Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Cora Jade (Elayna Black) On WWE Release, CM Punk, AEW, OnlyFans

Starting point is 00:00:00 Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet. Welcome back, my friends, to another one here on Inside. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. Hope it's been a great week for you. Thank you for being with us here on this episode. And thank you for making Insight the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. Hit a tornado DDT on that follow button. Wherever you're listening, if it's Spotify,

Starting point is 00:00:43 could you take a few seconds today to leave a rating on there? If it's Apple, could you throw together just a few words or a few emojis for a review? Both of those would be so insanely helpful. So thank you in advance for doing that. You knew her as Cora Jade in NXT. She's now back to being Elena Black, the name that she started her career with as an independent wrestler. She was released from WWE on May 2nd and talked a lot. this interview about how excited she is for all the freedom that she has now to do whatever she wants,

Starting point is 00:01:19 wherever she wants. She's only 24 years old. I think a lot of people forget that. She has such a bright, bright future ahead of her. We talk about a lot of that and we talk about all of the things that she did do in NXT and the things that she was most proud of from her time there. Snap a screenshot and tag us let us know that you listen to this episode. She's at Elena Black on X and on Instagram, I'm at Chris Van Vleet. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Elena Black. Well, it's great to see you. Great to see you.

Starting point is 00:01:55 Thank you for coming in. Yeah, thank you for having me. Yeah, no, you're welcome to L.A. Yeah, I love L.A. I hope you've got some stuff going on here. Yeah, I got some signings. Tonight, I think 5 to 8 p.m. Where at exactly, but...

Starting point is 00:02:08 In L.A. In L.A. Have you had some time over the last month to process everything? I have because I feel like I've just sat in my apartment, me and my two little dogs, and I have all week now to just do whatever I want. As opposed to before I was doing stuff Monday through Saturday, Sunday was my only day off. So it was constant go, go, go, go, go. It's the first time I've actually, I feel like in my life I've had been forced, especially I was forced for 30 days to just sit and do nothing except think and process. And yeah, it was a time.

Starting point is 00:02:46 But here we are. You've probably gone through every motion. Yeah, definitely. Obviously, at first, I feel like everyone kind of has a sense. I feel like just it happens. You always everyone, the cuts happen all the time. You see them all the time. I feel like at any time, anyone who works there is going to have like some thought in

Starting point is 00:03:06 the back of their head that it could be over. So I feel like it could be a shock. And it was. But at the same time, I was always ready for. it and I think it was like two weeks before I had texted Mandy and I was like hey I think I'm getting fired I and I need to have some advice and whatever and she was like girl she's like whatever happens you're going to be fine and immediately she got all the resources for me all the advice she she's literally so helpful she's been not only like a wrestling mother to me but like a business

Starting point is 00:03:40 and like management type like mother to me. Like just seeing what she's been able to do with her life and how much she's helped me just in this short period of time of me. It's literally been the month since I was released. She's helped me so much and I can't say enough good things about Mandy. Mandy Rose, right? Yes, Mandy Rose, former NXT Women's Champion. So what, like, where are you at now?

Starting point is 00:04:01 You've had about a month to process this. How are you feeling now? I feel good. I feel like the up and down is kind of past. now where I would be like I was feeling okay some days and that would be really sad like the next day. I feel like at this point I'm like I feel good. I'm at like a very emotionally calm state. I feel free. I feel like I have the world ahead of me. I feel like I have so many creative ideas that now no one is able to tell me no or not listen to the ideas. It's all in my hands now. And yeah, a little bit of that of that can be scary that it's all in my hands now.

Starting point is 00:04:36 But that's also the best feeling that it's all in my hands now. And any idea. I want to do any avenue I want to pursue anything, anything ever is mine. And that's all I ever wanted. So I feel really good. Two weeks before getting released, what made you think you were going to get fired? I don't know. Like, I feel like people have asked me that a few times. And I don't know exactly what it is.

Starting point is 00:04:57 Nothing specific happened. I've just always kind of been like that. And there was a feel like a handful of my friends that I had talked to. I specifically remember talking to Roxanne. She's my best friend. And I was like, I know I'm going to be gone. And you're crazy. Like, no, no, no.

Starting point is 00:05:11 But I always know, like in my intuition when something is happening. I don't know what that is. I just had that feeling. And at the end of Vegas, we had that whole WrestleMania week. I remember on my flight back, I was just like, well, that's a wrap. Like, that was it. Like, I just knew. And then what was it?

Starting point is 00:05:30 I got fired like May 2nd. It was like two weeks later after Manio. It was like, well. I was surprised by your release. Like when the names came out, I was like, wait. a second. Why would Core Jade be released? Were you surprised by it? Like, I feel like overall, yes. But if you would have asked me, like, just because of my intuition, like in those like few weeks leading up to it, I would have said no. Like, I kind of felt that it was coming.

Starting point is 00:05:57 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 I feel like I was mostly 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. It was very professional, very, we had a great, what I felt like was a great conversation. It's pulling out his laptop typing all these ideas, basically gaslighting me. And then two days later I get fired. I was like, why even, why even do that?

Starting point is 00:06:41 You know, why, why have me give you all these ideas. Like, 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. Are typing in all your, like, all these ideas are great. And then two days later. And then you can't even respond to a text. Like, come on.

Starting point is 00:07:05 WWE was your dream since you were a kid. Yeah. And you got to do it. You got to live your dream. Did it live up to your expectations? I feel like obviously there are things that I didn't get to do. But at the same time, like you said, that was my dream. I was eight years old. I watched wrestling and I immediately wanted to be a WWE superstar. So I feel like, and then I would look at all my little like notebooks. I would have like these like bucket lists, little lists. And I would like cross them off every time I would do something. And it would say, get an action figure. have merchandise, wrestle this person, wrestle here, do all this stuff. And then I looked and I was crossing off so many of those things. Really, the only one I didn't cross off was wrestling at WrestleMania or winning the NXT championship or obviously any other championship.

Starting point is 00:07:53 But like, I had gotten to do so many things that my little eight-year-old self only, I would lay in my bed and dream of doing those things that night. So again, obviously there are things that were disappointing and stuff like that. But never will I shit on WWE or try. trash WDB. I loved my time there. Like, obviously, when you care about something and you're passionate about something, things are going to bother you. It's because I care. Like, it's not because I'm like, oh, fuck this, whatever.

Starting point is 00:08:19 I care about wrestling so much, and I love wrestling so much, and it is my dream and it is my passion. So, yes, things did bother me and things did upset me because I'm only human and I'm a human who cares about my passion, my job. So obviously, things that's going to come up. But at the same time, I can't say enough good things about, like, the people I got to work with the things I got to do, like all the dreams I got to accomplish. Like, I loved my time at WWB so much. And especially those last six months, I got to do it with Roxanne, with Bailey, with

Starting point is 00:08:48 Julia, Stephanie, like all these girls I became so close with. And I got to travel with them and do all these great matches with and storylines with them. Like, I loved my time at WWE so much. Were there things that upset me? Yes. Am I bitter or anything like that? Absolutely not.

Starting point is 00:09:04 I'm only 24 years old. Who knows what the future holds. I'll never burn a bridge. Because I, like I said, I'm 24 years old. I don't know what the future holds. I don't know if I'll be back there one day. I don't know where I'll end up. But all I know is that I loved WWB and I loved my time there.

Starting point is 00:09:18 And I have no, like, bad things to say about them. Was there a part of you right after getting released where, like, your love for wrestling maybe took a hit where you're like, man, I love this so much. I gave so much of myself to this. And now I don't have it anymore. Yeah, I don't. It is weird because I said this to somebody. It was like, and I don't mean this is. sound insensitive at all, but it almost felt like watching, like, my own funeral while still

Starting point is 00:09:44 being alive. Like, it was, like, the weirdest thing. Like, all these, like, tweets, whether it was people, like, they hated me or they loved me, like, just seeing an influx of opinion. Like, it was just crazy. Like, everyone's thoughts on me ever. It was very, like, overwhelming. But, um, sorry, what was the original question?

Starting point is 00:10:02 Did it make you not love wrestling? Yeah. Even if it was just for a brief period of time. Yeah. So just, it was very weird because, like I said, I discovered it when I was eight years old and I'm one of those people that when I like become obsessed with something, it's I just have tunnel vision and that's all I want to do and that's all I care about. So as soon as I discovered wrestling when I was eight years old, that's all I ever wanted to do. So it was immediately like I didn't want to do anything that would get me in trouble like because I thought it would affect my chances of like being a wrestler. Like everything I ever did was because of WB. I love WGB and it was.

Starting point is 00:10:36 WWE was my life for, I'm 24 years old now, so that was 16 years of my life. I dedicated to this. Like, I dropped out of high school at 15 and finished online in a year so I could wrestling it or start wrestling training. And I was wrestling by the time I was 17 and then I got signed or my trial at 19 and then signed at 20. So it was like just this constant thing of WWE. So it did feel like, I don't know if it was like loss of a love for it more so as like, okay, what do I do now? Like, yes, I still love wrestling, but it was like I tried to make it to WB for 16 years and now that stopped. It was like, okay, what do I do now? Like, yes, I still love wrestling, but I have to channel it in a different way now because it's not just trying to make it to WB.

