Back in March, reports indicated that Jeff Cobb had been listed on WWE's internal roster, despite him still making appearances for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. During a new interview with "Kuam News," Cobb, now known as WWE's JC Mateo, clarified the timeline of his talks and signing with WWE as he simultaneously wrapped up his work with NJPW.
According to Mateo, he was no longer contractually-obligated to NJPW at this time, as his previous deal with them expired at the end of January 2025. "I still stayed with [NJPW] for two more months after, not under contract, but I had a handshake agreement kind of thing while my WWE contract was being finalized," Mateo said. "Then it went into effect April 21. My last New Japan Pro-Wrestling match was April 19. As you can see from a lot of the internet things, May 10 was my official debut with WWE."
Mateo's dealings with WWE initially began with a tryout in 2014, which proved to be unsuccessful for him. Still, WWE kept him on their radar and reached back out in 2020, with Mateo then almost joining them in the summer of 2021. On this occasion, though, Mateo turned down a contract offer, partly out of loyalty to NJPW and the flexibility that came attached.
Mateo confirmed that discussions between him and WWE later resumed in November 2024. This time, he officially put pen to paper and subsequently joined the "WWE SmackDown" brand. "[We] had a couple Zoom meetings and there were concerns that I had and whatnot. They pretty much just said, 'Okay. Whatever you want, let's do it.' Lo and behold, here I am a few months later," he said.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Kuam News" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
