NJPW star Jeff Cobb had a WWE contract offer on the table but he turned it down.
Cobb is currently in the midst of the biggest run in his career. He nearly went undefeated in this year’s G1 Climax, only falling to Kazuchika Okada.
He is currently a member of Will Ospreay’s United Empire faction. Cobb has picked up the slack while Ospreay has been in the United States.
Jeff Cobb On Not Signing With WWE
The A Real Wrestling Podcast interviewed Jeff Cobb, who explained why he turned down a WWE deal back in 2020.
“WWE offered me a contract [for] great money. Money is gonna make a lot of your problems go away but at the end of the day, money won’t make you happy.
“So I wanted to work where I felt that I fit in more and I would be happy. If I went to WWE I wouldn’t be able to do a random indie booking if I wanted to if I was off that weekend or something.”
Cobb ended up signing a full-time deal with NJPW and he says he has no regrets.
“I love Japan. The culture is amazing out there and the style of wrestling I definitely feel like I fit better in. And I felt at the time that New Japan was gonna be my home and it is my home.
“That’s not to take away from other companies that offered me contracts but because I am with New Japan and with this ‘forbidden door’ I’m still able to pop in AEW or Ring Of Honor or MLW or Impact if the time’s right.
“I felt like I made the right choice.”
NJPW definitely seems to be rewarding Cobb for his choice. Time will tell if the promotion eventually gives him a solid title run, whether it’s the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship or even the world title.
Cobb is a former NEVER Openweight Champion. He only held the title for 27 days and that was before he went full-time with NJPW.
H/T to Wrestling Inc for the quotes.