Starting point is 00:11:22 It was like I made it to WB. I did that. So I have to continue on and find, I don't want to say find my love for wrestling because I feel like I always have loved wrestling, but just find a new way to channel a new version of that love for wrestling. that makes sense. When you drop out of high school at 15, what goes into that thought process? I don't know. I feel like I just was never, I was always pretty good at school, like, just by nature, but it was never for me. Like, I never participated in any sport in school. I never did it besides soccer when I was in, like, middle school, but I never wanted to do like any extra activities. School was just not my thing. I hated it. I just wanted to, like, be home watching wrestling. So I just, I don't know. I

Starting point is 00:12:06 I remember, I think I was like 15 years old, and I had found a wrestling school that was like 45 minutes to an hour away, and they were training, obviously indie training is very different. It's kind of like do it yourself, create your own times and whatever you want to do. It's not like a college sport where you train from 6 to 8 p.m. It was just kind of we just did whatever we wanted. So I had found this school and they would train sometimes from like 7 p.m. to like 1 a.m. sometimes, like, just because we just did whatever we wanted. And everyone loved wrestling there. And it was like this little warehouse in Chicago with no heat or air, no matter the time of the season. So we're

Starting point is 00:12:44 just either freezing or sweating to death at all times. But that's what wrestling was and that's what I loved about it. But I found that place and they were training like that. And I couldn't drive. So my poor mom, she would drive me to training. It was like 45 minutes to an hour away. And then sometimes she would sit there to like one in the morning and be like freezing to death. She would have like jackets and blankets or in the summertime. She'd be like sweating to death because it was either so hot or so cold in there and I couldn't drive. And she wasn't going to just pick me up because it was far away. So I remember I was just like, I can't do this while being in school having to wake up at six in the morning.

Starting point is 00:13:22 And I think they agreed with me, especially because she was driving me and seeing like the dedication it was taking and the hours it was taking. and like the toll, it was kind of hard to go to school when they kind of knew I didn't really want to do anything with college. So I remember I asked them if I could, I think I had found a place that you could get your like high school diploma in like a year online or whatever. So I found that. And then I remember I either like wrote them a really, really long note or made a PowerPoint. I don't remember what I did because I also tried to do that when I wanted a hamster one time. I like made them a PowerPoint. Did you get the hamster?

Starting point is 00:13:57 Yeah, I did. It was very convincing. So I was like, I've done it before I could do it again. But dropping out of school is a big deal. Yeah. Like, my parents would have never let me. Yeah. And I trained to be a wrestler.

Starting point is 00:14:08 I wanted it so bad. I was a backyard wrestler at that age. But my parents would have been like, we don't care what you do when you turn 18 and when you graduate. But at least give us that. Yeah. So I remember, I knew they weren't going to let me just completely drop out. And obviously I understood that, like, I needed some type of something. Like, not necessarily a full college backup plan, but I didn't want.

Starting point is 00:14:28 want to just completely drop out of school. So we found this program where I could do, I think it was basically like you could get all these courses and you finished it in like a year and a half. It was all like you would have to finish the course by like multiple choice test questions. So it was pretty easy. But you got a high school diploma out of it. So I remember I found that and I had asked them, explain to them like why I wanted to do it, why I felt like it was good for me. And they actually listened. And I think they just understood that my passion for wrestling was so strong that I, and I'm also kind of hard-headed, so I wasn't probably going to hear otherwise, but they were supportive of it. They helped me pay for the school, and I finished high school

Starting point is 00:15:07 in like a year and a half. I think it was like two years earlier than I was supposed to. So I was done by the time I was 16 and then got my high school diploma online, started wrestling training, and then I think I was wrestling on the Indies. I think I had just turned 17 or 18, something like that. you realize how much of a long shot it is? Like you're 15 dropping out of high school. You're going to start wrestling training. To be a pro wrestler at any age and do that for a living is such a long shot. What made you think you could do it?

Starting point is 00:15:41 Honestly, I don't know. I feel like at first, I didn't realize that it was something normal people could do. I remember just watching it and not really realizing. And then one time, my dad was like, you know, like real people do that. Like, you could be a wrestler. And I don't know why in my head it didn't click. I was just like, I just thought, I don't know, they were like superheroes because that's what they look like. But for some reason after that, I was like, okay, like maybe I can do this.

Starting point is 00:16:06 And from that moment on, I just wanted to be a wrestler. I think before that I wanted to be like a dolphin trainer at the zoo. I don't know. But like I said, it's so completely far opposite. But once I become obsessed with something, like that's all I see. I guess they're both dream jobs. Yeah. Being a dolphin trainer is pretty cool.

Starting point is 00:16:21 I went quite far off path. But there's still time. Yeah, God, I'm not going to school now. I got my online diploma. But what was it? What was it? But it's like, it's one thing to train and start doing any matches. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:16:38 It's another thing to even get a WWE triad. Yeah. Then it's a completely other thing to get signed by WWE. Yeah, I think it was just seeing people like CM Punk and Bailey watching documentaries like that. I felt so, I felt like them. I felt so close to them watching. these documentaries because they were people just like me, Sienfunk from Chicago,

Starting point is 00:16:59 was not an athlete, it was just a kid who liked wrestling and followed his dream and came from nothing and became one of the biggest superstars of all time. Same thing with Bailey. I remember watching.

Starting point is 00:17:10 It was, I think maybe it was the W.B. 24 series, or maybe it was the Breaking Ground series. I don't know if you remember that at the time. But she was reading one of her W.B journals. And I was literally making journals like that at the time watching her read that.

Starting point is 00:17:25 And it would make me emotional because she's reading these stories that she would write in her journal and these poems about wanting to be a wrestler. And she's getting emotional reading them because she's reading them in a WWE ring. And then I'm emotional watching it because I'm doing that. And now she's one of my best friends. And like we talk about it all the time. I'm like she literally like shaped me into who I am today. And she's one of the most humble, hardworking people I've ever met in my life. I can't say enough good things about her.

Starting point is 00:17:51 But it's just so crazy that her people like her poems. AJ, like, AJ Lee was the same thing, like just was a wrestling fan who really came from nothing, wasn't an athlete, and just loved wrestling and became an amazing superstar. So I think it was seeing people like them just made me realize that anyone can do it if you have the passion for it and you actually love it. It doesn't matter what you come from. It doesn't matter what your background is. If you love wrestling and you work hard enough to do it, it doesn't matter where you come from, you will get there. So I feel like they really, really, really instilled that in me. This episode is brought to you by Cash App. Making money moves should be easy, and that's why there's Cash App. It's fast, safe, and honestly just a lot more personalized than other apps out there. There's no extra hoops to jump through, no extra stress. All the tools are right there to help you cash it. Plus, sending money with Cash App actually feel safe.

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Starting point is 00:19:13 Send $5 to a friend, and you'll get $10 just for getting started. For a limited time-only, new cash app users, can use our exclusive code to earn some extra additional. cash. For real, there's no catch here. Just download cash app and sign up. Use the exclusive referral code insight in your profile. Send $5 to a friend within 14 days and you'll get $10 dropped right into your account. Terms apply. That's money. That's cash app. What's the story behind that original photo of you with CM Punk? The one where you have braces. Oh, God. That was like our first I believe that was the first time I ever met him and we took a picture. That was right

Starting point is 00:19:56 Before he quit WWE, I think. It was like a month before. How old are you there? I was 12. Did you, like what great seats you had? Yeah, it was a Christmas present from my family because they used to do the holiday tour. And they would always do Chicago and then Madison Square Garden. And I believe Chicago was always the day after Christmas. It was always December 26.

Starting point is 00:20:19 So that was my Christmas present. They got me like floor seats. And Punk was my favorite, obviously. And I remember he came out at the end. and he just went around and signed stuff for everybody. And I was like, now's my chance. And I was so happy. I think I cried after, but that picture is just ridiculous.

Starting point is 00:20:35 And then I think he quit WB, like a month later after that picture. And I took it so personally. I was the saddest person in the entire fucking world. But yeah, that's that picture. And then I, after he quit WB, then there's that video of me crying, meeting him. Again, I think it was the second time I met him. but it was after he had quit WWE. It was like a year and a half later.

Starting point is 00:20:58 And I was like, oh my God, I thought I'd never see him again. Like, ridiculous. When you got hired by WWE and then he came back to WWE, did he remember you? Yeah, it was weird. My return, it was right after I had come back from getting my boobs done in December of 2023. It was for deadline. He was coming to NXT.

Starting point is 00:21:23 And that was the first time, like, I had seen him. since I was like a fan. But he remembered me because any time he would do anything in Chicago, because I lived in Chicago. And so did he, I would show up. I would be the first in line for every single thing. Borderline crazy. Now that I'm thinking about it.

Starting point is 00:21:38 How many times did you meet him? Probably like 10 times. I was there every time. It got to the point where he would like remember me in the line and he would laugh at me because I would be first in line every single time. Like I look like, we laugh about it now. I'm like, Jesus Christ. Like I was a little bit crazy back then.

