Around the Ring: Cora Jade wins NXT Women's Tag Team Championships
(thumbnail photo via screencap from WWE/NXT on USA Network)
PLAINFIELD NATIVE CHAMPION FOR 1ST TIME
By Mike Pankow and High5Tom
July 6, 2022
Cora Jade won her first championship of any kind in professional wrestling when the 21-year-old Plainfield native won the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship with her partner Roxanne Perez on Tuesday night during NXT’s live televised special, “The Great American Bash,” from the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando.
Jade, formerly Elayna Black on the Chicagoland independent scene, won the titles with Perez, who was the first-ever Ring of Honor Women’s Champion as Rok-C, by defeating Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne of Toxic Attraction as part of the WWE’s developmental brand show on USA Network.
Jade went for the pin on Jayne late in the match and Mandy Rose, the leader of Toxic Attraction and NXT Women’s Champion, pulled the referee out of the ring. Instead of disqualifying Toxic Attraction, the referee ejected Rose from the ringside area and let the match continue.
Jade made the tag to Perez, who helped “Team 2001” rally. Jade speared Jayne out of the ring and Perez hit the Pop Rox (a Code Red or sunset flip powerbomb) on the legal competitor Dolin for the pin to win the championships as NXT play-by-play announcer Vic Joseph belted out, “NXT is toxic no more!”
Jade signed with WWE in January 2021 and quickly made her debut for NXT, ironically, with Dolin as her partner in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They lost in the opening round of the tournament and went their separate ways.
After a few months of being lost in the shuffle, Jade started picking up wins on television against the likes of Franky Monet (aka Taya Valkyrie), Elektra Lopez and even NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose in a non-title match. She starred in WarGames last December and earned the pinfall on Jayne to win the match for her team.
Jade eventually pushed her way into contention for Rose’s championship, but she failed in two opportunities to unseat Tough Enough alumnae and the leader of Toxic Attraction in two separate multi-person matches. She worked the main event on NXT several weeks ago when she wrestled WWE veteran Natalya in what was highly acclaimed match.
Cora Jade (as Elayna Black) performs at a Zelo Pro show in Chicago in April 2019. (File photo by Mike Pankow/Windy City Slam)
Jade, as Black, worked on the Chicago scene for a little over three years, making her debut for Kaiju Attack Wrestling in Dec. 2018. She also frequently wrestled for Freelance Wrestling, Freelance Underground, Zelo Pro, ZOWA and Black Label Pro and had a couple of appearances for Warrior Wrestling as well. She also had rivalries with Kylie Rae, Laynie Luck and Missa Kate while teaming up with Blair Onyx as “The Sisters of Destruction.” She was also part of “The Following,” Jesus Bryce’s dark faction with WarBear and Pariah.
Her character was known as “The Sorceress of Sin,” often wearing black attire and carrying mini coffins and tarot cards, a radical departure from her current gimmick in NXT, where she skates down the entrance ramp and wears colorful gear and a baseball cap. Jade also wrestled one match under the IMPACT Wrestling banner against Jessicka Havoc and two bouts on AEW Dark in late 2020. She was ranked No. 99 in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Women’s 100 in 2020.
There were other highlights on the Chicagoland independent scene had some other highlights over the last two weeks, including Warrior Wrestling, Freelance Wrestling and Ego Pro Wrestling:
Warrior Wrestling: Making its first appearance in the Chicago area since February, Warrior Wrestling 24 was a delicious appetizer to wrestling fans who were en route to the AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling joint event, “Forbidden Door,” at the United Center, which was literally next door to the United Center on Chicago’s near West side at Malcolm X College. The show featured a dynamic six-man Lucha scramble where Chicago legend Gringo Loco came out on top, a red-hot six-man tag team match and KC Navarro’s first defense of the Warrior Wrestling Championship.
In the opening match, a former Ring of Honor Women's Championship Tournament finalist, “The Lucha Baddie” Miranda Alize tapped out up-and-comer Heather Reckless, the current Chicago Style Wrestling Women’s Champion and No. 1 contender to the AAW Pro Women’s Championship. Reckless, a Black and Brave graduate, gave Alize all she could handle.
