WWE SmackDown 5/17/2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved – Wrestling Inc.

I can honestly say I’m not sure where to even begin with this, but Jade Cargill, a fan favorite (and also my favorite) to win the Queen of the Ring tournament was eliminated in truly shocking and extremely disappointing fashion Friday night. Cargill faced off against Nia Jax, something I personally was looking forward to after their spot at the Royal Rumble where Cargill eliminated Jax. Those few moments in the Rumble match really showed off Cargill’s strength and set her up to look like the star she is in WWE now, especially with gold around her waist. This match, however, really knocked some of the shine off the star that is Cargill, and I absolutely hate it.

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Cargill looked really strong in last week’s match against Piper Niven, so I expected her to get a heck of a lot more offense off against Jax than what she did this week, on top of everything from the Rumble. The match pretty much immediately spilled to the outside, with Jax throwing things around ringside, including Cargill herself, as well as chairs from behind the announce desk. I did like the spot with Cargill’s young daughter in the crowd, with Jax telling her “Your mom sucks!” Perfect heel work there, 10 out of 10, no notes on my end. But, that’s where things completely stopped being enjoyable for me in this match.

Jax went to hit Cargill with a steel chair, but Cargill grabbed it. Instead of throwing it to the side and beating Jax down, Cargill must have gotten emotional over “The Irresistible Force” getting in the face of her daughter. She hit Jax with the car across the back and the referee called for the disqualification. WWE has given me no reason to believe Cargill is an emotional person that would sacrifice such a big opportunity in such a stupid way. Of course, I understand the mother/daughter dynamic here, but it wasn’t like Cargill beat the heck out of Jax with the chair, then immediately ran to the little girl’s side. Once the bell rang for the DQ, a brawl ensued, and Cargill didn’t even get 100% of the beat down on Jax, Jax still got some offense in.

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I hated this so much not only because Cargill isn’t moving on in the Queen of the Ring tournament, but because it makes her look foolish when WWE has built her up to be so strong and a “once in a generation” talent. She’s also a champion now, which makes the loss sting even worse. I knew something had to be up when her tag team partner Bianca Belair won her match against Tiffany Stratton earlier in the night, but I didn’t think it would come down to Cargill getting disqualified. I don’t think that protects her as much as the powers that be in WWE may think it does. I’d much rather have seen Cargill lose, but not cleanly, Jax could have been sneaky with it somehow, after a really good, physical match against Jax. I thought that’s what we were headed for after the spot in the Royal Rumble, but I guess long-term booking wasn’t exactly the thought here.

It wouldn’t even make sense for Cargill to sneakily help out Belair next week in Saudi Arabia in her semifinal match against Jax, because they’re a babyface team. I’m not sure where Cargill goes from here. I truly thought she was made for the Queen of the Ring tournament, so this is incredibly disappointing for me. I’ve been a huge Cargill fan since she debuted in WWE, and I’m disappointed WWE didn’t choose to capitalize on the hype behind her by putting crown on top of her head.

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Written by Daisy Ruth