Former WWE Star Cora Jade Discusses Advice, Inspiration She's Received From CM Punk

Now that she's no longer signed to WWE, Elayna Black – or Cora Jade as she was known for her entire WWE tenure – has begun to speak on her experience working within the promotion as well as her future career prospects. During an appearance on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Black commented on her relationship with CM Punk and their shared background.

"He always gives me advice to not do, necessarily, what he's done, and like, say things, like, too early, and like say things when you feel them, and like, just like, to control your emotions," she claimed. "I, like, couldn't be more thankful for him. So, I feel like he's shaped me so much as, like, a wrestler and, like growing up as a person and the promo skills – I feel like all my promo skills are like him, AJ, Jon Moxley." She then added that she usually gravitated to wrestlers who were both "real" and had deep characters on screen.

According to Black, before training for pro wrestling, she trained MMA at the time that Punk was in the UFC. "I remember watching his fight, and again I took it so personally when he lost, like I'm crying, like why am I crying on the couch, like?" she recalled, adding that she didn't fare any better than her idol at MMA, as she lost her only fight. "We talked about it like maybe a few months ago, I was like 'Hey, do you know I did an MMA fight right after you, and do you know we both lost?' And he's like 'Hell yeah!'"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Ariel Helwani Show" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.