Jade Cargill Explains Why Her WWE Women’s Title Reign Felt Like a Practice Run

Jade Cargill isn’t sugarcoating how her first run as WWE Women’s Champion played out — and she’s already looking ahead.

After losing the title to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 42, Cargill initially brushed it off on social media with a confident message. But now, speaking to The Takedown on SI on April 21, 2026, she’s getting real about what didn’t click during her reign.

Before reflecting on what went wrong, the context matters — Cargill held the title for 169 days but only had one successful defense, against Jordynne Grace back in February. Despite holding the gold, she didn’t get the kind of run she expected in the ring. When asked about that stretch as champion, Cargill admitted the experience didn’t match what she had envisioned going in.

“I wanted to wrestle more. I wanted more competitive matches. I wanted more grit. I really wanted to sink my teeth into whatever was being thrown at me.”

She didn’t stop there. Cargill made it clear that while she accepts how things played out, she felt like she didn’t get the full opportunity to show what she’s capable of during that reign. Instead of dwelling on it, she reframed the entire run as something temporary — almost like a trial run for what she plans to do next.

“That's all I wanted with my reign, but we didn't get that as much as I wanted, and that's fine. But now that I had a practice run, I'm gonna call it a practice run……I'm gonna say next time is gonna be totally different.”

In the end, Cargill isn’t satisfied with how her first title reign went, even after holding the championship for months. From her perspective, it didn’t fully show what she can do, and now she’s treating it as a learning experience before making another run at the top.

Do you think Jade Cargill’s first title reign was underwhelming, or did WWE not give her enough opportunities to shine as champion? Let us know your thoughts.