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April 6, 2026 12 mins

Elayna Black joins Battle in the Battleground to talk about her journey back to TNA and why it turned out to be the perfect place to rediscover her love for wrestling. Elayna opens up about stepping away from the business to protect her mental health, what "creative freedom" actually means to her now versus before, and why this version of Elayna Black is the most authentic one fans have ever seen. With TNA Rebellion in Cleveland on the horizon and her sights set on the Knockouts Championship.

 

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen. It's a Battle Brown, Battle grown, Battle
Brown podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
What's up you guys? Welcome back into the battleground.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
It is battle and man, it is a fun time
for sure for TNA. We are on the road to
Rebellion Cleveland April eleventh, and joining us on the show
somebody who is taken over the Women's division, the Knockouts
Division of TNA.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Give it up for Elena Black joining the show. Elena,
how are you doing today?

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Oh? I'm great. How are you? Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Thanks for being on the show.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Now.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
I want to kind of go back. Your very first
wrestling show as a fan was a TNA.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Show, right, Yes?

Speaker 1 (00:43):
How wild is it that this chapter of your career
brings you back here. Does it feel like a reset
or does it feel like something coming full circle?

Speaker 3 (00:50):
I feel like it's a little bit of both, a
little bit of a reset and things coming full circled.
But yeah, TNA, definitely it was my first show when
I was I believe it was like not nine years old,
because I believe it was in twenty ten. But yeah,
I was a big, big TNA fan as a kid.
So it's definitely a little bit of a reset, but
also kind of like a full circle kind of deal.
So I'm having a good time here.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
I love it, And absolutely it seems like you're having
a good time when we watched TNA every Thursday night
on AMC. Now, when you became a free agent, there
was a lot of options out there, and of course
fans speculate on where.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Would you land, Where you're going to go here, You're
going to go there.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
What was that deciding factor for you that made TNA
the place for you to call home?

Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, well, at first I didn't really want to go anywhere.
I kind of just wanted to like kind of see
how it was and like ride out the wave and
just kind of see where I ended up. And I
wasn't in a rush to get anywhere. And then I
ended up taking a break just because I needed it mentally,
and then when I came back, I was just thinking about,
you know, where would I want to end up, or
like kind of what my goal was. And I just

(01:54):
remember thinking about, like when I was at TNA last year,
when I was with NXT and came over to work
a few shows here, I just remember thinking like how
good the backstage environment was and how much of like
an actual family it felt like, and how much everyone
was actually rooty for each other, and it just felt
very also just very creatively free, like they genuinely like

(02:17):
listened to my opinion and wanted to hear my mplay
and wanted to listen to my ideas even back then.
So kind of keeping all that in mind and realizing
all that, and you know, I have friends there, I
kind of was like, you know what, let's give it
a shot. I think I would have fun at TNA.
I think TNA would be the spot that would make
me fall back in love with wrestling, which is what
I was looking to gain again, which I think it

(02:39):
has accomplished. So I'm very glad I chose TNA. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Absolutely, And I know that you have said this in
past interviews you were kind of hesitant about coming to
TNA because of how close the company was with WWE.
What was it that changed for you mentally where you
finally said, no, this is the right move.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
I think the first thing is just time, Like right away,
I think it was just like I don't want to
be anywhere, like I don't want to be anywhere near there.
I want to do my own thing for a little bit,
so it kind of felt a little too close, but
you don't. After some time and just realizing like what
I think would be best for me, TNA did seem
like the best option. And they are very They're very

(03:16):
good with whatever what I want to do. They want
to know my opinion and if I want to do
this thing, if I want to do that. So I
think that it's just it all works thought how it should,
and I think with time it just seemed like TNA
was going to be best for me.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Right absolutely, And of course we we saw how things
played out with that first night on AMC.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
You showing up.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
You didn't even have to grab a microphone. You just
came there, stood on the stage and everybody's like, oh
my god, she's back, so coming in now as Elena Black.
What did you want people to immediately understand about you
that maybe they never fully got before.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
I think this time around, I think I just want
to show that, like I can go and I can
have a run. And I don't think I was ever
really able to show that, whether it be just you know,
creative decisions, or just personal setbacks, personal injury, or whatever
the case may be. I don't think I ever really
got the chance to fully to have a full full

(04:15):
head on like run like this is what I can do. This,
I can show everybody what I can do. I don't
think I've really got the chance to show that. So
I think this time around it'll be different and that'll
definitely be seen.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Right absolutely, And I know you've talked about this version
of you is the real you. So when you look
back before we became a Lena Black and everything else,
what felt a little forced before?

