New Japan Professional Wrestling announced it has come to terms with the departure of Jeff Cobb. The promotion broke the news Monday morning, noting that the release is “at his request.” This move has thrown fuel on the fire surrounding speculation that Cobb is making a move to the WWE.
Back in March, Fightful Select reported that WWE had “their eyes on top free agent talent.” The news revealed that individual to be Cobb. The report even claimed Fightful sources mentioned Cobb was on internal WWE rosters, but that information was not confirmed.
Fans questioned the move initially, but even more so when NJPW booked Cobb to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship alongside Callum Newman. That reign would only last nine days. With the news of this release, Cobb’s last NJPW match is scheduled for Saturday, April 19 against the soon-to-be retired Hiroshi Tanahashi.
“New Japan Pro-Wrestling profoundly apologizes for the sudden nature of this news and joins fans in wishing Cobb the best in all his future endeavors.”
Jeff Cobb would be a huge addition to WWE
Free agency has been a major story to watch in recent years. The growth of All Elite Wrestling gives performers another place to not only perform but also demand the best contracts possible for their talents. AEW has signed several top names, recently added “Speedball” Mike Bailey, and is expected to add Josh Alexander. WWE has done well itself, reportedly bringing back Rusev, and this Cobb move would be another to add to the list.
It would be interesting to see how WWE leverages Cobb. Does he jump right to the main roster? There are several intriguing matches for him there. Think about contests against GUNTHER, Bron Breakker, and Jacob Fatu for example. Still, it is hard to see Cobb getting the push as a main-event player. Rather, he’d fit as a strong midcard performer just as he did in NJPW.
Would Cobb be a better fit in WWE NXT? No one would have dreamed of seeing Oba Femi versus Jeff Cobb, but that potential match immediately jumps off the page.
This news will spur further rumors about what’s next for Jeff Cobb. With WrestleMania 41 this weekend and the surprises expected to come in, this is a story to watch over the next few weeks.