Starting point is 00:21:53 Imagine you had a fan doing that for you. That's what I think about. And I'm like, okay, maybe it was like a cute, like, little girl who was like a fan of me. Okay. But, you know, I'm not like, Jesus, sorry. Like, I was doing a bit much. But it was funny because he knew, like, people from pro wrestling teas. And that was where, like, we trained, like our freelance wrestling training ring was.

Starting point is 00:22:12 So I had always, like, knew of him more like than a fan. Like, people I was around knew him and, like, he would come around sometimes. But I remember someone said, like, oh, punk's. in catering when I was at deadline. And I was like, I think, I thought people were just fucking with me because I know, like, I'm such a big punk fan. And, like, I was always hoping for that. I'm like, you guys are lying.

Starting point is 00:22:36 And then I remember I walked in and I saw him in catering. And I was like, I know he's going to remember me, but I don't know how to like break the ice, like to just not make it awkward. So I remember I walked up to him in catering and I said something. I was like, hey, are you new here? And then he, like, looked and realized it was me. And he's like, what the fuck? And then he's like, no, are you new here?

Starting point is 00:22:56 And then he just hugged me. And then it was like, ever since then we've been like, he's been my mentor, like, one of my closest friends. Now it's just crazy how that happens. So at what point does it go from, hey, we work in the same place to just take my number. I got you. I don't know. It was just me. Like, it kind of like it was, he took me and Roxanne under his wing.

Starting point is 00:23:20 I don't know if it was because of how crazy I was back then. and he just had that connection to me from that. But I just was constantly just asking him for advice. And Roxanne's my best friend. So the three of us just became pretty close. Like he would just help us, whether it was with promos, matches, he would just come to our shows for NXT just to watch us, give us advice, and then leave.

Starting point is 00:23:46 And people, he would do that for anyone who would ask. I even saw him doing it with like Grayson Waller one day randomly. Just anyone who asks. He's there and he'll watch and he'll critique and he'll be there. And it's just so cool to see someone of that caliber be so humble and willing to help. And literally come to one of the NXT shows when he has WrestleMania like later in the day. He came to watch me and Roxanne on the pre-show of Stand and Deliver. And he was made of any wrestlingania later that night.

Starting point is 00:24:16 I was like, you don't have to be here. And he came to watch us, watch our match and then he left. I was like, you were, it's ridiculous. But it's just things like that that he's so willing to help. And then he knows how big of a AJ Lee fan, me and Roxanne are. So anytime he sees us, like, he'll take a picture and send it to her. And then we'll talk to her for a little bit. And it's just so weird to have that, weird in a good way to have that connection with these two people who I literally looked up to, like, they were, they were like my God when I was 13 years old.

Starting point is 00:24:47 And now I have this relationship with them where I'm able to ask for advice and bounce ideas. is off of him or AJ too. And it's just the best thing to be able to have that. It's just so weird. I don't know. It just like kind of organically happened. It was like, yes, I was a fan of him, but for some reason, like me, him and Roxanne just have like the same personality and like jokes.

Starting point is 00:25:09 And so we just kind of organically became close like that. And it just worked out in a very cool way. He's your wrestling dad. He is my wrestling dad. You're his wrestling daughter. Exactly. What's the piece of advice that he's given you that has really? really helped promos or matches.

Starting point is 00:25:26 I feel like he's told me a lot of things, like in very different situations, but I feel like the number one thing is to just drown out what everyone else is saying, because I feel like he knows it better than anybody. Everyone has an opinion on him, whether you absolutely love him or you absolutely hate him. Everyone has an opinion on CM Punk.

Starting point is 00:25:48 And I've always wondered, How does he like just continue to be himself and not give a shit when anybody thinks when there's a million different opinions from a million different places? But he's really, really always helped me just understand that it doesn't matter. People are always going to say something. They're going to love you or they're going to hate you. And either way, it doesn't matter because you just have to be you and do what you feel is right and you stay true to yourself.

Starting point is 00:26:15 And just if people support you, great. That's great motivation. but if they don't and they don't like you and they don't want to watch what you do or they want to watch what you do and criticize it, like that's still your name in their mouth and someone's talking about you and you're doing something right. What's that quote he had on Twitter was never take advice, never take criticism from someone you wouldn't want advice from? Exactly. And that's a powerful quote. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:26:40 Because it's like, why would you listen to these people when they're saying bad things if you would never listen to the nice things they're saying or the advice they're giving you? Someone can tell you you're the greatest thing in the world, and that's not true either. And someone can tell you you're the worst thing in the world, and that's not true either. You have to find, I feel like you have to be confident enough in yourself to see either comment and be like, okay, that's fine. But I know who I am and I know what I stand for and I know who I am. So it really doesn't matter the opinion either way. The support is great. But I also don't ever want to feel cocky or like let that get to me either.

Starting point is 00:27:16 I just feel like I know who I am and I know what I'm doing. And if you support me, thank you. And if you don't, like, okay, that's fine. How do you deal with the noise? Like, when people are saying things, not just about your work, but about you, how do you deal with that criticism? Yeah, I feel like my work is one thing because it's like everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I grew up a wrestling fan. There are people I didn't like and I didn't know them as a person.

Starting point is 00:27:43 Like, I feel like you're entitled to your ability. opinion about my work, if you don't like me as a wrestler as a character, that's fine. When you come for me as a person and you start saying things that aren't true, like the injury prone thing, when you had no idea that I literally almost died, that's where it's like, fuck you. Because you want me, you can say all these things and expect me to be quiet because you don't view me as a person. You view me as an object online or on the TV.

Starting point is 00:28:15 but then when I snap back, it's like, whoa, relax. It's like, no, you just thought you can poke and poke and poke and poke, but I am a human being? And am I going to sit there and respond to every comment? No. But there comes a point where it's like, no, you need to understand that you're wrong. And I just don't think enough people do that. All those people want is a response. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:28:35 And I feel like you putting them in their place is actually giving them what they want. Ah, I feel seen and feel heard. Yeah. It also opens up the floodgates to all kinds of more criticism. Yeah, exactly. And I feel like emotion can get the best of everybody sometimes, and sometimes you just see stuff. And it's like, just like, if you only knew, just shut up. But it is the thing where people just, anyone who's going to sit there and take the time out of their day to even write those things and say those things, you're never going to, I'm never going to hear you anyways. So why bother? I think it says more about those people than it does about you. Exactly. Like I think that a lot of it's a projection or a reflection of how unhappy they are in their own life. Yeah. But it's got to be tough because it's a lot of noise that's just hurtled your way.

Starting point is 00:29:20 Yeah. Herald your way and you're just supposed to sit there and take it. Yeah. I feel like for a while I was telling myself like it didn't get to me and I really didn't think it was. It wasn't like I was sitting there reading these things and like getting visibly upset and like genuinely being that hurt by it. But I feel like it's a subconscious thing.

Starting point is 00:29:43 you think it's not affecting you, but then you'll do a match, and it's like, oh, what is everyone thinking? Like, what is Twitter saying? Like, immediately after a match, you run to Twitter, and it's not,

Starting point is 00:29:52 how do I feel after this match that I just did? It's, what is everyone online saying? And that should never be the first thing, but it was, it became that for me for a while, and I feel like it becomes that for a lot of people.

Starting point is 00:30:04 You just have to learn to just ignore it. And it does suck, because sometimes there is support, and you do want to read that and see that, but it got to a point for me where it was just like, it was better for, me to not see anything.

Starting point is 00:30:14 Yeah. Just not read anything. I would post and ghost. I think Indy said that, like, to me, when she's like, just posting ghosts. So I literally started doing that. Just posting what I want to post and just not reading it. If my friends want to respond back to it and message me, great, that's fine. But I no longer sit and read the comments and what people say because it's just, I can't.

Starting point is 00:30:37 People seem to have a lot of different opinions about what you're doing now with OnlyFans. did you think about this before launching it? Oh, 100%. I feel like I've gotten as much hate for it as I thought I was going to. So you were prepared? Oh, 100%. I didn't think I was going to do it and people were going to be like, oh, fuck, yeah. Like, I knew I was going to get hate for it.

Starting point is 00:30:58 But again, it's just I don't care. Why do they have a problem with how you want to make money? That's what I don't understand. I've never, and I've said this before, I've never once in my life looked at someone else's life and what they're doing with their life, if it's not affecting me, my money, or who I love, or anybody in my life,

Starting point is 00:31:20 I don't care. I've never thought about that. So the fact that people are so concerned with what I'm doing with, one, my body, my career, and my life, and being that angry about it is just, and most of them are going to subscribe anyways, is absolutely ridiculous.

Starting point is 00:31:37 How has it been since you launched it? Probably the best career decision I've ever made. Very successful. My grandkids will be rich. Wow. Generational wealth from OnlyFans. I mean, OnlyFans Millionaire.

Starting point is 00:31:51 And that's the thing. It's like people are acting like, I'm just doing this now. And if I was, that's my decision. And that's my choice. And that would be fine. But I'm not. I'm now able to wrestle. Say, if someone called me from a show and wanted me to act, I can do that.

