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• Cora Jade has officially made her return to NXT. Following months away from the ring, NXT Deadline saw Jade attack NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria after Blair Davenport won the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge. Unfortunately, Jade would suffer a torn ACL shortly after her return and is now set to return in the Fall of 2024.

Highlights

• Cora Jade returned to NXT, targeted the Women's championship, but suffered a torn ACL shortly after rejoining.
• Already a star with a young fan base, Cora Jade has potential to become a top WWE superstar if booked correctly.
• Starting her wrestling journey in 2018 and overcoming major hurdles, Jade, at 22, has a long career ahead of her.

UPDATE: 2024/02/29 12:00 EST BY Andrew Kelly

Cora Jade has officially made her return to NXT. Following months away from the ring, NXT Deadline saw Jade attack NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria after Blair Davenport won the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge. Unfortunately, Jade would suffer a torn ACL shortly after her return and is now set to return in the Fall of 2024.

The WWE Universe is one of the world's most dedicated fanbases, but a lot of those fans think that they know everything about every superstar who has ever competed inside a WWE ring. Cora Jadesigned with WWE on January 20, 2021, and she made her official debut two days later on 205 Live. She is a member of the NXT brand. Before she was Cora Jade, she began to make a name for herself as Elayna Black on the independent scene.

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Cora's WWE journey has just started, and so far, she has been a likable and effective superstar who should be able to connect with younger fans. If WWE books her correctly, she can become a star.

13 Cora Jade Has Torn Her ACL

Jade’s WWE Career Has Hit A Roadblock

• Cora Jade returned to NXT after a four month absence
• She targeted the NXT Women’s Championship
• Jade suffered a major injury right after returning from a hiatus.

Cora Jade is only just a few steps into her WWE career, but she already has a major hurdle to overcome. At a live event in January 2024, Jade suffered a torn ACL during a match, ruling her out of action for up to 9 months.

For someone who was looking to build momentum after a lengthy time away anyway, this has been a major blow for the young prospect.

12 Cora Jade Was Influenced By Bayley, Sasha Banks, & AJ Lee

Cora Jade Grew Up Watching Newer Stars

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• Many fans have seen similarities between Cora Jade & AJ Lee
• Jade saw Bayley & Sasha Banks change women’s wrestling in WWE
• She is now on the same roster as Bayley

When looking at Cora Jade’s inspirations, it is easy to see how young she actually is compared to most on the roster. She was inspired by the likes of AJ Lee, who was a star of WWE’s Divas era and someone who Jade seemingly based much of her earlier character around. She was also inspired by Bayley and Sasha Banks, whose match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn changed the landscape of women’s wrestling in WWE forever. In a post on X, Jade spoke about this match.

“This match was such a big part in me starting my journey to become a professional wrestler. I still watch it every now and then. I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without @itsBayleyWWE & @SashaBanksWWE. Thank you for inspiring the next generation.”

11 She Wrestled On A TNA PPV

She Faced Havok At Prelude To Glory

• The match took place on 10/18/2019.
• Jade wrestled under the name Elayna Black.
• She lost to Havok in 3 minutes.

Jade’s early career was full of independent ventures, wrestling in several companies around America in order to gain vital experience. She actually made her PPV debut just a year into her career as a professional wrestler, making an appearance in Impact Wrestling.

At The Prelude To Glory PPV event, Jade, under the name of Elayna Black, wrestled against Havok. The match was just a three-minute squash, with Havok going over with relative ease, but it was a big step for Jade so early in her career, being gifted a spot on a PPV card with a big promotion.

10 Cora Jade Is Youngest WarGames Competitor In Wrestling History

She Wrestled At NXT WarGames 2021 On December 5th

• She is the youngest competitor in the history of the match.
• Jade teamed with IYO SKY, Alba Fyre, and Raquel Rodriguez.
• Jade and her team defeated Dakota Kai and Toxic Attraction (Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne).

The War Games match is one of the most prolific, violent, and barbaric in wrestling history, made famous in WCW. A few years ago, NXT adopted the War Games name, with a few twists to make it more unique and suited to the times, and the matches were great.

By the time 2.0 came around, War Games felt a little out of place within the new feel of the brand. During the women’s match at the latter end of 2021, Cora Jade was a member of the face team. Still being 20 at the time, it made her the youngest ever participant to compete in the War Games structure, making history. She performed well in the match, with a huge dive from the top of the cage to end the match.

9 Cora Jade Is 22 Years Old

She Was Born On January 20, 2001

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• Jade is one of the youngest wrestlers in WWE.
• She quickly became one of NXT's biggest stars.
• She is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion with Roxanne Perez.

There are currently quite a few old wrestlers on WWE's main roster, and it appears as though the company understands that this is a problem. They are trying to address this issue by bringing in younger, more marketable talent, which explains why WWE signed Cora Jade.

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Cora was born on January 20, 2001, which means that she is currently 22. WWE has named her the youngest active NXT Superstar, and they aren't wrong. Cora has a very long career ahead of her and has already accomplished a lot. She wrestled in WarGames, is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion, and is one of the top heels on the brand.

8 She Did Not Wrestle For Long Before Signing With WWE

Cora Jade Had Her First Match In 2018

• She wrestled under the name Elayna Black prior to signing with WWE.
• Her first match happened in 2018 at Kaiju Roundup at the Roundhouse.
• She wrestled for SHIMMER and GCW.

