3 Women Who Could Dethrone Jade Cargill other than Kris Statlander

Kris Statlander is, in all likelihood, going to be the woman to beat Jade Cargill for the TBS Championship and end her years-long undefeated streak. As equal as anyone can be to Cargill in terms of power, and with more experience and fluidity in-ring, Statlander seems the obvious choice to many to be the 1 in 53-1 (at the time of writing.)

But Statlander is, unfortunately, still out with an injury. Just as Statlander was starting to build momentum in the summer of last year, she suffered another injury, one from which she still hasn’t returned, and if her Twitter is anything to go by, won’t be returning for a while yet.

So, with Stat out of the picture for the time being, who could fill her spot and defeat Jade Cargill? I’m glad you asked. Here are three possible contenders to be the one to vanquish the longest-reigning champion in AEW history.

Emi Sakura

Now, I know this is a long shot. Believe me, I do. Emi was off AEW’s main shows for around 3 years, serving more as a coach to younger talent and a gateway through which Joshi talent could dip their toes in the American scene. But if her recent World Championship Eliminator showdown against Jamie Hayter proved anything, (other than the fact that Hayter does indeed hit hard,) it’s that at 46, Emi can still go.

TBS championship matches are often labeled the worst on the card, due to the relative inexperience of Cargill leading to less-than-smooth exchanges of offensive maneuvers at times. What better way to get that stigma off of the title than to put it on a 27-year veteran? Sakura can have a good match with anyone (as her Choco Pro appearances prove) and any of her opponents, including the one to eventually dethrone her, would get the rub of mixing it up with someone described by Chris Jericho as a “living legend” of wrestling.

Ruby Soho

It feels possible, doesn’t it? Back from injury and fresh off winning her feud against Tay Melo, Ruby Soho could be an excellent pick and make the TBS championship feel fresh again.

As WWE has no doubt had to contend with over the course of Roman Reigns’ 900+ day reign, making dominance over an extended period of time interesting is no easy task. With the title of Cargill, and onto a perennial underdog like Soho, AEW could tell a story of Ruby defending her title honorably, working hard as she always has, and defending against tougher and tougher opponents.

Reigns like that have worked for the likes of Darby Allin, on multiple occasions, so it’s hard to see why a Soho reign of the same ilk wouldn’t do wonders for her and for the title.

Willow Nightingale

Speaking of Soho, her recent tag partner, Willow Nightingale, could also be just the right fit for the TBS title. The gal with the big hair and big energy has been inexplicably absent from AEW programming in recent weeks, but she remains incredibly over with the fans, and though she’s challenged Jade before, now is arguably the time to give her another shot.

She’s incredibly strong (that Doctor Bomb isn’t easy to pull off) and smooth within the ropes more often than not, and more importantly than that, she’s fun. As her video entrance says, nothing matters, smile anyway! She’s been the Steamboat-esque tag partner, she’s been the enhancement talent, now is the time for Willow as champion. She’s versatile, skilled, and entertaining. What more can you ask for from a champion?