Since partnering with WWE, TNA's fortunes have turned around in a big way. Frequent crossovers with NXT have led to a surge in interest and allowed the company to sign bigger-name, ex-WWE talent.
On the January 15 episode of TNA Wrestling, former WWE Superstar Sonya Deville, now Daria Rae, made her debut as an authority figure. She then announced the signing of a new Knockout, Elayna Black, a.k.a. Cora Jade, in NXT.
Her release from WWE shocked fans, but the company's ties with TNA obviously haven't done anything to stop her from signing with them.
Now, we have some backstage news on Black's deal. According to Fightful Select, she's been signed to a one-year deal and is expected to be a full-time member of the TNA roster moving forward.
This isn't the first time Black has wrestled for TNA. She first competed for the company in 2019, and returned in January 2025 as part of NXT when she unsuccessfully challenged Masha Slamovich for the TNA Knockouts World Championship at Sacrifice.
Last July, Black announced that she had decided to step away from professional wrestling to focus on her mental health. Based on this latest update, we're pleased to see that she's seemingly in a much better place.
Last year, Black explained why, while she was surprised by her WWE release, there were also signs beforehand:
"I feel like, overall, yes. But if you had asked me, just because of my intuition, in those like few weeks leading up to it, I would have said no. I kind of felt that it was coming, again, not because something specific had happened. It was just that gut feeling. But I feel like, overall, I was a little bit surprised. Because two days prior to my release, I had went in and had a meeting with said person two days before and I had given so many ideas."
"I had set aside my personal feelings for this person, given so many ideas, was very professional, we had what I felt like was a great conversation. He’s 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. I had asked to have a meeting prior, but you asked me to come in on that day, at that time, typing in all these ideas. And then two days later, you can't even respond to a text."
Black has also shared some must-see photos to mark her in-ring return.