WrestleMania 41 is taking shape, with several matches being speculated and two title challengers coming out of the Royal Rumble. One name that has been missing from WWE programming the last few months is Jade Cargill. The former AEW TBS Champion has been off television for three months. However, there are growing rumors about a return before WrestleMania.
PWInsider reported this week that Cargill has been at the WWE Performance Center training and that WWE expects her return to occur before WrestleMania. While the nature of her injury hasn’t been reported, she’s currently training with the hopes that she can get cleared to return to action.
Cargill was effectively written off television three months ago when she was attacked backstage, left lying on the hood of a car. There was a period of back-and-forth in the wrestling media about whether Cargill was actually hurt, but that news was confirmed by established outlets.
Cargill’s return should kick off a major angle for the SmackDown women’s division, which could lead to a big match at WrestleMania. There have been hints of an investigation going on to find out who attacked her, but online fans are hoping that Naomi is the attacker. The story is there for the telling, as she stepped in to partner with Bianca Belair to take Cargill’s place as one-half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
There’s an interesting opportunity here for WWE as well. While Naomi would be the expected choice as Cargill’s attacker, it would be a shock to see if WWE used this moment to turn Belair as well. Both she and Naomi could use a new character arc and seeing them come together as WWE veterans to threaten the “newcomer” in Cargill would be a nice change. Jade Cargill versus either Naomi or Belair would be a huge match for the women’s division that would get fans talking and engaged. Taking things a step further, there’s an opportunity to turn this into a three-way angle that would be worthy of a WWE women’s title.
Jade Cargill’s return is going to capture a lot of attention. WWE would benefit from having her back before WrestleMania 41 as she’s an important name in the women’s division. If she returns, the door is there for WWE to walk through, creating an angle between Cargill and Belair that would be worthy of a match on either night of the PLE.