Top Free Agent Signs With AEW After WWE, TNA Runs (AEW News)

Mara Sadé is reportedly the latest AEW signee.

by Andrew Pollard
Mara Sade
TNA

It appears that AEW's women's division is getting a new addition, with reports that former WWE and TNA star Mara Sadé has now become #AllElite.

As initially reported by Fightful, Mara's website - www.marasade.com - had her listed as "making her mark in WWE, TNA, and now AEW (All Elite Wrestling." The mention of AEW has since been removed.

Additionally, Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp notes that a deal between AEW and Mara Sadé has been in the works for "quite a while," and that a full-time, salaried contract was in effect as of last week. Having become a free agent earlier this year following the expiration of her TNA deal, this report also says that Mara had conversations with WWE about a potential return, plus had an offer to re-sign with TNA, but she opted to sign with AEW.

Advertisement

A college athlete, the real-life Jamara Garrett entered the wrestling business in 2021, signing with WWE after impressing in a tryout. She'd make her formal debut the following year under the Jakara Jackson name, becoming a part of the Meta-Four stable with Lash Legend, Noam Dar, and Oro Mensah.

The team of Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend would work a couple of main roster matches in late 2024, including challenging for the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles at that year's Crown Jewel event, all as there were regular rumblings that Jackson and Legend were set to be called up from NXT. However, while Lash would get moved to SmackDown in November 2025, that call-up never came for Jakara, as she - and Oro Mensah, for that matter - would be released in May 2025, just three days after Meta-Four split up on NXT TV.

Advertisement

After that WWE release, Jakara Jackson would resurface in TNA - where she'd previously worked several dates as part of the NXT and TNA working relationship - as Mara Sadé in July of last year, and she was most recently active for the Antham promotion at this July's TV tapings, where she got to the quarter-finals of the Knockouts Television Title tournament. Per Fightful, Mara actually finished up her run with TNA without being under contract.

How To Watch AEW All Out 2026 - Start Time, Card, Preview

It's Official: We Are In WWE's Endgame

Natalya Just Dropped The Most Dubious Claim Of All Time... (WWE News)

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.