Elimination Chamber featured the anticapted turn of Jade Cargill to WWE, and it didn’t disappoint. Not only did Cargill return, but she headed directly for Naomi, not Liv Morgan, and delivered a brutal beatdown as Bianca Belair watched from her locked pod. Tonight Belair finally confronted Naomi about what happened, asking her directly if she had attacked Cargill, and after an emotional exchange, Naomi revealed that it was her who attacked Jade, and that prompted a split between the best friends and another attack from Jade to close out their time on SmackDown.
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Belair started things off in the ring, but she didn’t come down in her usual way, walking directly to the ring to address things. Belair said, “You know I should feel like I’m on top of the world right now after winning Elimination Chamber, and I should be focused on going to WrestleMania, but it’s really hard when two of your friends are fighting. I formed a bond with both of these women. Jade and I elevated the tag team division together, and Naomi stepped in so that wouldn’t go to waste.”
Belair then addressed some of the things going around social media about her involvement in Jade’s attack. “Now I’m being accused, so I need some answers. Naomi’s not texting me back,” Belair said as Naomi’s music hit. Naomi then made her return to WWE TV, with a neck brace on after the attack from Cargill at Elimination Chamber.
Belair then asked Naomi “What in the hell is going on?” Naomi said, “BB, this is not at all what it looks like, and I need you to lock in with me and understand what I’m about to say. I’m going to ask you this. When Jade couldn’t compete, who stepped up? Who made sure those Titles wouldn’t be lost?”
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Belair then asked, “Did you attack Jade?” Naomi didn’t answer directly, saying, “B, all this outside noise is nothing but a distraction from what you and I really need to be focused on, which is getting our Tag Team Titles back from Liv and Raquel, and you focusing on WrestleMania, and that’s it.”
Belair said, “You’re talking about everything else. We are here for Jade. This is about Jade right now.” That was the final straw for Naomi, who then opened up about how she really felt about Jade, and she didn’t have a lot of great things to say.
“Jade, Jade, Jade, Jade. You really want to know how I feel about Jade? Alright, I never said this before B, because I didn’t want to be basic and hurt her feelings. The way I see Jade, I think she’s been piggybacking off of you. That is my truth, and I have been forced to watch someone like Jade succeed off of your experience, your hard work, while I was pushed to the side and worked for myself in every match. I let ya’ll get your flowers. I let you be great, I didn’t say a freaking word, I don’t give a damn about Jade, because she didn’t give a damn about Bianca.”
Belair then said, “It is very simple. It is a yes or it is a no.” Naomi then hesitated for a while, and Belair was clearly trying to process what she had already said. That’s when Naomi finally admitted what happened. Naomi said, “I did it. There you go B. I did it. Yeah I did it. I did it for you. I did it for us. It was always supposed to be me and you.”
Belair was livid and had tears in her eyes, saying, “This whole time, this whole time.” Then Naomi reached out and Belair said, “Don’t touch me! You want to know why this hurts so bad, it’s because of how much I love you. I don’t want to hear nothing else, you’ve said enough. I don’t even want to look at you right now. This right here, us, we’re done.”
Naomi was emotional too, yelling at Belair as she walked out of the ring. “Why because of her! B, talk to me! Don’t walk away! B I’m sorry! B, I did this for you, B, you know how you wanted the truth, I wished I had pushed her harder, and sooner!”
Naomi then called Jade a b****, and as Bianca turned around, Cargill arrived backstage in her car and headed down to the ring to confront Naomi. Naomi waited for her but then ran away, but Cargill caught up with her. Cargill then slammed Naomi down on the commentary table and threw her into the ring post, and then Jade hit Jaded on Naomi and stood tall in the ring.
Where this goes from here will be interesting. Belair motioned for Jade to do what she needed to do when they met on the entrance ramp, but there was a part of me that thought she might end up going to help Naomi just because of their bond. I’m not ruling that out though, as if Jade continues to attack Naomi, we could see that pull at Belair’s heartstrings and initiate a reconciliation at the expense of Jade.
That’s just one directly though, as we could also see Naomi become a monster heel, and that could play a key role in Belair’s match against Iyo Sky at WrestleMania. We’ll just have to wait and see how things play out from here, but it certainly is intriguing.
What did you think of Naomi and Belair’s segment, and where do you think the story goes from here? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
