Jade Cargill defends WWE women’s title against Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 42

LAS VEGAS – Jade Cargill has been a constant presence in the WrestleMania spotlight since she joined WWE in 2023.

Cargill teamed with Naomi and Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 40 to defeat Dakota Kai, Asuka and Kairi Sane. Cargill pinned Kai for the win in that match. At WrestleMania 41, Cargill made history being a part of the first non-stipulation women’s singles match at the event. She defeated Naomi after their friendship fracture.

She is back in the spotlight once more – this time as the WWE women’s champion.

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Jade Cargill makes her way to the ring during SmackDown at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, on Jan. 23, 2026. (Craig Melvin/WWE)

Cargill won the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event in November, defeating Tiffany Stratton. On Night 2 of WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, she will defend the championship against women’s Elimination Chamber winner Rhea Ripley.

She expressed to Fox News Digital in an interview before her match on Sunday night that she has the edge going in.

“I mean, I’m me. I’m Jade Cargill. I’m the champ. I’m stronger. I’m bigger,” she said. “I mean, she’s been here before, right? Several times. So have I. I’ve had matches against Naomi. Naomi is spectacular in her own right. She was our champion. The only reason why she dropped the title was because she was pregnant. So, it’s not like I haven’t gone up against champions who have graced major events and who have been spectacular in their own right.

“I’ve done this before. I mean, I’m me, that’s all I have to say. The only way to go is up. She’s been up. It’s time to go down. I just don’t see it ending right now. I’m 2-0. I’m red hot. I just formed a group with Michin and B-Fab. Who’s going to stop us?”

Cargill wouldn’t say whether Michin and B-Fab will be by her side at her WrestleMania match but stressed that she found allies in them as Ripley turned her attention away from “Monday Night Raw” and onto “Friday Night Smackdown.”

WWE CHAMP JADE CARGILL VERY HOPEFUL TO MEET ‘STONE COLD’ STEVE AUSTIN AT HALL OF FAME CEREMONY

Jade Cargil competes against Rhea Ripley during Monday Night RAW at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on April 6, 2026. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE)

She suggested to Fox News Digital the three were allies of convenience rather than a full-fledged stable.

“We’re more of allies. We’re not a group, we’re more of allies. They had their issues with her. I came in with my issues. Like, who are you to come to SmackDown? And I look at our locker room and I’m like, ‘This girl came from Raw to SmackDown and she thinks she’s going to run things and you guys are gonna let …’ Because I played by the rules for too long. I was trying to adjust. It was a year of adjustments – all these things. I was trying to do things the right way when all along, that little voice in me was telling me, ‘No, you know the right way, and the right way is left. Don’t go right. Don’t listen. It’s gonna get you nowhere. You’re going to be going in circles for years.’ And that’s what I was doing.

“So, we all came together and we figured out … Well, they came to me and it was more so, like, ‘You know what? You were right. It shouldn’t be like this. We should band together and get this person who is an outsider, let’s get her out.’ She doesn’t even deserve to be on SmackDown. And that’s why we became allies. We both have a common enemy. And so, we were like, let’s get rid of this girl. Let’s be done. And that was smart.”

Cargill said getting to this point had been a lot of “trial and error” since she joined WWE.

She made her debut at the 2024 Royal Rumble and made her mark on SmackDown by helping out Naomi and Belair. She and Belair became two-time tag team champions in that span and in 2025, she won the Queen of the Ring tournament.

Jade Cargill holds up her championship belt during SmackDown at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., on March 20, 2026. (Craig Melvin/WWE)

“It’s been a trial-and-error run. It’s also been a trial of adjustments because I was used to being one way,” Cargill told Fox News Digital. “I came in as a babyface while naturally I’m a heel. I want people to hate me. I love the motivation behind it. And then going from being all about myself and into a tag team, that was an adjustment as well.

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“It was a lot of elements that I had to change about myself and about my character and growing and learning to be selfless and learning to be a good guy and to care. … So, it was years of trial and error and just adjustments.”

Cargill’s reign has surpassed 165 days and will look to continue her dominance through WrestleMania 42 this weekend.