Starting point is 00:32:10 I can do only fans. I can do anything I want. The thing with WWE is nothing against them. You know this when you sign the contract. You cannot make any other income. Everything is WWE. You have to, you, WB owns you. You have to, everything is through WB.

Starting point is 00:32:29 So now I have these handcuffs off where I can wrestle still, still live my dream, go wherever I want to go, but now make income from X, Y, and Z, and do other opportunities, X, Y, and Z. I'm not in a box anymore, which I don't know if that's what bothers people. Like, now that I'm not in the WWE box and I'm not like, people can't control

Starting point is 00:32:50 and do all that. Now I have freedom. I don't know what it is, but it's just so crazy to me the intense, strong opinion of it. If you don't like it, unfollow me. Like, I'm not sitting here begging you to support me. Like I said, if you supported me in WWE

Starting point is 00:33:06 and you're continuing to support me in all my other ventures and everything like that, I 100% am grateful for that. And I love my fans. And the people who actually support me and mean well, I appreciate that. But the people who aren't and you don't, maybe you're a WWE fan and you don't want to see what else I'm doing,

Starting point is 00:33:28 you don't have to because I'm not a WWE superstar anymore. You can unfollow me. If you're a WWE fan and you don't want, like, that's fine. Bye. Like, thank you. But like, yeah, I don't. need the negativity. So I don't need support from those types of people. So it sounds like it's going well. Yeah. Are you going to make more money from only fans than from WWE?

Starting point is 00:33:48 100%. Well, congratulations. It sounds like your business is going very well. Yes. Thank you. And you just collaborated with Mandy Rose, who I think she said something like the first day or week. I can't remember what the number was, but like she made a million dollars. Yeah. She's taking you under her wing and basically being like, oh, if you're launching this thing, I'll help you out. Yeah, she's been... Collaborated with her. Yeah, she's been so helpful. I'm immediately from this...

Starting point is 00:34:15 I knew I wanted to do OnlyFans after wrestling, whenever that was. But just seeing what Mandy's been able to do, obviously she came... I don't want to say she came from nothing because she did like a swimsuit modeling and stuff like that before WWB and tough enough and stuff like that. But she was not nearly what she is right now. So being what she was doing WDB, and yes, she used the WB platform to build her name and WDB gave her followers and stuff like that. But what she has taken from her time in WB and what she is now, she's like one of the craziest businesswoman I've ever seen. She knows what she's doing.

Starting point is 00:34:53 She knows how to handle her money. She knows how to make new money. She knows what opportunities to take. She's so smart. And I don't think people give her enough credit where credits do. And I guess you don't really realize that until this is all new to me. So having her help and her guidance and I can call her and be like, hey, Mandy, I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Like, can you help me?

Starting point is 00:35:14 And she's immediately, she has a list of ways to help me. She knows what she's doing. Same with her husband, Sabby. Like, they are such smart business people and they know how to help and they know what to do with their money. So I'm so grateful for them. And just seeing what Mandy has become inspires me. So when your 30 days were up, you hit the ground running. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:35:34 In terms of bookings, matches, autograph, signings, you've got a lot of things going on right now. Yeah. So how are you balancing all this? It's weird because it's the most freedom I've ever had, technically, but it's the busiest and most overwhelmed I've ever been in all the good ways. I feel like I don't have that sense of anxiety and, like, pressure on my chest as I did when I worked for WB. And that's not nothing against them. That's not, I don't know what that is. It's just maybe it's just me as a person feeling that constant pressure of a million different things at once.

Starting point is 00:36:11 So it is nice to not have that anymore. But it is now pressure in different ways. But it's all exciting ways. And it is, yes, I have all this freedom. But now I have to, I'm realizing how much of a job it really is to invest in yourself and your brand. And that's another thing Mandy's teaching me. Like it is a job. Yes, it's a luxury to be able to make me.

Starting point is 00:36:31 the amount of money and the freedom in the ways that we do. But it is a job and learning to invest in yourself and your brand and all the different ways you have to be active on social media and all the different business opportunities you need to take. It's all very overwhelming, but it's all overwhelming in a good way. Well, I guess the thing, when you're under contract, every two weeks, you get a paycheck and you know that that's coming. When you're doing your own thing, you start every month at zero. Yeah. And you've got to figure out, all right, I'll get some money from this, then I'll take this booking over here and an autograph signing here. You put that all together, as Matt Cardone always says,

Starting point is 00:37:06 crumbs make crumb cakes. Yeah. So you've got to figure that all out. And there's a real, it's scary. Yeah. It's scary because you don't know where it's all coming from and how much it's going to be. Yeah, definitely is. I will say seeing the success that my only fans has done, definitely gives me a little bit of a comfort blanket, you know?

Starting point is 00:37:29 Like, I feel like. How many days? Has it been as we sit here right now? I opened it June 2nd. Okay. And today is June 12th. Yes. 10 days in.

Starting point is 00:37:40 And I'm going to be all right. Like I said, I want to continue to keep doing what I can in wrestling. I'd love to do other things. I don't know what that is. But like I said, I have all the freedom in the world right now. So I want to take any opportunity to do maybe things I haven't done before. If someone calls me up to do it. a show or do anything like that. Like I have, I'm going to make a YouTube channel and maybe do like a,

Starting point is 00:38:05 I don't know if I want to do like a podcast or like maybe like some type of series or something, like a weekly series. I don't know what that is yet. But I do want to try different things and just not only stay like relevant, keep my name relevant, but just try different things and do different things, make different content, stuff I haven't done before that now I have the opportunity to do. Is your YouTube channel out now? It is. Should we be subscribing to it? Yes. People are watching this on YouTube. Yes. I believe it's, um, it's either Elena Black. or Elena Black Reel. And we have a video that I'm really,

Starting point is 00:38:35 really excited about. I'm going to subscribe to you right now on YouTube. I believe the only videos up right now are like my old indie videos that I used to put up. But I filmed a video with this guy. His name's Kyle. He had reached out to me. I had posted something about needing a videographer because I wanted to film something. I didn't really have like a exact idea.

Starting point is 00:39:01 yet, but I had something in the back of my head that I knew I wanted to film. Is that you? That can't be you. It's 35 subscribers. No, I don't think that's me. Well, there's, that can't be you. I don't know. If we look at the channel, are there other channels that come up? I think if we dug really deep, we could find some stuff. Wait, maybe, is this you? Is this your channel? Oh my God, yeah, it is. Okay, we found you. Yeah, there it is. Twenty-two hundred subscribers plus this one right here. Thank you. Your most recent video is from, oh, 10 days ago.

Starting point is 00:39:37 Oh, yeah, it was the teaser. Yeah. But then before that was four years ago. Something happened four years ago, right? Yeah, I was busy for like four years. All right. Well, we'll link that down below so everybody can subscribe you. That trailer is this video, this guy had reached out to me because I posted about needing a videographer.

Starting point is 00:39:56 I knew I wanted to film something. I just didn't know exactly what it was. honestly, I had this a little bit of aspects of this video. I had ideas that I had brought to that meeting that this person typed in their laptop that never got used. But anyways, so I had little bits of stuff in my head that I knew I wanted to put out somehow, some way. But I'm not really great. I'm always good at knowing what I want to do, but not exactly knowing how to put it out creatively. So I knew I had all these ideas and this guy had reached out to me and I had looked at his page and he had done a video with, Matt Cardona and like he's done a few other stuff with other athletes and bands and stuff like that. And he had really good work. So I told him I had these loose little ideas. I was like, I don't know what you can do with this or help me, but this is little bits and pieces I have. Let me know if you're able to help me put it together. We ended up having a phone call and he's based in, I think, L.A. and Chicago goes back and forth. We ended up having a phone call and I had told him

Starting point is 00:40:56 my ideas and he, I don't know how the hell he did it, but he is so talented and so creative. He took what I had in my head and somehow put it into a production. I don't know how he took exactly what was in my head and managed to put it exactly how I wanted and more, but he did. And I ended up flying to Chicago because I'm from there anyways. I wanted to see my family. And I thought it would be cool to film a video in my hometown with, you know, kind of back where I started. So we just spent like 12 hours one day filming this video. We had, you know, props, people to help us. We rented out a set. We put a lot of like time, effort and money into this video. And it's probably the coolest thing I've ever made in my life. And obviously he's the one

Starting point is 00:41:45 who's doing all of it. I'm just the one there with some of the ideas. But the way he was able to help me put this together and put my ideas into a production and convey a, very special and deep message, I think, is very, very, very special. And I think it'll be out by the time this comes out, but it'll be on my YouTube channel and all of my socials. His socials, his name is Kyle Kogan. But he's great and I'm really excited for this video to come out and for people to see it. I think it's more of a deeper kind of vulnerable side to me that people haven't seen before. And it's kind of aspects of who I was before, WGB, who I was in WGB, and kind of who I am now.

Starting point is 00:42:25 So we know who Cora Jade was. Yeah. Who's Elena Black? And also when you walked in here, you introduced yourself as Bree. So you've got a lot of names. I got three names right now. I got people still calling me Cora. People calling me Elena.

