PATREON EXCLUSIVE | Favor Isn't Fair (feat. Jade Cargill) | The Joe Budden Podcast

TL;DR

Jade Cargill joins the Joe Budden Podcast to discuss her meteoric WWE rise, WrestleMania 42 match against Rhea Ripley, and why favor isn't fair.

Key Points

• 1.Jade Cargill's path into wrestling was unusually fast. Mark Henry connected her after seeing her play collegiate basketball; she had only one practice match before appearing on national TV alongside Shaquille O'Neal in 2020.
• 2.Her first-ever televised match was against current champion Cody Rhodes. This happened during the pandemic era at AEW, making her debut one of the most high-profile in recent women's wrestling history.
• 3.Cargill dismisses critics who say she skipped the line. She argues that being propelled to the top carries enormous pressure and that her background coming from Gifford, Florida — the same hood as YNW Melly — built her mental toughness.
• 4.The episode's title 'Favor Isn't Fair' reflects Jade's philosophy on her rapid rise. She acknowledges the opportunity was handed to her but insists she had to deliver under immense scrutiny with no safety net.
• 5.Cargill is the current WWE Women's Champion heading into WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. She notes there are currently two Black women champions in WWE simultaneously, including Lash Legend as tag team champion.
• 6.She would have preferred to face Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania over Rhea Ripley. Their face-offs generated bigger crowd reactions, but she believes the Ripley match was chosen because it's projected to make more money.
• 7.Rhea Ripley is praised extensively despite being the opponent. Cargill calls her unique, phenomenal, and compares her facial expressions to Tyler the Creator, crediting WWE's developmental machine for building Ripley's character over time.
• 8.Black representation in wrestling is at an all-time high according to Cargill. She cites Trick Williams, Bobby Lashley, Swerve, and Oba Femi — who has a WrestleMania match against Brock Lesnar at Allegiant Stadium April 18-19 — as examples.
• 9.Cargill grew up idolizing Chyna, not Black wrestlers, because she lacked muscular Black female role models. She credits the Four Horsewomen — Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Sasha Banks — for legitimizing women's wrestling.
• 10.Her workout regimen is five days a week, two hours per session, with heavy weightlifting and three sauna sessions weekly. She says she is currently smaller than her normal size as she prepares for WrestleMania season.
• 11.Cargill pitched a 'baddie section' concept to bring influencer women to WWE shows and attract new audiences. The idea was vetoed but she hopes it happens, arguing beautiful women attract both male and female viewers and open sponsorship opportunities.
• 12.She prefers playing a heel over a babyface because it aligns with her natural personality. She describes herself as a Gemini who is confident without being arrogant, and says her on-screen character Jay is just herself amplified times ten.
• 13.Paul Heyman is her top creative mentor within WWE. She also works closely with Michael Hayes, Jason Jordan, Triple H, and Naomi for character development, having come from AEW where there were no writers and promos were entirely self-directed.