Highlights
- Jade Cargill left AEW for WWE, and Tony Khan reveals details of his efforts to keep her, including making a big offer.
- Khan wanted to give Cargill the best possible send-off and respects her as a wrestler. He wishes her the best and says she's always welcome back.
- WWE's treatment of Cargill shows they plan to push her to the top quickly, unlike AEW where she remained in the midcard. A potential return to AEW in the future is not ruled out.
Today's big news might be Adam "Edge" Copeland leaving WWE for AEW, but last week all the wrestling talk was about the former TBS Champion, Jade Cargill, officially jumping ship from AEW to WWE. AEW President Tony Khan hadn't said much about Cargill's departure, but that changed last night at the WrestleDream media scrum. There, Khan went into great detail about how he tried to keep Jade Cargill in AEW.
"I knew Jade’s contract had been ticking down, and we were talking about a new contract, and I was very interested in Jade coming back, and we were having a negotiation. I made a very big offer and I thought it was a very fair offer. I think she was considering it, and then she asked for a bigger offer, and then I went up again, and I kind of thought that was going to do it. 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. I don’t know what I would have had to do at that point. I was a little surprised. I did really hope that Jade would be back. I think I tried to handle it, when we were down to the nitty gritty, and we were down to the final couple of weeks, and we still hadn’t agreed to something, then it was at the point where I said, ‘if you aren’t going to stay, I’m going to give you the best possible exit.’ I have only good things to say about Jade. I really enjoyed working with her. She was a great part of AEW, she is always welcome here, I tried to give her the best possible send off I could.
"The natural thing was, there was no rematch against Kris Statlander, so I had her do a run in knowing it would set up the match where she would likely finish up unless we came to an agreement at the last minute, which I was really still hoping would happen, down to the last minute. I only have positive things to say... I try to make this a great home for wrestlers and I want people to see whether you’re coming in or coming out, we’re going to treat you well, and I respect and value Jade, so I wanted to give her a big send off. I wish her the best and she would always be welcome back if she wanted to comeback." (h/t Fightful)
RELATED: WWE Can't Afford To Mess Up Jade Cargill
Will WWE Use Jade Cargill Better Than AEW Did?
The biggest criticism of Jade Cargill in AEW was that Tony Khan seldom booked her properly. He had a star on his hands, yet he kept her in the midcard for her entire run, never moving her up for a chance at the elite women and the AEW Women's Championship.
With how WWE announced Jade Cargill's signing, treating her like a megastar, it shows that WWE is going to push her to the top and fast. As for Cargill going back to AEW one day, never say never. Who ever thought we'd see Edge there?
