Back in May, several notable names were shockingly released by the WWE, including Cora Jade, who had spent multiple years making a name for herself down in NXT. Jade has remained off TV in the months since her release, at least, that was until Thursday.
During the debut of TNA's "Thursday Night iMPACT!" on AMC on Thursday, she shocked those in attendance and those watching at home with a return and a new identity.
.@TheDariaRae’s first act of business is signing @ElaynaBlack as TNA Wrestling’s newest Knockout! #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/etz4sFuvbJ
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) January 16, 2026
Ex-NXT superstar Cora Jade returns to TNA as Elayna Black
Elayna Black is the alias for the new TNA Knockout, formerly known as Cora Jade. Technically, it's not a new name to her, since Elayna Black is actually the name she went by when she made her in-ring debut back in 2018 for Kaiju Attack Wrestling before she even signed with WWE.
It's also the name she has been going by since her WWE release.
What can we expect from Black now that she's made her return to TNA?
Well, it's been almost a year since the former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion has taken part in a televised match, so it will be interesting to see if anything has changed about her in-ring style or character since then.
We'll also have to find out if Black is going to be a heel or a babyface.
Judging by the fact that she was introduced by TNA's newest authority figure, Daria Rae (formerly Sonya Deville in WWE), who wasn't exactly too friendly to TNA Director of Authority Santion Marella in her debut on Thursday, we can expect Black to align with the other heel Knockouts on the roster.
What might be the most interesting part about Black's return is that she could potentially find herself back in an NXT ring in the near future.
WWE and TNA have a multi-year partnership, and it's resulted in superstars from each company making appearances on each other's shows.
Case in point on Thursday as TNA's "Thursday Night iMPACT!" kicked off with WWE superstar AJ Styles cutting a promo in the ring, and a little later, NXT superstar Zaria signed a contract to face TNA's Léi Yǐng Lee for the TNA Knockouts World Championship at TNA Genesis on Saturday.
With this in mind, don't be surprised if Black finds her way back onto a WWE TV program sooner rather than later.