Internal discord within the WWE locker room has reportedly come to the surface following a social media exchange between WWE Women's Champion Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley.
While the rivalry is set to headline WrestleMania 42, new reports reveal that the "working shoot" nature of their online feud – specifically Cargill's accusation of Replay playing "politics" with creative – was not an accepted part of the storyline.
According to PWInsider Elite, multiple sources have directly blamed Cargill for the public fallout, noting that his conduct has rubbed many colleagues the wrong way. The situation escalated further on Monday, when other members of the women's division, including Chelsea Green and Piper Niven, took to social media to defend Ripley.
Green praised Ripley as a "compassionate and respectful" professional, a comment Cargill interpreted as a personal attack. This led to a confrontation with Niven, who told the champion that "the world doesn't revolve around you" and criticized his ring ability.
"The back-and-forth between Jade Cargill and others was not prepared for by WWE creative, with multiple sources placing the blame for the outburst on Cargill. A source explained that Cargill has been criticized by many talents for how she rubs others the wrong way and when the back-and-forth with Rhea started, it wasn't hard for others to jump in and express their opinions," PWInsider reported.
Sources backstage also pointed to Cargill's previous absence as a source of underlying tension. While it was previously reported that Cargill spent time at the WWE Performance Center in late 2024 and early 2025 to recover from undisclosed injuries, some reports now claim that the hiatus was intended to resolve "personal issues" and reduce locker room friction.
Talents have reportedly described Cargill's behavior as "unsafe", which suggests that although the roster is happy to help bring him up as a champion, the respect is not always felt the same way. Ripley herself appeared to address the situation in a scathing Instagram Story on March 3, which was quickly deleted.
In the post he wrote, "Not fun. Not friends. Learn to work and never live to defame someone's actual human character by 'breaking the fourth wall'."
