Long-Absent Star Returns At WWE NXT Deadline

Having been out of action since July, THIS star returned at NXT Deadline.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE NXT Deadline 2023 Cora Jade
WWE.com

Having not wrestled since July, Cora Jade made her return to NXT at last night's Deadline event.

There, Jade made her presence known after the women's Iron Survivor contest, laying out current NXT Women's Champion Lyra Valkyria and posing with that title.

As for the Iron Survivor bout itself, that was won by Blair Davenport, with the Brit managing to overcome Lash Legend, Tiffany Stratton, Fallon Henley, and Kelani Jordan to secure the victory and earn herself a shot at Valkyria's NXT Women's Title.

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Post-match, as Davenport celebrated, Lyra made her way out to the entrance way and posed with her championship. And it was here, where Cora returned and left the champ laying.

Jade hasn't wrestled since the 25 July episode of NXT TV, where she lost a kendo stick match to Dana Brooke. Shortly before that, she actually lost to Lyra Valkyria in the semi-finals of a tournament to crown a new NXT Women's Championship; a tournament eventually won by Tiffany Stratton, who bested Valkyria in the final.

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For those unaware, Cora Jade has long been a CM Punk fan, with several videos online of her having met the Second City Saint over the years, be that at fan signings or even UFC shows. With Punk having appeared at NXT Deadline, WWE Digital put out a brilliant video of Jade and Punk getting to share some time together.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.