Hello Reader! Welcome to week 22 of this year-long project. Seth Rollins remains absent from WWE TV, so my analysis is again focused on Jade Cargill. One further bit of admin before we dive in – due to the absence of Rollins and Cargill’s pared-back role on SmackDown, it’s looking unlikely that I’ll produce a Q2 review, as I did for Q1. Okay, let’s get to it.
Jade Cargill – SmackDown
Cargill does have a speaking segment this week – a backstage interview – and it’s this I’ll mainly focus on here. Though interviewer Cathy Kelley’s question is directed at Cargill, she is content to hang back and let her alllies B-Fab and Michin chip in first. This means there’s a slight suspense in hearing what Cargill has to say – her words are positioned as the ‘main event’ of this promo. First, she promotes her allies’ claims to the tag-team titles, continuing this thread of democracy within the group. They still present as a more coherent unit than a lot of babyface teams. Perhaps this shows us that the crowd is more likely to sympathise with and relate to teams experiencing tension, and there’s often humour to be found in this tension (see Flair/Bliss/Paxley). A slick, focused unit, when presented in a certain way, may well naturally veer towards heel tendencies.
When Cargill does speak, she says, “I’m not letting some Alexa or ‘Jacey’ or anybody else take what’s mine [WWE Women’s Title shot]”. Here we see a continuation of the Cargill character’s competitive spirit – determination. But her dismissal of her opponents, plus ownership of the Title shot before earning it also point to arrogance and over-confidence. This also shows the stability of the Cargill character.
At the back end of this interview, Cargill’s music hits and she makes her entrance alone. She is confident and ready for competition. During the match, Cargill’s physical dominance is, as usual, displayed. As the commentators say, she “competes with a sense of urgency”. But in the end she is outsmarted by Jayne and cannot win (although she is not pinned herself). With this, and all the elements identified above, it feels like we’re re-establishing the key components of the Cargill character after a few weeks in the background. Let’s see whether from here we witness any character progression.
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