Jade Cargill, a rising star in professional wrestling and former champion in All Elite Wrestling, has signed with WWE, promotion officials told ESPN.
Cargill, who was AEW's longest-reigning TBS champion and appeared on AEW television as recently as two weeks ago, will start with WWE on Tuesday at its Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, officials said.
It remains unclear if Cargill will go straight to the WWE main roster or if she will first perform for its developmental brand, NXT.
Cargill, 31, has been wrestling professionally for only two years. Her in-ring debut came in AEW as part of a high-profile mixed tag team match in March 2021. She teamed with NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. Rhodes, one of Cargill's mentors at his Nightmare Factory in Georgia, signed with WWE last year (after helping found AEW in 2019) and headlined WrestleMania 39.
Cargill was the first AEW TBS champion and held the title from Jan. 5, 2022, to May 28, 2023, a span of 508 days.
The Florida native is considered a major future star in pro wrestling and beyond. The 5-foot-10 Cargill was a fitness model before wrestling and has nearly 1 million Instagram followers. She played Division I basketball at Jacksonville University. Her partner is former Cincinnati Reds player Brandon Phillips. Cargill and Phillips are owners of a Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) team, the Texas Smoke.
