Backstage Drama Between Jade Cargill and Shayna Baszler Takes Another Turn

The tension between Jade Cargill and Shayna Baszler just got a lot more layered, with new details emerging about their backstage issues.

According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the friction between Cargill and Baszler stemmed from multiple incidents, but the infamous match in Scotland—where Cargill tapped out in a non-finish—was not an unplanned “receipt” from Baszler. Instead, Meltzer confirmed it was a scripted spot that was intended to lead somewhere before WWE ultimately dropped the angle.

“The reality is if someone put on a choke during a title match in WWE that made a star tap that wasn’t planned, that person would be fired,” Meltzer explained. “That was just part of the scripted match.”

However, the real issue seems to be how Cargill handled problems in the ring. While it was acknowledged that botched spots happened between Cargill & Bianca Belair and Baszler & Zoey Stark, the frustration from WWE talent reportedly came from Cargill allegedly shifting blame onto her opponents.

One incident specifically involved Cargill pointing to a bruise on her arm and telling Baszler she “needed to learn how to work.” Baszler’s response? “If I was shooting, you and I would both know.” This confrontation reportedly escalated when Baszler later confronted Cargill about blaming others for issues in their matches. Cargill got in Baszler’s face, and multiple people had to step in to separate them before things escalated further.

Beyond that, there was also confusion over Cargill asking to miss WWE’s holiday house show tour. She reportedly didn’t realize that the company viewed those dates as one of the most important tours of the year. Shortly after, Cargill suffered an injury, which led to her absence from WWE programming. Some talent questioned the legitimacy of her injury, drawing comparisons to Thunder Rosa’s situation in AEW, where similar doubts surfaced about an injury’s timing.

However, Meltzer reported that those within WWE have since confirmed that Cargill’s injury was real and not a case of avoiding house shows. “It was believed by talent that she did a Mountain Dew commercial during the time she was gone, so that’s also where that belief came from,” Meltzer noted.

With Cargill now back in action and WWE pushing her as a dominant force, it remains to be seen whether she and Baszler will let this issue stay backstage—or if it could eventually spill over into an on-screen rivalry.

Is there still unfinished business between Cargill and Baszler? Should WWE capitalize on their real-life tension and turn it into a storyline? Drop your thoughts in the comments!