We've been hearing rumblings about this for a while, but it's now 100% official: former AEW star Jade Cargill is heading to WWE!
Since AEW launched, we've seen a number of WWE Superstars make the leap to Tony Khan's company, including Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley), Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson), Paige (Saraya), Rusev (Miro), Chris Jericho, and Adam Cole.
Some have wanted a fresh start and others simply hoped to escape Vince McMahon's often widely criticised booking decisions. In terms of defections from AEW to WWE, the biggest was obviously former AEW EVP Cody Rhodes.
He's been pushed as a main event talent ever since and, with a number of AEW contracts now nearing their end, the expectation is that the likes of MJF and Ricky Starks could soon take their shot at the big time by signing with WWE.
Needless to say, we expect them to keep a very close eye on how Cargill is treated which, so far, is like a huge star. WWE broke the news through ESPN and later shared a short statement on their website which reads:
"WWE today announced it has signed Jade Cargill to a multi-year contract. The news was first reported by ESPN."
Cargill, a standout performer who has earned accolades as an industry-renowned talent, will begin training today at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando."
AEW's longest-reigning TBS Champion, Cargill had a 508-day undefeated streak and was involved in a number of big angles. Among them was a debut which saw her and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal face Cody Rhodes (who mentored her at his Nightmare Factory in Georgia) and Red Velvet.
Standing at 5'10" with just shy of 1 million Instagram followers, Cargill is clearly destined for big things and can become a household name in WWE. As of now, it's unclear whether she'll be part of NXT or make the leap straight to the main roster, though several outlets have reported it will be the latter.
After all, we find it hard to believe Cargill will be happy having cut her teen in AEW for the past few years, only to then spend time as part of a developmental brand. With any luck, we'll have more details to share with you soon, but we'd guess the former AEW star will make a huge splash when she debuts!