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Jade Cargill Vows Next Time Will Be Different Now That ‘Practice’ World Title Run Over (Exclusive)

Jade Cargill just lost her WWE Women's Championship to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 42, but she's already thinking about her next run with the title.
Rick Ucchino|
Jade Cargill
Jade Cargill | WWE

Jade Cargill may no longer be the WWE Women's Champion, but her loss to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 42 has only made her hungrier now that she's had a taste of what it's like to be on top of the SmackDown women's division.

A little over 12 hours after her loss to Rhea, which was arguably one of the best performances of her WWE career, Cargill was among the superstars in attendance at the post-WrestleMania media brunch hosted by Netflix.

As we both baked in the hot Las Vegas sun outside the Fontainebleau hotel, Jade spoke about her mindset heading into that performance with Ripley. She told The Takedown on SI that she absolutely felt ready for that prime-time spot on the 'Grandest Stage of Them All', recalling a lesson she learned prior to her first-ever professional wrestling match in 2021.

Jade Cargill
Jade Cargill | WWE

"I've been around superstars my entire life. That first match [in AEW], I was working with Cody Rhodes, and I was working with Shaquille O'Neal," Cargill said. "Something that always sticks with me is that I asked [Shaq] if he was nervous. He was like, 'Nervous? I can go out there, I could trip, fall, whatever. I'm still gonna be me. I'm still a star.'"

Rhea Ripley has developed a reputation for being one of the greatest women's performers in WrestleMania history, if not the greatest already.

With The Nightmare having already competed in critically acclaimed world title fights against the likes of Asuka, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, IYO SKY and Bianca Belair, many believed that all the pressure in this particular match fell on the shoulders of Cargill.

Jade heard the chatter, understood the assignment and was confident in her ability to deliver.

"She can't go out there and have that stellar match if I don't put on [a show] as well. Rhea has always had amazing dance partners. She's worked with Charlotte, she's worked with Becky... It takes two to tango. I wasn't nervous last year. I had a match with the great Naomi. I thought we had a superb match in itself. It wasn't a title match, so obviously it's not gonna have as much buzz around it, but I don't think that this was any different. I just had a title. And a title doesn't make me, I make the title."

Cargill's 'practice run' with the WWE Women's Championship leaves her hungry for more

Jade Cargill
Jade Cargill | WWE

Cargill's first reign as WWE Women's Champion came to an end after 169 days. Injuries to a number of stars in the SmackDown women's locker room likely played a factor, but Jade ended up with just one successful title defense. It came against Jordynne Grace back in February.

While it certainly felt great to wear the gold, Jade told The Takedown on SI that her run with the title didn't quite live up to her expectations.

"I wanted to wrestle more. I wanted more competitive matches. I wanted more grit. I really wanted to sink my teeth into whatever was being thrown at me. That's all I wanted with my reign, but we didn't get that as much as I wanted, and that's fine. But now that I had a practice run, I'm gonna call it a practice run, I'm gonna say next time is gonna be totally different." 

In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 42, Cargill began to have those more competitive match-ups. She had to earn wins against Michin and IYO SKY, and we now also know that she can go toe-to-toe with Rhea Ripley.

This Friday's episode of SmackDown is in Fort Worth, Texas, and the new WWE Women's Champion is expected to be in attendance. We may have to wait another week to see if a rematch with Cargill is in the works, however, as Jade is expected to be in Cincinnati, Ohio this weekend. Her husband, former MLB player Brandon Phillips, is being inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

The ceremony is not until Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park, so it's possible that Cargill could be at both events.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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