Becoming an NXT superstar in her early twenties is already a huge accomplishment, but what is even more impressive is the fact that Cora hasn't been a professional wrestler for very long. She had to train for a bit, but she ended up making her in-ring debut in 2018 when she was just 19.

Shortly after that, she appeared in SHIMMER. She may not have a ton of experience, but it appears as though she has real talent.

7 Cora Jade Is 5'6"

She Is Taller Than Many In The Women's Division

• She is taller than many other women in the division.
• Height has never been a major factor for women's wrestlers.
• She is the same height as names such as Becky Lynch and Shotzi.

Height shouldn't determine a wrestler's success, and to WWE's credit, it has never seemed to be an issue with their female superstars. The company has plenty of short women under contract, and believe it or not, Cora is taller than all of them.

Cora stands at roughly 5 feet 6 inches tall, which means that she isn't too tall or too short. Alexa Bliss is a future Hall of Famer, and she is only 5’1’’, so from a height aspect, Cora should have no issues succeeding.

6 She Was Trained At The Freelance Wrestling Academy

She Was Trained By Bryce Benjamin And Isaia Velazquez

• Jade already had experience prior to WWE.
• Bryce Benjamin and Isaias Velazquez helped train her.
• Benjamin was involved in Jade's first match.

The Performance Center has trained dozens of future superstars, and Cora has definitely benefitted from it, but the facility didn't need to teach her how to actually wrestle. Cora began her training at the Freelance Wrestling Academy, where she was trained by a pair of seasoned indie wrestlers.

Bryce Benjamin is a 20-year veteran, and his biggest accomplishment was winning the AAW Tag Team Championship. Isaias Velazquez has been wrestling since 2006, and he specializes in strength and conditioning. He's also won several titles across multiple promotions.

5 Cora Jade Is From Chicago, Illinois

She Also Began Her Training In "The Windy City"

• Chicago has always been a major professional wrestling city.
• CM Punk and The Road Warriors are also from Chicago.
• She began training to be a professional wrestler in Chicago.

CM Punk started wrestling before Cora was even born, and although they have had incredibly different careers, they share something in common. Like Punk, Cora was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and the Freelance Wrestling Academy that trained her is in the same city.

Chicago has always been a popular wrestling destination, and it is considered to be one of the best wrestling cities in the world. Considering how big wrestling is in the city, it is no surprise that Cora fell in love with the industry.

4 Cora Jade Was A Fan Of CM Punk (And Now A Friend)

CM Punk Was A Childhood Favorite Of Jade

• A viral video made the rounds of a young Cora Jade meeting CM Punk
• CM Punk recreated this video when he returned to WWE
• They have struck up a friendship

Cora Jade and CM Punk may be from two different generations of professional wrestling, but they have a connection forever due to Jade being a fan of his for many years. Jade has always been a fan of WWE and there was a video of her crying as a teen when meeting her hero Punk which has made the rounds on social media a few times.

Punk’s return to WWE in 2023 saw the pair recreate this now infamous video, and they have also been shown together in various videos and pictures too, most recently during CM Punk’s Royal Rumble vlog on WWE’s YouTube Channel.

3 She Has A Lot Of Love For Her Dog, Stitch

Cora Jade Has A Mini Poodle

• Jade has posted on social media often about her mini-poodle dog, Stitch.
• She is a big animal lover.

Being a professional wrestler can be very time-consuming, and WWE superstars spend a lot of time on the road, but that doesn't stop many of them from getting pets, having their own life outside the ring. At around the same time she signed her WWE contract, Cora got a cuddly dog of her own.

The dog in question is an adorable mini-poodle named Stitch. Based on her social media posts, Cora loves her dog, and she likely named him after the alien from Lilo & Stitch.

2 She Worked With AEW Before Signing With WWE

She Wrestled On Two Episodes Of AEW Dark

• She wrestled for AEW twice.
• She lost in a singles match to Red Velvet.
• She lost in a tag team match with Leyla Hirsch to Red Velvet and Brandi Rhodes.

AEW has signed a bunch of former WWE superstars, and they will likely sign even more in the near future. Most fans believe that WWE has not been able to get their hands on any AEW talent, but that is not technically the case because Cora actually wrestled for AEW before signing with WWE.

Her first AEW match was on October 13, 2020, where she lost to Red Velvet. Her second match also took place on AEW Dark, where she and Leyla Hirsch took on Red Velvet and Brandi Rhodes. She lost that match as well.

1 She's Dating A Former NXT Champion

Cora Jade And Bron Breakker Are In A Relationship

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• Bron Breakker is a former, two-time NXT Champion.
• They have been dating since 2022.
• The two are top stars in NXT.

At the end of the day, professional wrestlers are human beings, which means that they have their own personal lives and their own relationships. Wrestlers spend a lot of time together, and some of them share the same interests, which is why Cora is dating Bron Breakker.

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The WWE Universe is very familiar with Bron Breakker. He is one of WWE's biggest up-and-coming stars, like Jade. He is a former NXT Champion as well, having defeated Tommaso Ciampa to win his first NXT Championship. The couple have been seen posting photos on social media often. The two NXT stars have been with each other since 2022.