Starting point is 00:42:37 My real name is Bree. I don't know. I have three names right now. It's crazy. So who's Elena Black? I feel like Elena Black originally was a very timid, kind of still finding herself kind of creepy, little outcast. And then that kind of blossomed into

Starting point is 00:43:01 Mean Girl, Cora Jade. And now what I feel like... Corrjade was also a skater girl. Corrjade was many things. I feel like it kind of got kind of surface level, though, where it was just like, okay, I'm just this mean girl. And all the ideas I was giving really weren't being used. So it kind of just felt like I was this surface level.

Starting point is 00:43:21 Like there was so much more. I feel like I wanted to be or could. have been, but Corra Jade towards the end, I feel like kind of just felt like a very flat surface level character. So we're able to see more of it now. Yeah. So I loved aspects of Cora Jade and of the old Elena Black. So I feel like now, when Elena Black is now, I feel like is a mix of both of those.

Starting point is 00:43:45 I don't know exactly what that is yet. I feel like it's just a matter of time and exploring that and getting comfortable again in this new era because I feel like I'm when. you're in W.V. It's like a bubble. It's its own world. You don't really realize how how isolated and weird it feels until you come out of it. And it literally feels like a different planet. It's like, oh shit. It feels like you're being born again, like in a way. It's like the weirdest thing in the world. So I feel like the Elena Black now is going to be a mix of both of those characters. I feel like more so the old Elena Black, but obviously aspects of

Starting point is 00:44:22 Corridate. I don't know exactly what that is yet. I feel like that's something I need. defined and find my new flow and find my new comfortable. Like, I feel like right now it can go either way, so I'm not sure. You had a few matches in AEW before you got signed by WW. Yeah. Were you close to signing with AEW at that time? I don't know. I wanted to be because I had seen a lot of my friends and like people that I had worked with

Starting point is 00:44:49 on the Indies all starting to do dark and then they were getting signed. And so I did want to go to AAB because I just wanted to go anywhere. I wanted to be a wrestler signed to a company. But I did feel closer to signing to AEDW than WWE because I was doing dark. I was friends with the Bucks. I had people there that I was close with. And I was having fun there. I loved A.W.

Starting point is 00:45:12 I did think I was going to end up there. But W.B. randomly just same month, it was like the same month. I don't think it's random. Yeah. the end of October they... I think they might have seen your matches and went, wait a second. Maybe. But the only reason I signed with WB...

Starting point is 00:45:29 Obviously, I love WB as well and wanted to be at WB one day. I thought I was going to end up at AED, but WB just ended up offering me a contract first. What coincidental timing? Yeah, but... I feel like that's happened a few times where someone has a few matches on AED Dark. Yeah. And then all of a sudden you get the call from WWE. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:45:49 Was it a call to have a tryout or was it a call with an offer? It was a trial, but the day that I did my trial, I got the offer, which I think doesn't really happen, but I think that they knew I was doing AW, like I think I had done dark like a week before. You were on, was it two episodes of AW? It was either two or three. I don't remember, yeah. But, yeah, I thought I was going to end up at AW.

Starting point is 00:46:13 I remember I had, because I was, especially at this time in my life, I still am, but especially at this time, I was very big. to like manifestation and stuff like that. I had just read the book The Secret. I don't know if you've ever read it. But there was like something, some exercise, manifestation exercise, whatever. It said that like print something and have it above your bed before you go to sleep. So it's like the last thing you see before you go to sleep.

Starting point is 00:46:35 This is so embarrassing to say. But I remember I had someone online had made like a fake, this was in like 2020, had made a fake like Elena Black is all elite graphic. And I had printed it out and stuck it above my bed. So it was like the last thing I saw every night before I went to bed. So I was trying to manifest that. And it almost happened. But then WWE offered me first. And I'm 19 years old.

Starting point is 00:46:58 I'm not going to deny a contract. You know, I didn't know if AW was going to offer me one. So WWE came first and that's what I did. But hey, I'm here now. Never say never. So what's above your bed now?

Starting point is 00:47:10 Nothing. Maybe I should put that. Maybe I should bring that back out of the closet. Yeah, maybe. What's in the closet? Maybe I'll ask my mom if she still has it in Chicago. I'm like, can I have that back? Do you think you'd go to A.E.W. now? I'm open to whatever. I'm not in any rush to sign anywhere right now. I'm not like sitting here waiting for that because I feel like for the first time in my life, I'm trying to be present and just enjoy life now and what's happening now. Because I feel like a lot of times I was always worried about what's next. And this business is so go, go, go, go, go. It's hard to sit and be present. So I feel like I'm trying to just enjoy where I'm at right now and not worry about that.

Starting point is 00:47:49 But if the call came, I would definitely be open to talking and whatever because I love AID. I watch all the A-W shows since 2020. I never stopped watching them. I just couldn't talk about it. I love A-A-W. I love wrestling. I want to continue to wrestle wherever that is. If the call comes, hey, I'm here.

Starting point is 00:48:07 But if it doesn't for a few months or never, I don't know. But I'm not sitting here stressing about it, but I'm open to it. What was the match or the storyline that really started to make? you feel comfortable with the role you were in in WWA? I feel like once I wrestled Natalia, and that was when I was still doing like the baby face Corridate skater stuff. Is she the best? She really is the best.

Starting point is 00:48:36 That was not only she just such a great wrestler and she knows everything about the business, she's a genuine great person and she's another one of those people who are so giving and helpful and doesn't necessarily have to be. Like she's been around forever. Her family's great. Like, she doesn't have to be as humble and nice as she is, but she is. And I remember I was a big fan of her too. I have a picture of me and Natty when I was a kid too.

Starting point is 00:49:03 But after that match, I just remember not only was she so helpful to be in the process of putting it together and even in the ring and stuff like that, but I just remember after that match, I felt like, okay, if I can get the same. through that, I can get through anything because it was a hard match to put together and it was just more, at least more than what I had done before, more intricate and just listening to Natty and the way she puts matches together and like how she structures it and everything like that was all very new for me and felt very overwhelming, but it was a challenge for me. And I felt like once I overcame that challenge, I felt really, really good. So I feel like in WWE, after that match,

Starting point is 00:49:43 I felt, okay, like, I kind of know my place. I kind of know what I'm doing. And I feel like after that, I felt more confident in myself. What do you feel like you really want to work on in the next year, two, five, to become the best version of yourself in the ring? You know what's funny is the day before I got fired, I was laughing and joking with some of the girls in our training class. And me and Stephanie Veckear became very close.

Starting point is 00:50:11 I love her. I was joking around, but I was being serious. I was like, guys, I need to set my game up. I need to become an athlete. Like, all you guys are doing flips and stuff. I was like, I need to set my game up. So I had just learned how to do a springboard. And I did a perfect kip-up.

Starting point is 00:50:26 So I was like, okay. I was like, next match, you guys just wait. Next day, fired my ass. So I was like, you know what? Whoever signs me next, you're going to get a springboard and a kip-up. Elena Black's going to be going to be doing a lot of kip-ups. Yeah, exactly. I mean, moonsault, maybe?

Starting point is 00:50:43 Oh, relax. Don't get crazy. Come on, one thing at a time here. But in all seriousness, I feel like I just want to be as creatively free as I can right now. I feel like I have a lot of ideas. I have a lot of passion for, like, storytelling and wrestling. Like, growing up, obviously I loved the wrestling and stuff. But I was always, like, I was always writing books and stories and very, like, just creative in that way.

Starting point is 00:51:11 and always loved that type of stuff. And I would like make my own wrestling edits, like my own little video packages and stuff. And I was like 13 of the shield and stuff because I was just so invested in like that aspect of wrestling and sports entertainment in that way. So I feel like right now I really just want to deep dive into that and do more videos like the one that's going to come out.

Starting point is 00:51:34 I feel like that's going to be really cool once people see that. I just want to do more stuff like that. and dive into more character-based stuff and just expand my horizons as a character. Do you feel like it's, and this may be difficult to answer, but do you feel like it's been hard to grow up because you've been growing up in the business? Like you're forced to grow up immediately. Yeah, I say this all the time as a joke, but it's true.

Starting point is 00:51:58 I'm 24 and I feel 44 mentally and physically. I feel like I've lived 30 lives in 24 years. I feel like I'm not who I was four years ago. I'm not who I was three years ago. I'm not who I was six months ago. I definitely had to grow up very fast, not only finishing school that fast, but then being in such a male-dominated sport so early, I'm 15 years old and I'm the only girl because Kylie Ray was training with me at the time,

Starting point is 00:52:29 but she, and I believe was living in Texas when I had started doing reality of wrestling. So for a good minute there, I was the only girl, and I'm 15 years old, and I'm surrounded by, like, all these older guys. So I really did have to grow up very quickly. And then getting signed at 19, starting at WWB when I'm 20, I had to become an adult like that. And I had always felt a little bit more emotionally mature because once I found out or, like, decided that I wanted to be a wrestler, that was all I ever wanted to do. So every decision I ever made was in relation to wrestling. And I feel like I just was always an emotionally more mature person, even just as a kid. I always got along with people older than me.

