WWE has been scooping up free agents like a kid grabbing all the good candy after Halloween, and now it looks like they’ve got their sights set on yet another big name. According to Fightful Select, WWE is interested in signing Jeff Cobb, the former NEVER Openweight Champion and a guy who once said, “Nah, I’m good” when WWE came calling. But times change, and so do contracts.
One Fightful source even claims Cobb is already on WWE’s internal roster, though this claim is about as verified as Bigfoot riding a unicorn. Meanwhile, sources within AEW are reportedly not expecting Cobb to show up, which is a polite way of saying, “Yeah, he’s gone.”
Cobb is still scheduled to compete in the New Japan Cup this week, where he’ll face off against Tetsuya Naito in the second round. Given Cobb’s recent frustrations in NJPW—specifically, his diminishing win rate in G1 Climax tournaments—this could be his way of signaling, “I’m outta here.” His faction, United Empire, used to be led by Will Ospreay, who is now busy becoming AEW’s latest shiny new toy.
But Cobb isn’t the only free agent on WWE’s radar. Former AEW star Malakai Black is also rumored to have creative pitches floating around, despite not confirming a WWE return. Maybe he just likes keeping everyone guessing.
WWE’s recent free-agent shopping spree has already seen the arrivals of Penta, Ricky Saints (formerly Ricky Starks), Ethan Page, Lexis King (formerly Brian Pillman Jr.), and international talents like Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer. At this rate, WWE is turning into a “Best Of” compilation of wrestling free agents, and it’s only a matter of time before they start sending “YOU UP?” texts to literally everyone with a contract expiring in 2024.