A Short History, What a Win Would Mean for Asuka, What a Win Would Mean for Jade Cargill, Night of Champions and Beyond

Match Point: Jade Cargill vs Asuka, WWE Night of Champions – Queen of the Ring Finals

Match Point is an ongoing series at Last Word on Pro Wrestling, where we look at intriguing matchups. They may be dream matches, first-time matchups, or hotly anticipated rematches. In this edition, we focus on the Queen of the Ring finals matchup between Jade Cargill and Asuka at WWE Night of Champions.

For the first time in singles competition, Jade Cargill will be taking on the Empress of Tomorrow, Asuka, at WWE Night of Champions on Saturday, June 28, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This is the third-ever Queen of the Ring tournament final and the second time that a world championship match is on the line. The match would serve as the perfect opportunity for both women to reach the pinnacle of their respective brands.

Whilst this match is a highly anticipated and fitting encounter for a Queen of the Ring final, the pair are very familiar with each other in the ring.

A Short History

In 2024, Cargill had a short rivalry with Asuka’s faction, Damage CTRL, leading into her WrestleMania debut, where she teamed with Naomi and Bianca Belair. That match saw Cargill portrayed as a dominant force. She received the match-altering hot tag and pinned Dakota Kai after hitting her with Jaded.

Cargill also managed to beat Asuka again at the next Premium Live Event as she and Belair dethroned the Kabuki Warriors to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at Backlash France. Asuka was the one pinned on this occasion, but Cargill took no part in that.

Any singles match between the pair was thwarted when Asuka required knee surgery. This was, unfortunately, Asuka’s last match for over a year. Ironically, the Empress was pulled from the 2024 Queen of the Ring tournament as a result.

What a Win Would Mean for Asuka

Asuka is one of the most accomplished women’s wrestlers of all time; however, she has not held a world championship title in nearly two years. She lost the WWE Women’s Championship in a triple-threat match at SummerSlam 2023 against Belair and Charlotte Flair.

A battle with injuries and a reunion with her old friend, Kairi Sane, have occupied her since. However, a Queen of the Ring tournament win would rocket-launch the 43-year-old back into the main event scene.

Asuka defeated former Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss on the June 20 episode of SmackDown to earn herself a showdown with Cargill for the title in Saudi Arabia.

A world title shot at SummerSlam is the reward for being Queen of the Ring. This means that a match with former Damage CTRL stablemate Iyo Sky would await the Empress of Tomorrow. It would be the first time the two Japanese friends square off since their only televised encounter in September 2023.

Asuka could face Rhea Ripley, given that the Eradicator has made her intentions clear. However, Mami has yet to get her hands on the Genius of the Sky since her loss at WrestleMania 41.

A win at Night of Champions, followed by a win at SummerSlam, would make Asuka a 6-time Women’s World Champion. Successfully propelling herself as the woman to beat on Monday Night Raw.

What a Win Would Mean for Jade Cargill

Jade Cargill’s run in the WWE so far can be described as okay. The former AEW TBS Champion arrived as one of the biggest female free-agent acquisitions in WWE history. However, she has not wrestled as much as expected.

Cargill has, in fact, only participated in 10 one-on-one encounters since joining the company in 2023. She was in a tag team with Bianca Belair for a large portion of 2024, which prevented her from participating in singles action. An injury sustained in November caused her to be tragically written off television for four months.

Her huge win over the Prodigy Roxanne Perez in the Queen of the Ring semi-finals was much needed. Now, the 33-year-old has an opportunity to get her singles career back on track.

Cargill has wrestled star names such as Liv Morgan, Nia Jax, Naomi and Tiffany Stratton. However, Asuka would easily be the biggest star that the Florida native would share a ring with.

The matchup with the face-painted legend intrigues fans, as both women are stylistically different. The powerhouse is yet to face an opponent with the technical prowess and wrestling acumen that Asuka has.

The two also have extremely varying levels of experience. Asuka is deep into a 20+ year career compared to Cargill’s 4. Jade only has 119 wrestling matches under her belt.

A win for Cargill would be career-defining and would finally elevate her to a main event position on SmackDown. The reward for winning would be some adequate “Tiffy Time” at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Night of Champions and Beyond

The last time that Asuka was a World Champion in WWE, Cargill was still a member of All Elite Wrestling. That feels like a lifetime ago. Cargill’s desire to win her first world championship is faced with Asuka’s need to return to the main event picture.

The most intriguing aspect about a world title match at SummerSlam for Cargill is the fact that her former friend turned enemy is currently Miss Money in the Bank. Fans would be extremely interested if Naomi could use that privilege to prevent Cargill from finally becoming a world champion.

Whilst Cargill may have handled Naomi at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, Mrs Fatu is the one with all the momentum after her capture of the Money in the Bank briefcase in early June.

The potential outcomes of this match in Riyadh will shape WWE storylines for the next few months, at the very least. Can Jade finally get her first monumental win in the WWE, or will Asuka add Queen of the Ring to her Hall of Fame resume? We will find out on June 28 at WWE Night of Champions.

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