Starting point is 00:53:11 But I do feel like, I don't want to say my childhood got robbed because that's not the word at all. I just don't necessarily know what a better term is. But I feel like I never really, because I was so focused on making it to WB and becoming a wrestler and I started wrestling when I was 15, I never really got to be a normal kid or a teenager or anything like that, which is fine. Like wrestling is my dream and my love and everything like that. But it did feel like I, I do feel like I'm very old. I'm very young still technically. And you've got such a bright future in front of you too.

Starting point is 00:53:47 Like a lot of people haven't even started training at 24. Yeah. And you now have seven years experience under your belt. Yeah. So by the seven more years, you'll be just turning 31. My goodness, you'll have a wealth of experience. God, yeah. I don't even.

Starting point is 00:54:02 That's the thing where I'm, I'm like, I don't know how long I even want to keep wrestling anymore. And I don't mean, like, to make that sound like I'm about to quit anytime soon. But I guess it all just depends on where I end up or, you know, what I want to do. Because I would like to have a family. I do want to be a mom. Like, I have talked about before I had a very scary experience. So I...

Starting point is 00:54:23 I'm so sorry to hear about that. Yeah, it's okay. And I feel like people, everyone is saying that to me. And it's like, maybe I'm just numb to it now. Like, maybe that sounds bad to say. Like, I'm a father of two. My wife's been pregnant twice. Just being pregnant in general, of course, it's very exciting.

Starting point is 00:54:39 It's also very scary. Yeah. And when you had one of the worst things that could happen while you're pregnant. Yeah. And I've always been just, I just have anxiety in general. And especially like health anxiety, that that's something they warn you about, like, when you have an IUD. So I was already worried about that. But then when it actually happens and not only was it like in.

Starting point is 00:55:03 or an ectopic pregnancy, but it had ruptured. So I lost my entire left fallopian tube. So now I only have one left, which I'm able to have children and stuff. But now it's like I don't want to risk like anything. Like when I would need to like if I get pregnant, I need to have like a healthy pregnancy and make sure it goes through and like everything like that. So I just, I want to have kids and I want to have a family one day. So I don't want to keep putting a lot of damage on my body. I'm 24. I don't know how long that is, but I guess it all just depends on where I end up and what I'm doing. But I would like to have a family and, you know, stuff like that. So I don't know how long. That was surgery you had to have, right? Yeah. So it was it was really, really weird. Like, it was, again, just my intuition. There was nothing really crazy had really happened yet. I just, having the IUD, I don't know if people, I don't know if you're super familiar or anyone watching.

Starting point is 00:55:58 many women won't get a period on it. You just don't have your menstrual cycle on it. It's just kind of what happens when you're on it for that long. And so I had never really gotten that. And then I remember my boyfriend at the time was sitting on the couch playing video games. And I was sitting there and I was like, something just doesn't feel right. And I had went to the restroom when I was bleeding. And I was like, this isn't right.

Starting point is 00:56:22 And it wasn't crazy, but I was like, this is not okay. I have a bad feeling. So long story, shorthanded up driving me to the. the hospital and they had like five or six people ahead of me. So we had, I remember I got there at like 11 p.m. and I was already waiting like an hour or two hours and still no one was taking me in. And I'm like freaking out. And I had went to the restroom and I'm bleeding even more now. So I knew something really, really wasn't right. So I remember like telling them, I'm like, I need to leave. You need to, they had already, like, gotten, like, my vitals and stuff.

Starting point is 00:57:00 But I don't think they were taking it as serious as, like, I knew that it was. And I had told them, like, you need to discharge me and I needed to go to a different hospital because this is, like, not okay. And I think me saying that made them, like, realized maybe, okay, it was more serious than they had thought. I think they thought I was just being dramatic. And it was, like, no offense, but the guy who was taking my blood was a male doctor. And I was like, yeah, I'm having a necktop of pregnancy, I think. and he's like, aren't you on birth control? And I'm like, somebody helped me.

Starting point is 00:57:31 Jesus Christ. But then I think once I said that, they rushed me into like an ultrasound. And I think they had told me there was like, it's still going to be like a two-hour wait before the doctor could see me. But they had given me the ultrasound. And with an ectopic pregnancy, if it, basically it's for anyone who doesn't know that the egg gets implanted in the fallopian tube. It's supposed to be in the uterus. uterus. But then obviously eventually, if it gets, the baby grows too big, it ruptures the uterus,

Starting point is 00:58:02 and that's when the internal bleeding happens. And that's when it's very, very dangerous because you can die pretty quickly after that. Most people catch it before it ruptures. I guess I didn't. I just didn't know. And they're doing the ultrasound, and I knew something was off because she starts, like, starts taking a little bit longer than I think it was supposed to. And then they're wheeling me back. And then they're like, okay, the doctor's, is waiting for you. And I was like, the doctor's waiting for me. Like, you told me it was going to be a two-hour wait. Like, what the hell is going on? Then they roll me in and they're like, yeah, you're having an autopsy pregnancy. It ruptured. So your left floating tube is completely exploded and you're

Starting point is 00:58:41 internally bleeding pretty bad. So we need to rush you into emergency surgery. And I was supposed to wrestle Lyra, Valcaria the next day on NXC. And I remember thinking, thank God I didn't. But I remember thinking, like, I just need, I'll go to the hospital after the match tomorrow. Like, I just need to get through the match. I would have, I would be dead. So thank God. I listened to my intuition and I went because they skipped everybody and rushed me into emergency surgery within an hour. And they had to have like three scars, one here, went in my belly button and then one on the other side. But they had to remove my left flopian tube and now I only have the right one, which is fine. It's like you can still have children and everything. But like I said, it's a little bit more risky now.

Starting point is 00:59:21 So I don't know how long I want to keep putting all this damage and stuff on my body. And, you know, I want to have kids. How long were you out for after that? I think it was only, it was like the end of January. I think it was, I missed stand and deliver. But I remember I was cleared right before a stand and deliver. And I was really upset that I was missing it because I was like, I'm cleared. So I think it was only like two months.

Starting point is 00:59:44 But then just the postpartum depression after that, which I didn't even realize, I always knew it was a thing. But I guess I didn't realize how serious it was or that it was so serious. when you, even in that case, we're like, I didn't even technically have the baby, but I was still, I didn't know what the hell was going on. I was like borderline like about to kill myself. Like it was, it got really, really bad. So I just had to take time off. And that's when I went and I got my boobs done, which I had always wanted to get done. But I used it as an excuse to take time off because I needed it mentally.

Starting point is 01:00:17 And then I was like, okay, maybe I'll feel like more confident and I'll have taken this time off mentally and everything like that. So I went and I did that. And I did feel better mentally after I took that time to really get myself together like therapy and all that kind of stuff. And then when I came back, I felt really, really good. And then came back in December, tore my knee January 12th, I think it was. So it was like, and then I had just went through like a horrible breakup too. Then I was living on like the third floor of an apartment complex with no elevator. And I had a dog and I'm living newly by myself.

Starting point is 01:00:56 Just tore my knee. My mom had to live with me for like two months because I couldn't do anything. like it was the worst time in my life. Here we are. I'm so sorry that you went through all that. Yeah, it's okay. That's a lot. Yeah, but I feel like I wouldn't be who I am without it.

Starting point is 01:01:12 I feel like I'm such a, like, I didn't used to be this emotionally strong. Like, I don't want to say nothing phases me now, but like I've heard it all. I've been through it all. It's like you can't really, can't really knock me down at this point. What was it that started to get you out of feeling the way that you were feeling? Honestly, because it got really bad. I don't know if anyone's ever been so sad to the point they're like throwing up nothing, but like that's at the point in my life that I was at.

Starting point is 01:01:40 And my poor mom, like I literally wouldn't have gotten through it without her. She was forcing me to eat. I wasn't eating because I was so depressed. Like so much was going on. Like I literally couldn't do anything. I remember like my mom was literally scared to leave me because I didn't think she didn't realize what was going to happen to me because I had been drinking a lot too because I was just really depressed and stuff like that. So I think she was just scared to leave me. But honestly,

Starting point is 01:02:04 what got me out of it was at the time I was living at this apartment complex. And I had this really, really great group of friends in my apartment complex. There's like the first time I've ever had really like a group of friends since living there that weren't wrestlers. It was just random people that I knew. And then I became so close with this girl named Shaley. And she had a husband who was a surgeon. So he was working all the time. And they, she was like my downstairs neighbor and she had two little kids. They were like two and five, I want to say six or something like that. But because he worked all day, she was just a stay-at-home mom with the kids and I was out with a knee injury for nine months. So all we did every single day was like hang out at the pool

Starting point is 01:02:46 together and like I hung out with this group of friends. And I feel like it's such like a random answer, but like genuinely being with her and being with those people and having that like solid group of friends when I had just lost everything. Like, I had lost my relationship, my knee, like, everything. Baby. I had, yeah, like the baby, everything. Everything I had lost. So I was like, what the hell?