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Now I think I.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
Don't know if it was anything in specific. It's just
when you have some like when there's a constant no,
do it this way, you have to say it this way,
you have to say these words, you have to do
it this way, you have to do these moves because
I'm telling you to do these moves, like a lot
of do this, do this, do this, And I mean
sometimes it's okay, but then you know, nine times out
of ten, it's not something that resonated with me or

(05:06):
was the way that I felt I would say something
or the way I thought I would do something, And
and TNA, you don't really have that. I mean, we
have guidance for sure, and there's people we can go
to for help and opinions and stuff like that, but
it's more creatively free and kind of my own interpretation
of what my character is and how my character would
say this and how my character would do this. So

(05:26):
I think that's a difference that I really appreciated and
having fun like kind of navigating right.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
Absolutely, And you said that stepping away for that time
absolutely helped with your mental health and actually saved your
wrestling career. What was something that you took away and
learned from during that time away to focus more on
yourself and not you know, wrestling.

Speaker 3 (05:54):
I think I just learned to appreciate the little things
in life, because I when I discovered wrestling when I
was eight years old, like that was it for me.
That was all I ever wanted to do. That was
all I focused on. It was anything I ever like
thought about, you know, paid attention to all the types
of stuff. So for that long now I'm twenty five
years old now, since I was eight years old, my

(06:15):
life has just been wrestling and I never got a
break from that because I was working towards the goal.
And when I'm working towards something, I take it so serious,
where like I will not I will not let up
until I get that. So it was like this constant
thing of just trying to chase the stream. And then
once it was over, I was like, damn, Like I
need to take some time and realize what I like

(06:37):
to do outside of wrestling, and like things that I
want to do outside of wrestling, and people like give
me outside of wrestling, and all these types of things
I had never done before. Besides, when I was, you know,
a kid, was very nice to just experience and take
the time and just be at peace for a few months.
You know, I wasn't even watching wrestling. I wasn't worried

(06:58):
about any of it. It was. It was very strange,
but also very peaceful. But then obviously at the end
I did start to miss it again, which is what
I wanted. I was like, if I don't miss it,
then that means I don't love this anymore and I
don't want to do this anymore. But I did really
start to miss it, so I think that was the goal.
But yeah, it was nice to have that time to
myself and just be a normal human being for the

(07:20):
first time in a long time.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
Right, absolutely, now I do want to go back to
that moment your debut on TNA first night of them
being on AMC. You've talked about being nervous about whether
fans were going to accept you again. After hearing that
reaction of you stepping out there on the stage, walk
us through that moment, what did it feel like?

Speaker 3 (07:42):
It definitely felt good because I was worried about that
all day. I was telling my boyfriend. I was like,
if nobody miss any noise, like that's gonna be very.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
Bad for me.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
Like I really hope that doesn't happen, and he's like, no, no, no,
you'll be fine. But you never know, like especially being
away for that long too, Like it was just a
million things going through my head. So when I did
hear the reaction, my face popped up. I was like, oh, okay,
like we're good, like we got something here, like I
can work with this. But yeah, it was. It was
a very cool feeling, just because you know, taking all

(08:11):
that time, you never know, like wrestling moves on, life
moves on, and there's a million people doing great things,
you know, a million storylines going on, So it was
nice to feel appreciated or like that I was missed
in that moment. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
Absolutely, and It was one of those shocking moments for sure.
When it happened, We're like, oh my god, she's back.
She didn't say anything, leaving us with a cliffhanger, what's
gonna happen? Didn't even have to have a microphone, and
everybody was talking about your debut at TNA, so obviously
nobody nobody forgot about you. Everybody was even more excited
to see in TNA for sure. Now, when you think

(08:45):
about it, you've been wrestling for a while. Now, what
is something in wrestling that used to like really get
under your skin that you honestly just laugh at now?

