Backstage WWE and AEW Rumors on Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton, Andrade and More

Tiffany Stratton recently successfully defended her WWE Women's Championship in a Triple Threat match against Jade Cargill and Nia Jax that was not without controversy.

The details of that contest, including Cargill's gruesome injury and the timing of the finish, headlines this collection of insider reports.

Also on tap is the latest on Andrade's return to All Elite Wrestling and an update on one of the industry's beloved big men potentially preparing for a return to WWE TV.

Jade Cargill Injury Update

Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images

Jade Cargill suffered a nasty gash on her forehead during her WWE Women's Championship match against Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax on Friday's SmackDown.

Despite the images making the rounds on her social media, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported, "We were told to not be surprised if she isn't wrestling this week, but physically seemed okay all things considered and was in good spirits."

It is unfortunate timing, as Cargill was building momentum as a challenger for the top prize in the women's division on the blue brand.

Considered one of the brightest young stars on the WWE roster and a face of the company's future, the 33-year-old will have plenty of opportunities to hold championship gold, with her first title reign likely coming sooner rather than later.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider Elite also noted Cargill will likely be kept off television for a few weeks but she has not been removed from any ongoing or planned storylines.

Tiffany Stratton's Role in Messy Title Match Finish

Craig Ambrosio/ Via Getty Images

Sapp also reported Stratton played a significant role in the botched conclusion of the September 26 title match on SmackDown:

"Stratton was late to breaking up Jade Cargill's pin on Nia Jax, and Nia Jax had to kick out. We aren't sure why the three wasn't counted for Stratton as that was apparently the finish. Details are still foggy and multiple things were claimed internally."

Stratton won the match and retained her title, but one would be remiss not to notice the champion has not performed up to the standard she set earlier in her main roster career.

Her timing has been a little off or her moves have not been executed as cleanly as they were previously.

We know about her going off-script in her promo battles with Charlotte Flair, as documented on the Netflix series, WWE Unreal. It all begs the question: Did Stratton receive too big of a push too soon or is it simply a rough stretch?

Update on Otis

Craig Melvin /WWE via Getty Images

The last time anyone saw Otis on Raw, he was the recipient of a beatdown by Rusev.

Johnson reported for PWInsider Elite that Otis was spotted at the WWE Performance Center, potentially indicating he is on his way back to television.

One of the most beloved babyfaces on the roster, the 33-year-old has spent the majority of his main roster career in tag teams, despite showing breakout potential as a babyface during the pandemic era.

Over the last year, Otis has formed a fun undercard pairing with Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri, but it will be interesting to see if he is brought back to do more or resume what he was doing before his hiatus.

Andrade is All Elite...Again

Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images

Fresh off being granted his release by WWE, Andrade returned to AEW Wednesday night on Dynamite, attacking Kenny Omega and aligning himself with The Don Callis Family.

Sapp reported for Fightful Select that "He'd been fired from WWE this summer, and did not have a non compete. The wheels have been in motion for this for at least a couple of weeks."

To say Andrade's return to WWE did not go according to expectations would be an understatement.

The 35-year-old never established himself to the level that other AEW exports returning to the company had, such as CM Punk and Cody Rhodes. To be fair, though, WWE never went out of its way to treat him as a star on that level, either.

He had a series of phenomenal in-ring contests with Carmelo Hayes but struggled on the mic. Instead of pairing him with a mouthpiece who could talk for him while highlighting his abilities between the ropes, WWE Creative quickly lost interest.

It will be interesting to see how this next chapter in Andrade's AEW career goes, but by attacking Omega and and pairing himself with the suddenly red-hot Callis faction, he is in a great spot to make a meaningful early impact.