Signed to a WWE contract in 2025, the star known as JC Mateo was reportedly planned for a big push before his association with The MFTs.
A NJPW star before making his debut at WWE Backlash in May 2025, the former Jeff Cobb would be one of over 25 wrestlers to depart the company during the recent round of cuts.
Barely a year with the company, early plans for Cobb have emerged courtesy of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, with Dave Meltzer reporting:
“Cobb was at first planned for a big push as he was to work with key people in singles (feuds) in plans that never ended up happening.
For whatever reason, after seeing him, he became a face in the crowd of the MFTs, a group built around Sikoa, and with Tama Tonga getting the screen time and Talla Tonga as the monster.”
Mateo’s time would yield no titles, although he did defend the WWE Tag Team Championship on behalf of Solo Sikoa in March of this year. The match on SmackDown would see Mateo and Tama Tonga lose the titles to Damian Priest and R-Truth.
The Big Hit That Missed
Looking at Jeff Cobb, it’s easy to see why WWE pursued him.
Back in 2020, Cobb turned down the opportunity to sign with AEW, with that report noting that he wasn’t interested in WWE, either, preferring a career in NJPW, having competed there since 2017.
While he would later appear in AEW, thanks to the partnership with NJPW, his departure from New Japan would see him head to WWE for what was a disappointingly short run.
A former NJPW World Television Champion, three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and NEVER Openweight Champion, Cobb brought expertise with him that should have set him up to be a top star on the WWE roster. Add to that a powerhouse look that was backed up by all the skills to deliver, it’s hard to fathom how his run missed the mark.
Adding him to Solo Sikoa’s era of The Bloodline, which would go on to become The MFTs, was an indication that all was not well, with the faction largely build around whatever feud the leader was involved in, and that’s no fault of any star in particular.
Not being a member of the Anoa’i/Fatu dynasty while also being tied to this group didn’t help. Mateo wasn’t another Sami Zayn and wasn’t being positioned as such. Far too often, despite strong in-ring performances, the star was just “there”, instead of being given the opportunity to capitalize on what he could offer.
There’s a future for Jeff Cobb and he’ll likely land in a prominent role in another promotion when his contract allows him to do so.
Whether that future takes him back to NJPW and United Empire, or into AEW, remains to be seen.
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