Speaker 3 (08:54):
Hm. I'm not sure if I have a great an
to that, but I think maybe like when you're younger
and just starting out in wrestling and you see you're
doing certain moves, there's certain like character stuff, and then
you see someone else do it and it's like it
really pisses you off and really gets under your skin.

(09:15):
And I feel like that used to be me, like
when I was like probably a teenager, like just like,
oh this person did this because I did that, and
it's like everyone does. Ever. Do you know how many
people do a super kick in wrestling? Like everyone it's
it's not that deep. And I think I've just learned
that over time. It's never that deep.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, absolutely for sure.

Speaker 1 (09:34):
As we're coming up here close to the end of
our interview, of course, I'm here to talk about TNA
rebellion in Cleveland April eleventh. You know, the one fun
thing that TNA does very well is they like to
work well with other companies. Is there anybody currently out
there wrestling right now, whether it be in TNA or
somewhere else, that you would like to step into the

(09:54):
ring with that you haven't had the chance to step
in the ring with.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
Well, if it were ever possible, and then the stars
ever aligned, I would say Mercedes Monet is definitely my
dream match right now.

Speaker 1 (10:10):
That would that would be uh, that would definitely be
one and and.

Speaker 3 (10:14):
I don't know where, but that would be very fun
and I would be very happy.

Speaker 1 (10:18):
Well, let's put it out there in the universe, Elena
versus Mercedes Monet, whether it be for one of mercedes
many titles or just for a fun little one off,
or maybe you go back and you get a death
match going again.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
Who knows, We'll see what happens.

Speaker 3 (10:31):
Luckily, you're thinking right.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
I mean, is that something that you're open to doing
more of those death matches or was that just kind
of a I had fun with it.

Speaker 2 (10:39):
I don't want to do it again.

Speaker 3 (10:40):
I probably wouldn't do it again. I was I was
a huge John Mosley fan as a kid, so I
was always watching those types of matches, So I honestly
kind of just wanted to do it to say I
did it and to be like, yeah, I did it
because John Mosley did it. But no, I probably wouldn't
do it again.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
I'm gone. I put it on my little stat sheet.
We're good. We could just move on with it too, good.

Speaker 3 (11:05):
With blood and like stuff like that. So I don't
think I would do it again.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
But I understand you did it, you got the T shirt,
you move on from it for sure.

Speaker 2 (11:15):
Last question for you, and this is a fun one.

Speaker 1 (11:18):
If you could have any song outside of the one
that you're currently using for your theme song. It could
be any song from anybody. Who would you pick to
do your theme song?

Speaker 3 (11:27):
Probably future the rapper.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
Do you have a certain song or would you want
him just to make a new one for you.

Speaker 3 (11:33):
I would want him to make me a new custom one, Okay,
but he was it and he threw me just a
random one. I would take any Future song as my
theme song. He's my favorite.

Speaker 1 (11:43):
I mean Future singing out Elena Black, that would be
an incredible for sure. Real quick before we go, because
I know you've got some other things to do today.
Anything you want to talk, anything you want to say
to the fans watching or listening to this right now,
I just want to.

Speaker 3 (11:59):
Say, tune in to TNA in New Orleans because I'm
going to be taking down Marshade and I'm going to
be showing everybody. But I'm next in line for the
TNA Knockouts title. So whoever wins that match there, that's fine,
but it's gonna be me afterwards. Maybe may become rebellion
in Cleveland. I'll be a Knockouts stamp. You never know,
but that's all I'm saying. I'm gonna put that out there,

(12:21):
and that's all I'm saying.
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