Jade Cargill has responded to the “negativity” she has received during her time in WWE by recalling Roman Reigns‘ early struggles.
The 33-year-old has been booked strongly since debuting at the Royal Rumble in February 2024, holding the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships and becoming Queen of the Ring. But she has encountered criticism en route to the main event scene, where she most recently lost to Tiffany Stratton at SummerSlam.
“Now People Love Him” – Jade Cargill Makes Roman Reigns Comparison
Jade Cargill isn’t the first and won’t be the last WWE superstar to find themselves the subject of heated debates among fans on social media. The wrestling community can be extremely toxic, especially if wrestlers make the switch from AEW to WWE or vice versa.
The former AEW TBS Champion opened up on her meteoric rise in WWE and compared it to Bianca Belair’s. She said on The Babyfaces Podcast:
“I’m four years and some change now in this industry and I think the other person I think had the less amount of time was Bianca (Belair) and I think she was 11 years in the game, and people want things so quick and so fast because I’ve been pushed to the moon because I’m gonna be a star and people see that.”
Cargill was presented as a top star from the moment she set foot in the company, with a similar theme to her iconic AEW one used for her entrance, along with smoke to indicate a storm had arrived. She was immediately partnered with Belair, one of the most popular superstars in the company.
Belair has often been the women’s division’s answer to Roman Reigns, who took over as the face of WWE during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. He managed to get the Tribal Chief over and became one of the biggest stars in the industry, but he wasn’t an immediate success as a singles star.
Fans felt the ‘Big Dog’ was pushed too soon, with Vince McMahon looking for his next John Cena. That was until a heel turn and character change worked wonders, and Cargill alluded to this:
“People used to say stuff about Roman (Reigns). Now, everybody loves Roman. People wanna see Roman more.”
Cargill has a long way to go in reaching Reigns’ superstar status, but she’s worked and trained with some of the best in the business. None more so than one of the Head of the Table’s former WrestleMania opponents.
Jade Cargill: Bryan Danielson Thought My Development Was ‘Wild’
Some wrestlers manage to get themselves over organically, none more so than Bryan Danielson (known as Daniel Bryan in WWE). His Yes Movement forced WWE to push him as a WrestleMania main eventer.
Danielson helped train Cargill during the start of her in-ring career, and the American Dragon was impressed with how quickly she learned the ropes:
“I’ve had people like Bryan Danielson who literally was like, ‘It took me seven years to feel comfortable. How are you doing this? This is wild. I used to go out and sing the anthem to feel comfortable.”
Many will argue that Danielson is one of, if not the best, professional wrestlers in history, and learning from the former seven-time WWE champion can only benefit. But once you reach a company such as WWE or AEW, it’s up to you to make your mark and deal with the criticism that comes with it:
“I don’t know. I’m just out here doing it.’ I always had that thing about me so, you just can’t let people get you down. That’s society. Negativity feeds on negativity.”
Cargill has already appeared at WrestleMania twice, teaming with Belair and Naomi last year before losing to the latter this year. Her SummerSlam match against Stratton may have ended in defeat, but challenging for the WWE Women’s Championship speaks volumes about how highly WWE’s top brass rates her.