Next up was Mike Bennett, who really didn't beat Beastman as much as outlast him, in a great, hard-hitting match. In the process, Bennett showed why he is the seasoned pro he is and Beastman, who has had his share of success with Warrior over the years, had a real coming out match.
Gringo Loco won the six-man Lucha scramble to earn the right to a future Warrior Wrestling Lucha Championship opportunity. (File photo by Mike Pankow/Windy City Slam)
Then in what was easily a match of the year contender across any promotion, Gringo Loco won the Lucha Championship Contenders Medallion six-way scramble match over a who’s who of Lucha Libre talent in Alpha Wolf, ASF, Dragon Bane, Ninja Mack and Loco’s good friend from the Golden Gods, Golden Dragon. To be honest, there are no words in the English language that can describe how awesome this match was, or any language for matter. In the end, Gringo Loco got the pin on Ninja Mack to become the No. 1 contender for Sam Adonis’ Lucha Championship. In addition, friend of Windy City Slam Podcast Ref Dan Perch, the Lucha Libre specialist, showed again why he is literally one of the best refs in the country.
If you’re fan of gritty strong style wrestling, you were in for a treat as Davey Richards defeated Filthy Tom Lawlor in a match that lived up to all expectations. Literally two of the best at American strong style today, and after knocking the tar out of each other for over 15 minutes, they proved why they are in the top echelon.
After all that you would think the foot would be off the proverbial pedal, but Warrior Wrestling is known for its nonstop action. The hits kept on coming with a high-flying, high-speed six-man tag team match, featuring four of the best in the world along with two of the hottest prospects in wrestling. Dante Leon, Myron Reed & Zachary Wentz defeated Blake Christian, Fuego Del Sol & Nick Wayne with Wentz getting the pin on Christian, who took a beating in this match. Leon took the place of former Warrior Champion Trey Miguel in what was supposed to be a bit of a Rascalz reunion. All six men proved that this is indeed a platinum age of wrestling.
In the main event for the Warrior Wrestling Championship, KC Navarro, fresh off his GMSI Medallion cash-in and victory in the War of Attrition match at Warrior 23, defeated AEW star Brian Pillman Jr., a former Warrior Champion himself. Pillman replaced the “Speedball” Mike Bailey, who had a visa issue and was unable to travel to the event. Pillman did what he could, but Navarro used some underhanded tactics to pick up the 3-count.
—High5Tom of the Midwest Wrestling Roundup Podcast
Freelance Wrestling: In his first title defense, Storm Grayson retained the Freelance World Championship in a physical battle with the well-traveled Jake Something and set up his next defense during an action-packed show, appropriately titled “Press Start to Continue,” at the Emporium Arcade Bar in Logan Square on Thursday (June 30).
Storm Grayson retained his Freelance World Championship over Jake Something. (File photo by Mike Pankow/Windy City Slam)
In a back-and-forth main event, Grayson finally overcame the sheer size of Something and nailed him with two consecutive knee triggers to get the 3-count. The Naperville native continued his run of success in the area as he also holds the Freelance Underground Independent Championship. Grayson was able to stand toe-to-toe with the powerful Something, hitting many of his signature maneuvers, including a big-time Blue Thunder Bomb, before claiming another notch in his belt with the impressive victory.
After the match, Frank the Clown tried to jump Grayson, but the champion backed Frank into a corner and said he was “tired of your sh*t and granted Frank’s associate Robert “Ego” Anthony a rematch for the Freelance Championship at the company’s next event back at Logan Square Auditorium on Aug. 5. Grayson added that WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, the father of his girlfriend, Noelle, will be the special referee.
In a special attraction, Game Changer Wrestling Tag Team Champions Effy and Allie Katch, collectively known as Bussy defeated the red-hot team of GPA and his fiancée Laynie as Katch pinned Laynie after piledriving her onto GPA first. GPA and Laynie had been undefeated as a team in Freelance and were gaining serious momentum before this loss.
Alfonso Gonzalez, who has been trending upward as of late in Freelance and Freelance Underground, pinned fan favorite Dan the Dad with a leg sweep and leverage pin with his feet on the ropes.
