Elayna Black saw her WWE release coming weeks in advance, but nothing prepared her for how it went down.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, the former NXT star Cora Jade (now going by Elayna Black) revealed just how personal and surreal the situation got—especially after being misled in what she believed was a productive creative meeting days before getting cut.
She recalled having a gut feeling that something was off and even texted Mandy Rose for advice weeks before the release.
“I think it was like two weeks before I had texted Mandy and I was like, ‘Hey, I think I’m getting fired. I need to have some advice and whatever.’ And she was like, ‘Girl, whatever happens, you’re going to be fine.’ Immediately she got all the resources for me, all the advice. She’s literally so helpful. She’s been not only like a wrestling mother to me but like a business and management type mother to me.”
But what really stung came just two days before she was officially let go. Elayna Black said she had a one-on-one meeting with someone from WWE creative, where she pitched multiple ideas. The person was taking notes and seemed receptive, which made the timing of her release—and the lack of follow-up—even more frustrating.
“Two days prior to my release I had went in and had a meeting with said person. I had given so many ideas. I had set aside my personal feelings for this person and given so many ideas—was very professional. We had what I felt like was a great conversation, pulling out his laptop, typing all these ideas, basically gaslighting me—and then two days later, I get fired. So it was like, why even do that? Why have me give you all these ideas? You asked me to come in for this meeting, typing in all these ideas like, ‘These are great,’ and then two days later I’m gone. Then you can’t even respond to a text? Like, come on.”
Despite feeling blindsided, Elayna Black is choosing not to dwell in bitterness. She still respects WWE for what they gave her and looks back on her run with pride.
“There are things that I didn’t get to do. But at the same time, that was my dream. I was eight years old, I watched wrestling, and I immediately wanted to be a WWE Superstar. So I looked at my notebooks—I had bucket lists—and I was crossing off so many things. Really, the only ones I didn’t cross off were wrestling at WrestleMania or winning the NXT Championship. But I had gotten to do so many things my 8-year-old self dreamed about. I’ll never bash WWE or trash WWE. I loved my time there.”
Elayna Black didn’t just lose her job—she got strung along and left on read by the very people who claimed to believe in her. From pitching ideas one day to getting the axe two days later with no explanation or even a reply to her texts, it’s clear WWE didn’t just drop the ball—they kicked it out of the building. But even after all that, she’s not bitter—just honest. And now, the wrestling world better pay attention, because Elayna Black’s story is just getting started.
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