WWE’s Original WrestleMania 42 Plans for Jade Cargill Revealed

Rhea Ripley may have punched her ticket to WrestleMania 42 inside the Elimination Chamber — but that wasn’t the original plan for Jade Cargill.

After Ripley won the 2026 Women’s Elimination Chamber match in Chicago on February 28 by pinning Tiffany Stratton clean with a Riptide, WWE quickly set up Ripley vs. Cargill for the Women’s Championship on the grand stage, but a new update reveals WWE had something very different in mind before injuries forced a pivot.

While speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez revealed that WWE initially had a different WrestleMania opponent lined up for Jade Cargill. The original WrestleMania direction would have seen Jade Cargill square off against Bianca Belair. However, Belair has not fully recovered from surgery, forcing WWE to pivot.

“And it came down to Tiffany and Rhea Ripley. And Rhea beat her clean with the Riptide. So Rhea gets the women’s title shot and is going to be heading to WrestleMania to face Jade Cargill. This was one of those matches that was originally going to be something else. It was going to be Bianca and Jade, but Bianca still has not recovered yet. So they had to make a change, and that’s what they ended up doing."

So while the Ripley vs. Cargill bout is now locked in, it reportedly came together due to necessity rather than long-term planning. With WrestleMania 42 approaching, WWE has adjusted on the fly — and Ripley is now stepping into a spot that was once earmarked for Bianca Belair.

Would you have preferred Jade Cargill vs. Bianca Belair, or is Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley the stronger match for WrestleMania 42? Let us know what you think.

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