The Bang Bros (Davey Bang & August Matthews) retained the Freelance Tag Team Championship over their rivals Pick n’ Pop (Darius Latrell & Koda Hernandez) after double 450 splashes and a double pin. Bang and Matthews won the titles in a three-way match in which ladders were legal at Freelance Vs. The World on June 17, unseating former champs The Take-It Homewreckers (Darin Corbin & Bucky Collins) in a bout that also featured Pick n’ Pop.
Project M.O.N.I.X., who has had a string of misfortune in Freelance mostly due to upstart Xavier Sky, pinned former basketball player Xavier Walker, who was making his Freelance debut, after a Project Plunge and Final Phase DDT. Before the match, M.O.N.I.X. told the crowd to “take you hand off your joysticks and take my hand.”
The Ace of Freelance, veteran Isaias Velazquez fended off a challenge from “Beyond Alpha” Ezio Orlandi with the Hammer of Dawn. Before the match, Trevor Outlaw came out to a chorus of boos and expletives from the Freelance Faithful. Due to an audio issue, Outlaw couldn’t even cut a promo before Velazquez came down and chased him away.
The show opened with the traditional Freelance staple with a six-person scramble as young up-and-comer Angel Escalera picked up the victory over “Purple Papi” Marvelous Matt Knicks, Sky, Guerrera de Brisenas, Sean Galway and Aaron Payne when Escalera pinned Galway after a moonsault.
In a pre-show match, Freelance Wrestling Academy student Regan Lydale, 19, impressed in her pro wrestling debut in a loss to “The Limit Breaker” Sabin Gauge. It took some underhanded tactics and a leverage pin by Gauge to subdue Lydale, whose blend of size and stature bode well for her future in the business.
—Mike Pankow
Ego Pro Wrestling: In the latest event presented by local veteran star Robert “Ego” Anthony, Yabo the Clown defeated Ryan Matthews in the main event of three-match card that followed Windy City ThunderBolts baseball last Thursday night (June 30) at Ozinga Field in South suburban Crestwood.
Yabo used plenty of his old clown tricks to subdue the brash, cocky and boisterous Matthews. Both men have been mainstays in Berwyn Championship Wrestling, which is driven by Anthony’s creativity behind the scenes.
Joe Alonzo (File photo by Mike Pankow)
Local favorite Chico Suave successfully retained his White Castle Bold Move Championship against The Sorta Incredible Iverson in a fun match. Afterward, Suave chugged beers with ringside fans, who were already having a festive time on $1 beer night at the ballpark. Suave defeated Egotistico Fantastico to win the title on the last Ego Pro Wrestling show on June 16.
Speaking of brash, reigning BCW Champion Joe Alonzo defeated Jarrod Lark in the opening match. Alonzo also made his presence known following Suave’s match with Iverson and challenged Suave for the Bold Move Championship at the July 14 show.
You can catch a replay of this show on Pro Wrasslin Shoots’ YouTube channel.
—Mike Pankow
Locals on AEW Dark in Detroit: Several local talents were featured on this week’s episode of AEW Dark Elevation, which was taped at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. In his AEW debut, Project M.O.N.I.X. (as Pat Monix) faced former Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo. GPA and teamed up with Isiah Broner to take on The Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) and Laynie and Heather Reckless teamed up to face former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida and Yuka Sakazaki. Also, Michigan native Ren Jones, who regularly works for AAW, also was part of the show. The episode can be found on AEW’s YouTube channel.
—Mike Pankow
Editor’s note: A separate story with in-depth coverage of Freelance Underground’s “Blaze of Glory” from July 2 is coming soon to windycityslam.com.
Listen to Ep. 126 of Windy City Slam Podcast, with recaps from Freelance, Freelance Underground and WWE Money In The Bank, plus special guest Chazz Moretti talks about the Midwest Wrestling Reunion: https://bit.ly/3OJxXSG.
Catch Windy City Slam editor Mike Pankow talking local and national pro wrestling every week with Chicago-area wrestling guests on Windy City Slam Podcast, part of the Broadcast Basement On-Demand Radio Network. Episodes drop early Tuesday morning wherever you download podcasts or at https://windycityslam.podbean.com/.
We are looking for guests to appear on future episodes of the Windy City Slam Podcast! Please contact Mike at mikepankow@windycityslam.com, message him on Facebook or DM him on Twitter.
