you going to do about your daughter?’ Thankfully, because I have money, we can pay a tutor to help being that we have to relocate to Orlando. I can do that. I can have a 24-hour nanny to take care of that as well. They were like grilling me about it and I was kind of put off. ‘My spouse can travel with me wherever we go, this could be easy for me. I thought about all the precautions and have been warned about the travel. I get it.’

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(They) said, ‘Yeah, I get what you’re saying, but this is your family now. I want you to know that.’ ‘I get it and understand that. I thought about it and I want it. I’ve been training for this and this is what I want.’ ‘Alright, we’ll see.’ They sent the contract.”

Despite the interest from WWE, the bad impression was clearly made on Cargill, so when the AEW opportunity came about, it was like a breath of fresh air for the athlete. Speaking to Jericho, she said:

“AEW came about. I came here, got the experience and I felt calm. You and I, we had this conversation in the car and it made me feel at ease about the decision I wanted to make. I didn’t have to relocate. I felt at home. I could call the owner of our company and talk to him. He knew my name and purpose. He knew that I wanted to do this.

That mattered to me. I wasn’t just a number. He knew exactly who I was. That made me feel comfortable. Yes, the other company was pissed off that they sent me a 100 page contract, but I made the best decision for my family and for myself. Look at me, I don’t think I would be anywhere close…I know I made the best decision, and you made me make the best decision.”

Of the differences between the two companies, Cargill also had quite a bit to say on the matter. She told Jericho what she felt was wrong for her with the then and current WWE setup, and what’s favorable to her about AEW’s modus operandi.

“Cookie-cutter system, that’s what I didn’t want. I didn’t want to be a number. One thing that stood out to me was that I could call and text TK and he knows who I am. That mattered. I’ve always been a believer and I’ve always been an underdog. I love being the underdog and we’re hungry…That’s why I came here. The locker room, I felt at ease.

I didn’t feel like it was a bullying system or athlete vs. wrestling type of system. It felt natural and easy. There’s more security. There’s a safety net here. I know I made the best decision.”

Cargill is a former high school basketball player and fitness model. She was trained in pro wrestling at Richard Borger’s Face 2 Face Wrestling School at the insistence of her mentor, Mark Henry, and trained further at The Nightmare Factory under QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes.

H/T Fightful