Starting point is 01:03:08 And then, like, a few months later, my dog died. But then I just, but having, like, her and that solid group of friends that I had never really had outside of wrestling before genuinely saved my life. Like, because it didn't matter, like, if I was losing my mind, crying and having a mental break down, I could go downstairs and she was there for me. Like, having that group of friends really, really saved my life. Like, I can't thank her. And, like, that just that little group of friends that, like, I don't even live in that complex anymore, but now I have those friends for life, like, having that solid group of people for, like, six months straight, I was

Starting point is 01:03:41 just with her every day. It's amazing how people are put into our life. It is. The right point in time to just be there. Yeah, just like the most, we would have probably never met or hung out otherwise. But I just met her and like these other people who we just became like a little family and I had this like little family that I needed so desperately like at that time in my life. So I'm so grateful for them like having like I look back at that time of my life and I'm like that little like group of people like got me through all that. How are you feeling now? I feel great. I feel like probably the best mentally I have in I want to say years. like obviously shit has happened and you get through it and stuff like that.

Starting point is 01:04:23 But I feel very, very just like at peace. Like I feel okay financially. I feel great in my career now with like the freedom that I have. I'm excited for the things I have coming up. I just feel like I don't know what the term is, but the, what is it, the world's in the palm of my hands. Yeah, sure. The world is your oyster. Yes, there it is.

Starting point is 01:04:46 you want it to be. Well, the world's my oyster. There's this false narrative online that you're injury prone. But it's one injury. You had one injury. Yeah, and then I almost died when I lost a baby. And people don't know that story. And I don't think they did know that story until you went on Ariel Hawani show. Which is a big reason of why I put it out there. Do I want to put my entire personal life out there? No. But it gets to a point where maybe, one, I wanted to, everyone to just shut to fuck up because I'm not injury prone. I hurt my knee and then I almost, I almost died and then I hurt my knee, Jesus Christ, God forbid. And just because I know it's such a touchy sensitive subject and there's probably so many

Starting point is 01:05:23 women out there that have went through something similar and maybe don't share it or don't realize that it does happen to people in the public eye with a platform. Like another, I know Carmela went through something similar. I don't know the extent of hers or if hers was as extreme or anything like that. But I know she has said that publicly. So I feel like anytime, and she made me feel comfortable to talk about it too. Like I reached out to her after and I was like, hey, this happened to me. I haven't talked to anybody about it.

Starting point is 01:05:51 But like we connected over that. So I just feel like the more women talk about that, the more women that talk about it and just share how common it really is and scary and how much it really can affect you afterwards, I think it's just the best thing that you can do. Did you go on Ariel's show with the idea that you were going to talk about that? I didn't know when I was going to talk about it. I just knew that I was probably going to talk about it at some point. And then it just, I think, I think that was the point where I was like, you motherfuckers think I'm injury prone. Like, if you only knew what I had to go through.

Starting point is 01:06:27 And that's the story just about life in general. We don't know people's stories. Yeah. And we just assume things about people. Most of the time we're wrong about it. Yeah. But now, now people know. And hopefully you stop calling me injury prone.

Starting point is 01:06:42 and if you still are, I really don't give a fuck anymore. Do you just walk into Ariel Hawani's show and you're on the air? Yeah. That's how it is? Yeah. It's like Howard Stern does it. Yeah, which was cool, but also I was like pretty nervous and everyone's like, she keeps saying like, she keeps saying like.

Starting point is 01:06:59 And hey, I was nervous, okay? It was live. Cut me some slack. It was my first interview. You didn't say like very many times in this one at all. Someone's going to count it now. Yeah, I know. Come on, guys.

Starting point is 01:07:10 Jeez. I get it. he's probably been on the air for like two hours of the point. Yeah. So it's like, all right, here's our next guest walking in here. And I was nervous because I always watched his interviews with punk.

Starting point is 01:07:19 He would do like the annual interviews. Oh, yeah, that's right. And I was like a fan of him. So I would wait for those interviews every year. So then seeing him in front of me and it's live. I was like, hi.

Starting point is 01:07:29 And punk didn't really do a lot of interviews. Yeah. Like he did some around when he had movies that were coming out. But after he left WWE. That was like his main one. Yes. So I would wait for that one. Because it was like really long too.

Starting point is 01:07:39 So it like fed my soul for like. that year. What does this tattoo under your necklace say? Oh, God, don't remind me. It says, what do you mean? It says Star of the Ego, Feed the Soul. And I saw it one day and I saved it and I liked it. Where'd you see it? Like Pinterest or something, honestly. Like, I. It seems like you don't, like, is this a regret? I don't want to say it's a regret because I try not to regret anything, especially the tattoos all over my body. But it was before my boob job. So I was, I was like, I got nothing going on here. I'm going to get something.

Starting point is 01:08:14 And then I... Let's draw some attention here. I was like, I need some type of decoration or something. And then I saw that tattoo on Pinterest on somebody. And I was like, oh, that looks cool. And then I was, like, going through a lot at the time. Nothing new for me, clearly. I was working out at the gym.

Starting point is 01:08:32 And I finished my workout. And I was like, I'm going to go get that tattoo. Went and got it. Didn't even ask about WWI. I ended up getting in trouble a little bit, actually. And don't know why I did it because like six months later, I was like, I hate this tattoo. And now I hate it even more. Well, you could cover it up.

Starting point is 01:08:47 You could get rid of it. Yeah. If anyone has any ideas of a good cover up for this. I bet if you put it out there, a very talented tattoo artist would say, hey, you know what? I'll give you a great deal. Yeah. Let's see. Because we need it.

Starting point is 01:09:01 Well, you've probably got a bunch of DMs now. Yeah. Because we just put that out of the world. But would you be open to covering it up? I feel like I would. I don't know what it would. be because I don't want anything like too crazy big there now. But I guess maybe removing it.

Starting point is 01:09:15 Well, you've kind of opened the door here. Yeah. It's a big piece of work already. Well, maybe if anyone also wants to give me like a free tattoo removal sponsorship or something. Okay. Yeah. Well, so you'd be okay with getting rid of it? But I'm scared that it's going to hurt.

Starting point is 01:09:30 So I can't, I don't know what I want. Well, I think they both hurt. Yeah, I don't know what I want. I don't know. I don't have any tattoos, but none? None. None. But I feel like getting the removal will hurt.

Starting point is 01:09:40 also getting a tattoo probably hurts. I just shouldn't have done it. I'm just screwed either way now. That sounds like regret. Let me know, guys. How do you feel about the other tattoos? The other ones I feel like I love. I don't think I have any other ones that I don't like.

Starting point is 01:09:53 This little lightning bolt was my first ever one. It was because A.J. Lee used to wear a lightning bolt necklace when she would wrestle. So I always wanted it to be like my little reminder of what I was trying to do. What's 500? This is from the movie 500 Days of Summer. Oh, I love that movie. You know how they have like the pages. Yes.

Starting point is 01:10:13 On the end of that movie just crushes me every time. There's a wrestling ring behind my ear. Good thing I didn't get the WWE logo because I almost did. And then any other good ones? Oh, when I was younger, I had CM Punk write PMA on a notebook when I met him. Positive Mental Attitude. He would always say and I think he has a tattoo of it as well. But I was like, can you write this?

Starting point is 01:10:36 Because I'm going to get it tattooed one day. And then he was like, okay, he signed it. And then I did get it tattooed one day. I don't know why it's on my foot, but it is. But then I remember, like, a few months ago, I was like, hey, I was like wearing flip-flops. I'm like, hey, remember when I got this tattooed on my foot? He was like, oh, yeah, what the hell? You had mentioned you're a big pop punk fan.

Starting point is 01:10:57 Yes. I am a massive pop punk fan. So who are some of your go-to bands? Do you know the story so far? Of course. They haven't put out music in so long. But they are still my number one. I don't know what it is.

Starting point is 01:11:10 I just absolutely love them. neck deep is another one of my faves. No neck deep. I feel like those are my top two. But right now I feel like my music taste is so all over the place right now. It's like the most range it's ever had. Like I go from Future and Playboy Cardi rap to Tate McCray. Do you know her?

Starting point is 01:11:30 She's like... Oh, yes, I do. She's like a great pop star right now. And I'm not even super like crazy into the type of music, but I absolutely love her right now. And then like it'll go to bring me the horizon, neck deep. Then it'll go to just like sad girl. You know who Ethel Cain is? No.

Starting point is 01:11:46 That's another one. She's like makes really good like sad girl like cry to your car, cry in your car like alone music. So I feel like I have such a range right now. The only one I don't listen to is country. I can't do it. Why are you hating on country? I don't know.

Starting point is 01:12:02 And I've tried to like it. It's not like I'm against it and I haven't tried. Like all my friends love country. It's hard to be in a bad mood when you listen to the country. Yeah. I feel like maybe if I'm like drinking on a beach, and listening to it, it's fine. But I'm never...

Starting point is 01:12:14 Somewhere on a beach. I just feel like I can't ever... It's enough songs about that. Toes in your sand and toes in the sand. Maybe that'll be like a niche. My own... Is that the word of niche? I'm my only fans.

Starting point is 01:12:26 Yeah, I'll play country music with my feet in the sand. Anybody want it? Let me know. But I don't know. I can't do country and like heavy screamo. I don't like either

Starting point is 01:12:36 because it makes me feel like anxious. I don't know. Have you seen what All American Rejects are doing recently? They're playing like the most random locations. Really? Like you just tell them like, hey, could you show up on our front lawn? And they will.

