24-Year-Old Ex-WWE Champion Confirms Stepping Away From Wrestling
A former WWE champion recently provided an update on their status as a wrestler.
Cora Jade signed with the World Wrestling Entertainment in 2021, making her debut on 205 Live before moving to NXT, where she would feature for the remainder of her tenure.
On NXT, Jade became a one-time Women’s Tag Team Champion with Roxanne Perez.
During the near end of her career with the Stamford promotion, the 24-year-old suffered a legitimate injury, which turned out to be minor.
On May 2, 2025, WWE released a number of wrestlers as a way to cut costs. One of them was Cora Jade.
After her release, she made multiple appearances for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) before returning to the independent circuit.
In late July, she announced her sabbatical from wrestling to focus on her mental health.
Jade, wrestling under the name Elayna Black in the indies, recently appeared in an exclusive interview with TMZSports, where she confirmed she had stepped away from the squared circle.
Cora Jade Discusses Her Love For WWE
In her interview, Cora Jade spoke about falling in love with wrestling as a craft.
She also spoke about watching WWE as young as when she was eight.
I’m very much a tunnel vision person. So, as soon as I saw that, there was no telling me anything else. I wasn’t interested in anything else, I didn’t care about literally anything else. It was just WWE.
Jade expressed feeling strange stepping away from wrestling and it was difficult to come to terms with it.
It is very strange to take a break from that because it has been my whole life. So, to step out of that is very weird, but also I feel, like, needed because I have been doing it for so long. I haven’t really taken a break besides , you know, my knee, and that wasn’t my own choice.
It took a lot for me and it was difficult for me to come to terms with that because I do love wrestling so much and it has been my whole life. [5:47 onwards]
After being released, Cora Jade criticized WWE for body-shaming her.