There have been many surprising WWE releases in recent weeks, but Cora Jade, who now goes by Elayna Black, remains one of the most shocking.
Her star was on the rise in NXT, and all signs pointed to her becoming a top Superstar on WWE's main roster. Now, Black has broken her silence on being released by WWE and told Ariel Helwani that, in her mind, the writing was on the wall for longer than fans might think.
Explaining that she "kind of had a feeling" this was coming since last November, Black revealed that she was told her release was, "a company decision." She's wasted no time in moving on from WWE, and will compete next on June 14 for Black Label Pro.
"I’m really excited to go and, like, do all the things that I haven’t been able to do in the past four years with the platform that I have now," Black teased. "I just wanted to get right back on it, like I don’t have time to waste."
One big talking point since her WWE departure has been Black's decision to launch an OnlyFans account. Addressing some of the sexist backlash to the news and elaborating on what drew her to the platform, she shared:
"All I gotta say, like, it’s ridiculous, because it’s just crazy. It’s 2025, and people are still trying to tell women what they can do with their bodies. In my opinion, it’s ridiculous. And like, people can show what they want to show as their bodies, but it’s like…I feel like people are only mad because now they have to pay for it. Because if I was posting a bikini picture on Instagram a month ago for free, every guy on there is, like, happy about it, but now, if I’m not going to be posting that on Instagram, and now you’re going to go to my Onlyfans, now you’re mad because you have to pay for it, but you were going to do it anyways for free. You’re just mad that now I’m profiting off of it, and I’m still able to make other income other places, and still wrestle at the same time. So it’s like, what if you think that’s bad? Don’t subscribe. I’ve never been concerned with what other people are doing with their body and how they’re making their money."
Back to her in-ring plans, and Black said that, while she's open to working in TNA, the company's relationship with WWE means that it isn't a priority right now because she wants to "step away from all of that for that world for a second."
However, AEW is a promotion she's keen on. "I would definitely be open to an AEW. I loved my time there [doing Dark matches before WWE]. I have a lot of friends there. I watch all the shows. I love the fact that they have as much creative freedom as they do. My 30 days was just yesterday, so not yet [talked to them], but you never know."
Black added, "I just know that wherever I do end up, I want to make sure that it’s better than what I was before, and use this time to really blow up and make people be like, oh sh*t. Like, this is the better version of Elayna Black than we’ve ever seen."
You can watch the full interview with Cora Jade/Elayna Black in the player below.