Starting point is 01:12:49 Wow. They played a bowling alley recently. No way. Interesting. It's the wildest thing. I'll book them for my entrance music or something. Whoa, maybe I should. Do you have an awesome entrance theme?

Starting point is 01:13:03 I was using Can You Feel My Heart for a while? But I am actually working on custom music right now with downstate. I stay tuned for that. The theme song for this show is downstate. Oh, is it? Okay, cool. Welcome to the family. Thank you.

Starting point is 01:13:18 I saw they made indies and I was like, that's sick. They're the best. They've made so many good ones. Yeah, we haven't come. We haven't solidified anything yet, but. Will it be done for your first match? I don't think the first match, but that's fine because I want to use my, can you feel my heart?

Starting point is 01:13:31 Because I feel like that's what I ended with. So I want to start with that. I love the excitement that you have for this new chapter of your life. Yeah, just why be sad about it? I accomplished a lot of dreams. I met some of my best friends. I have a lot of great memories. I got advice from my idols.

Starting point is 01:13:51 I did it all. I don't have no complaints. Do you feel like the door is still open in WWE? Definitely. I feel like I'm 24 years old. I feel like I didn't end on horrible terms there. There's no, like I said, yes, there's things that pissed me off, but I'm human and I love wrestling. So that's only natural.

Starting point is 01:14:08 But was it so, I'm going to say here and be like, oh, my God. my time there was so horrible. I never want to go back. Absolutely not. I loved my time there. I loved to people I met there. I feel like anything is possible. So in that notebook where you were crossing off all the things on your bucket list, what's still on there? I don't know. I feel like I'll have to report back to you maybe, but WrestleMania. Let me know as you cross them off. Yeah, WrestleMania is on there for sure and winning the NXT title. Are there still some opponents that you haven't worked with? AJ Lee's my dream opponent of all time. Could you bring AJ Lee back to wrestling? I don't know. I don't know. I I don't know if I can't.

Starting point is 01:14:44 I know that Roxanne can. So I know between one of us, I think we can do it. Whether it's her or me, I don't know which one it's going to be, but remember that, it's going to be one of us. So you're making a prediction right now. AJ Lee returns to wrestling. I'm making a hopeful prediction. You're like selfishly, I just wanted to happen.

Starting point is 01:15:05 Yeah, I just really want it. But she's killing and doing whatever she's doing. I just want her to be happy. That's the fan and you going. I want to see her wrestling. again. Yes, exactly. You're like whether it's against me or not. Exactly. But if it's against Roxanne, too, I'll be happy. It has to be one of us, though. I know Mercedes was someone you looked up to. Yes. What about a match with her? That's my current dream match. I feel like her and Bailey were my favorites out of the four horse woman. I loved all of them. But I feel like I really, really looked up to them too specifically. I feel like I just felt the most connected to them to. Because Sasha was always doing the same thing, saying she was writing in her wrestling or Mercedes. I still say Sasha sometimes. but she was always writing in her notebook too. And I feel like I look at her and see aspects of myself too.

Starting point is 01:15:49 So to be able to wrestle her now where we both have had our time in WWE and we're both doing our own thing now and doing whatever we want creatively, I feel like that is the ultimate dream match. I feel like that one's really possible. We'll see. I'm putting it out there. Because she does some stuff that's not just necessarily in AEW. So it's possible. Exactly.

Starting point is 01:16:10 We'll see. Who's going to book it first? Well, I'm excited for all of the opportunities that you have. And thank you for coming in here. Yeah, of course. I love L.A. So thank you for having me. I hope you get to do lots of fun things here.

Starting point is 01:16:21 Yeah, I want to go see. I got in and out last night. I saw that. What's the in and out order? I didn't know what to get because I only got it one other time and it was like really not good. And I don't think I ordered it right though. So then I looked on TikTok and someone said to do I got a cheeseburger combo, no pickles, animal style fries and a diet Coke. Sounds like you.

Starting point is 01:16:42 You did it right. It was really good that time. Yeah. It's animal style is the way to go. Yeah, I don't know what I'm going to get tonight. I feel like I need like street tacos or something. Absolutely. Yeah, we'll see.

Starting point is 01:16:53 There's a lot of great food here. I'll ask you the question I ask everybody at the end. And again, thank you for coming in here. I'm pumped to see what's next for you. And I'm excited for you to get back in the rain. Thank you. Gratitude is such a huge part of my life. What are three things in your life that you're grateful for right now?

Starting point is 01:17:09 Hmm. Number one, my dogs. What are their names? Chloe and Pluto. They're both girls. They are literally, and at this time in my life right now, I feel like I've become more attached to them than ever because it's just like me and my two dogs. And I do everything with them together now. I'm like just like I'm single in my apartment and just me and my dogs hanging out all the time.

Starting point is 01:17:33 What kind of dogs are there? They are both golden dudos. Chloe is the bigger one. She's like a medium size. So she's like 35 pounds. She's my sweet little baby I got her During that time

Starting point is 01:17:46 Actually I tore my knee I had just gone through a really bad breakup So I was like I'm gonna go get a puppy Got a puppy That was Chloe Then tore my knee And I was living on the third floor So I couldn't even take her outside

Starting point is 01:18:00 She's a brand new puppy So I had to like puppy pad train her But I got her So she was like my little I remember I wanted a smaller one Like I had my dog named Stitch at the time he was like a little tiny guy and I wanted one like him but I remember going to get her and she was like they brought out a whole bunch of them but Chloe she ran and she came and set in between my legs

Starting point is 01:18:24 and she was like being so cute and all the other ones were being crazy and they were like that's the only big one and I was like I don't care she picks me I need her she's my soulmate dog and ever since that day she's the sweetest little baby she's like my best friend in the entire world And then after my dog's stitch died, I wanted to get one in remembrance of him. So Pluto looks exactly like him. She's a little golden noodle, but she's a toy. So she's only seven pounds. Oh my gosh.

Starting point is 01:18:52 And she's going to stay that size forever. But it's hilarious. There's like a Pluto's like the small little crazy one. And then Chloe's like the big one, but she's like very calm and sweet. But those are my little bestie girls. Pluto's named after Future, the rapper, even though she's a girl. I thought I wanted her to have a cool name. So I'm so grateful for them.

Starting point is 01:19:11 Those are my little babies. I'm grateful for just the opportunity to continue to do what I love and make money because of the platform that I have. I'm very grateful for the platform that WWE gave me, even though I'm not there anymore. They gave me the opportunity in the platform and the fan base to be able to do what I have

Starting point is 01:19:30 and am going to continue to do now. So I'm very grateful for that. And third, I'm just grateful for the friends and family I have in my life that I've been able to rely on and just have as a support system and just vent to and stuff like that. Like Roxanne Bailey, they're my best friends. I'm always able to go to them and just vent to them and just know that I have genuine. It's very rare to have people who you know are genuinely in your corner at all times

Starting point is 01:20:01 and are rooting for you and have no ill intention. And your success does not have anything to do with theirs either here. nor there, which I feel like is a thing that sometimes people try to do with me and Roxanne like pit us against each other. And it's like, I'm so happy for her. And I know that we both know that her success does not have anything to do with mine and mine has nothing to do with hers. We're on this journey together and being able to see her do what she's done and she deserves it so much 10 times over. So just. Clapping for others does not take away from your own success. Exactly. Like, I'm so grateful to have genuine friends like that who, and like Stephanie and Julia, too, like I said, I became so close with them.

Starting point is 01:20:45 Just having those people who you know genuinely want to see you do well and you want to see them do well, especially in this business is very rare and it's very, very, feels very refreshing to have. So I'm grateful for that. Well, thank you again and continued success to you. Thank you so much. Thank you for seeing what's next. Thank you for having me. All right. Thank you for checking out this episode. Big thank you to Elena for joining us in the studio. Check out her YouTube channel that we mentioned there. I'll leave a link in the show notes, but it's

Starting point is 01:21:21 Elena Black Reel. She just posted that new video she was talking about. It just got posted, I think, three or four days ago. And I think it gives a lot of hints to what we can expect from Elena Black moving forward. She has a ton of indie bookings coming up, and it's, I think it's going to be very interesting to see if we see her back in AEW. She made two appearances there before getting signed with WWE. So could we see her back there? I guess only time will tell in terms of where we might see her pop up. But snap a screenshot and let us know you listen to this episode. Tag us. She's at Elena Black on X and on Instagram. I'm at Chris Van Vleet and we will wrap this up with a quote from Henri Bergson. Think like a man of action. Act like a man of thought. Be great and be grateful,

Starting point is 01:22:14 my friends. We will see you on the next one for some more insight. We've got Ask CVV number 88 tomorrow. If you've got a question, leave a comment on Spotify or shoot me an email, CVV at chrisfanfleet.com or leave it on social media with that hashtag AskCTVV. We'll see you right back here for AskCTV. Tomorrow. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary. Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock, but there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley.

Starting point is 01:22:47 Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987.

Starting point is 01:23:00 I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Alley. Follow and listen on your... favorite platform.

Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Cora Jade (Elayna Black) On WWE Release, CM Punk, AEW, OnlyFans

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