Elayna Black Points to Tommy Dreamer Behind Her TNA Signing; Cody Rhodes Recalls Scrapped Black Cowboy Hat Return Plan

Elayna Black has credited Tommy Dreamer with playing a pivotal role in her decision to sign with TNA following her departure from WWE.

Black, who previously wrestled under the name Cora Jade in WWE, was released in 2025 and took several months away from the ring. That hiatus gave her the opportunity to focus on her personal well-being and gain mental clarity as she weighed her next career move.

In the end, Black concluded that TNA was the right destination, with Dreamer significantly influencing that choice.

The two had cultivated a working relationship during Black’s time in WWE NXT and through various TNA events. On a recent episode of the “I Love Wrestling” podcast, Black discussed how stepping away from wrestling proved invaluable. She said,

“I took a break for a little bit, and I’ve said this before. I’m so glad that I did because I think I needed to take a step outside of everything and just be a normal human being without wrestling for a few months. And then in doing so, it was able to kind of clear my head and clear my mind and kind of give me a direct vision of where I want to be and why I want to be there.”

“Tommy [Dreamer] and I had developed a great working relationship, and he’s someone I’m so thankful for because I think he kind of saw something in me that maybe I didn’t see in myself at the time, or maybe other people didn’t see in me at the time.”

“And he had that confidence in me, and not only that, but he wanted me to be a part of TNA after I left WWE as well. So I think he really helped me out a lot, and I’m very grateful for him.”

“But honestly, I had friends at TNA. I had always heard about how great the locker room was and how much of a family it kind of is. And I feel like you hear that a lot and it’s really not, or sometimes it is, but TNA really truly is that.”

“They were debuting on AMC, a big thing for TNA. When I was a kid, I was watching TNA on Spike on Thursdays. So I think it was great that they got a new TV deal and I wanted to be a part of it and try to help TNA grow and be a part of the TNA locker room and try to be a leader of the division and, like I said, help TNA grow as much as possible.”

“So I think at the end of the day, it just came down to really thinking about where I was going to end up that truly made me love wrestling again. And TNA has definitely done that. So I’m very glad that I came to TNA.”

Cody Rhodes once envisioned a markedly different approach to his WWE return, though the concept was ultimately rejected by Bruce Prichard.

Rhodes discussed the scrapped idea on his “What Do You Wanna’ Talk About?” podcast, joined by guest Simone Johnson, formerly known as Ava. The former Undisputed WWE Champion revealed that he had considered returning in an all-black ensemble complete with a black cowboy hat during the segment in which he attacked John Cena and Logan Paul.

Rhodes first asked Johnson how she would feel about his returning in a cowboy hat. Johnson immediately noted the connection to Rhodes’ late father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes. He said,

“Yes, right. Well, we were really close. I thought about wearing all black with a black cowboy hat. It definitely would have just been a quick look.”

“My dad quarter horsed there from Austin. I read this dumb horse book as a kid. I’m from Georgia. I have some ownership of it.”

“You’d be surprised. Three out of the four guys that I speak to about everything gave me a thumbs up. It was just one who said, you know, I don’t think that’s gonna work. I gotta’ be honest. I think that’s gonna be distracting.”

“The one who told me it was gonna be distracting and made the decision ultimately was Bruce Prichard.”

“Everybody needs to be produced, and I’m so grateful to have the people I have in my life and in management to produce me. Nine out of 10 of my ideas are bad. I’m good for a banger idea, but nine out of 10, or like the cowboy hat, would have been distracting. Who knows? But I’m good for an idea.”

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