Is Jeff Cobb WWE bound?
In the midst of the 2025 New Japan Cup, rumors started spreading like wildfire that WWE was interested in Jeff Cobb. The former NEVER Openweight Champion shut down those rumors after his win over Tetsuya Naito, but that all changed following his loss to Shota Umino.
“Nothing to say. Nothing to say. Tonight, the better man won. Cobb said in a post-match interview. ‘El Phantasmo, you changed since the first time you came to New Japan. You were a little Bullet Club bitch. Now, you’re a grown man. Friends left you, you didn’t cry about it. You just put your nose to the ground and grinded and took my television championship. So where does that leave Jeff Cobb? It seems I can’t win when all the marbles are down. G1, New Japan Cup. Long gone are the days when I went 8-0 in the G1. Now I can’t even break .500. Where does that leave Jeff Cobb? Maybe it’s time to take my bags and go somewhere else. I don’t know. I don’t know."
Now Sean Ross Sapp is reporting that Cobb is on WWE’s internal roster. The 42-year-old is a free agent, so he’s able to sign with whatever company he chooses. Cobb has been with New Japan for eight years and he’s won several titles, but the company doesn’t seem interested in putting him in the main event.
At this point, Cobb’s done nearly everything he can do in New Japan and a fresh environment will do him some good. There was a point where AEW was interested in Jeff Cobb, but Sapp’s report claims that the company doesn’t expect him to sign with them.
Cobb is a good get for WWE. Given his age, there’s no telling how far the company will push him, but he can still go in the ring and is solid on the mic. The former NEVER Openweight Champion doesn’t need NXT, but it wouldn’t be surprising if that’s where he begins. It’s always possible that Cobb re-signs with NJPW, or even signs with AEW or TNA Wrestling, but it would be shocking if he opts not to go to WWE at this point.
In addition to the NEVER Openweight title, Cobb also won the IWGP Tag Team Titles and the NJPW World Television Championship. There’s no word on whether he’s inked a deal or not with the promotion.