WWE Is “Committed” to Putting the Title on Jade Cargill Despite Fans Seeing Through Her Heel Turn

Jade Cargill’s heel turn on Tiffany Stratton might have grabbed headlines on WWE SmackDown, but not everyone was impressed with how it went down. During the October 24 episode from the Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona, Cargill made a dramatic statement that instantly changed her trajectory in WWE.

After Tiffany Stratton defeated Kiana James, she was jumped by James and Giulia. Jade Cargill ran down to make the save, but instead of standing tall with Stratton, she paused, lifted Tiffany’s hand, placed the WWE Women’s Title on her shoulder—and then attacked her out of nowhere.

What followed was a vicious beating around the ringside area as officials tried and failed to separate them. By the time Cargill walked away holding the Women’s Championship, her heel turn was complete.

While WWE clearly wanted to make a major statement with the segment, Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales weren’t buying into the execution. Gonzales said the turn was as predictable as it gets.

“Jade Cargill in the least subtle ready-to-turn-on-someone save ever came in the ring, did the whole thing—raised Tiffany’s hand, put the belt on her—and then immediately attacked her. It was a pretty long attack as well. So she finally did the heel turn thing. I just thought that this was like… it’s too much of a giveaway. There was no subtlety in this turn at all.”

Meltzer agreed and explained that he would have gone in the opposite direction.

“Like, I would have gone the other way. I would have had Stratton turn. I think Stratton’s got more personality and is a more natural babyface. And Cargill is more of a superhero type. But they wanted that belt on Jade before WrestleMania—before she got hurt. So now they’re getting around to it.”

He added that WWE is clearly determined to give Cargill a major push, regardless of fan reaction.

“No subtlety. But they’re committed to putting the title on her.”

Meltzer then broke down WWE’s internal reasoning for the decision, noting that the company doesn’t want to look like they made a mistake by signing Cargill from AEW.

“Stratton’s much better than she is, but you know, Stratton’s had a long run. They think they didn’t make a mistake with Jade, so they’re going to get that championship on her.”

He also compared Cargill to Bianca Belair, pointing out how far apart the two are in skill level despite WWE viewing them through a similar lens.

“The thing Jade reminds me of is Bianca Belair. But Bianca broke her fingers at WrestleMania—and she’s still out. Which is weird. Broken fingers usually don’t take this long. But it’s like, they’re waiting on Jade. And the thing is, between the two—Bianca laps her. In every category.”

Meltzer clarified that his comparison wasn’t meant to bury Cargill, but to out over that Belair has already mastered everything WWE wants Jade to become.

“Bianca’s got more charisma, she’s got way more ability, she’s a much better athlete. Jade just has the look. But so does Bianca. Jade’s a little bit bigger, but it doesn’t really make a difference.”

He concluded by saying WWE is pushing forward with Jade’s title path because they’re determined to justify her signing and show faith in her star power—even if she hasn’t fully earned it in the ring yet.

“They’re so determined not to make it look like they made a mistake with Jade, they’re going to give her that title. But she hasn’t improved that much. She hasn’t shown enough yet.”

WWE’s decision to turn Jade Cargill heel and move her closer to championship gold is bold, but Meltzer believes it’s more about optics than storytelling. Whether fans will buy into her new role—or see through the push—remains to be seen.

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