Cora Jade (Elayna Black) reflected on her WWE release, explaining that although it was shocking, she had a strong feeling it was coming. “Obviously, the initial shock of it all, even though I feel like I knew it was coming. I’m just really weird with my intuition.” She said this feeling started around November and intensified before a Vegas trip. “Maybe two weeks before the cuts, it was Vegas, I was like, ‘I’m going to make it good because I’m not coming back here.'” When her friend Blair Davenport called to say her husband was released, Jade knew she was next. “Sure as hell, two minutes later, I got the call. ‘Okay.’ It is what it is.”
Cora attributed part of her concern to how her return from injury was handled and a troubling interaction. “Coming back from a knee injury was crazy… I had a conversation with somebody… where I was like, ‘Okay, this is probably going to be weird in a few months,’ and it was.”
Despite challenges, she took pride in her dedication and values. “I was there every day. I was cleaning up the locker room with Roxanne [Perez] after the shows… I feel confident that I stood on my morales and things I spoke up about that maybe other people wouldn’t have.”
She opened up about body shaming during her time in WWE, making it clear she wasn’t attacking the company but highlighting a serious issue. “I’ll say this because I did put it out there; the body shaming stuff… I was 110 pounds and so small… I remember specifically being told that I wasn’t and wouldn’t be champion in that company because I look like I couldn’t crack an egg.”
These comments were frequent and damaging, especially because of her age. “Multiple conversations about my body. I don’t think anyone, especially a man, should be saying that to a female. Especially because I was so young.” She responded by training intensely, even beyond WWE’s programs. “I was working my ass off… If you guys are yelling at me for how I look, but you’re not really helping me out… then I would just go to my other gym afterwards.”
Cora reacted to claims that released talents didn’t work hard. “Seeing [the report about released talents not working hard], if you only knew what I dealt with… God forbid I say something back.” Despite frustrations, her love for WWE remained strong. “I loved my time there, I really did. I loved everybody there, but there were certain things… where I’m like, ‘Damn, this is my dream.'”
She reminded others of the sacrifices she made to chase this dream. “I dropped out of high school at 15 and did a year online so I could start wrestling training.” Although disappointed, she chose to see it positively. “You can only look at it as things happen for a reason. That’s how I feel.”
Surprisingly, her final months in WWE were her best. “Those last six months of my career there was the best times I ever had… I’m so glad that ended there with all that. It had such a good ending for me.”
When she asked for a reason for her release, the answer was vague. “I asked. I said, ‘Is there a specific reason or budget cuts?’… They said, ‘It was a company decision.’ I’m not going to sit there and argue with them. It is what it is.”
She revealed she had an ectopic pregnancy in January 2023 that “nearly killed her,” saying, “I was rushed into emergency surgery because I was this close to bleeding out.”
Source: The Ariel Helwani Show
This just seems like a tough situation all around. Body shaming should not be happening, and there’s no good or appropriate way in a professional setting for a man to talk to a woman about how she looks. On the other hand, “body shaming” has become an overused term that has grown to include comments made out of concern for someone’s health, well-being or, potentially in WWE’s case, professional development. WWE, I perhaps naively hope, is looking to encourage their talents to maximize their potential, but I acknowledge that it’s mostly so the company can put its best product forward. (Also, the executive and coaching ranks are pretty male-dominated, which makes it difficult to follow mixed tag rules in regards to talking to people.) On the other other hand, they’re not products, they’re people with thoughts and feelings. On the fourth hand, while being younger does make you more susceptible to being hurt by negative comments it’s also a time in life when you take those comments more personally than they’re sometimes intended. Bonus fifth hand: while she doesn’t deserve all the criticism she’s getting, it’s hard to believe that you go into a line of work where how you look and the shape you’re in is a significant part of it (first wrestling, now OnlyFans) and not expect to hear about it, deservedly or not.
TL;DR: I feel for her, and she’s got some good points, but there’s probably more to the situation than what we’re hearing. Doesn’t make it right, but it does make it more complex.
@What?–On the sixth hand, Someone high up saw potential in her which is why they hired her. I HIGHLY doubt said person looked at Cora and said “Once she gains weight, she’ll be a bigger star.” Concerning your first other hand, yes, ‘body shaming’ is PAINFULLY overused. I wear glasses. If I was younger and someone said ‘You should get contacts’, I guess I’d have to cry about someone making a comment instead of replying ‘I have an eye phobia thing’ or ‘I don’t want contacts’.
I’ve got to hand to both of you, you both made several good points.
@art123guy
But then you wouldn’t comply with global pussification. And you wouldn’t get any flowers…
I was surprised they let her go. The way she’s acting, I’m starting to understand them. Kind of like Ospreay: plenty of talent, dumb as a stump.
If no one , according to which the only problem is people pointing things out.
you have are people talking about way a problem happens s magically disappear when no one talks which means at means you would have
@Disgruntled Jobber–Hands down the best compliment I’ve gotten today.
@Luke–Flowers? I don’t need no stinking flowers.
@art123guy
I know you don’t. But they don’t know that…
Just read that last part of my previous post. I could have sworn I typed something different. Still gotta own up to stupidity though. Sorry.
@art123guy: I agree with your “sixth hand” for the most part. However, I think it’s entirely possible that they could have thought “with regular time in the weight room like the PC can provide, she could put on some more muscle so she could better perform up to her potential.” Now, how that message was put to her is a different issue. There are ways of saying things that are more or less delicate, constructive, appropriate, etc. She clearly took it very personally, but only hearing her side we don’t know how warranted that is – it could have been way over the line or she could be wildly overreacting, or more likely it’s somewhere in between. Message, messenger and recipient all play a role here.
And for what it’s worth, I wear glasses too. I guess we’re part of the same marginalized community… 🙂