Provided via ROHWrestling.com
Jeff Cobb has yet to wrestle a match or utter a single word in Ring of Honor since storming onto the scene unannounced recently, but his actions have sent shock waves through the locker room and created a buzz among Honor Nation.
The powerhouse from Hawaii made his first ROH appearance by interrupting a Top Prospect Tournament match on an episode of “Ring of Honor Wrestling” that aired two weeks ago. Shortly after the start of the bout between Eli Isom and FR Josie, Cobb hit the ring and attacked both competitors. In an impressive display of strength, Cobb hit pumphandle suplexes on Isom and Josie simultaneously.
In the middle of another TPT match that aired over the weekend and streaming now, Cobb again came out and assaulted the participants (Charles Zanders and Marcus Kross). After Cobb tossed around the two men with ease, Isom entered the ring and nailed Cobb with a series of forearms to the face. The blows had absolutely no effect on Cobb, who scooped up Isom and laid him out with his Tour of the Islands powerslam.
During both of Cobb’s impactful, impromptu appearances, the crowd chanted, “This is awesome!”
It’s unclear what Cobb’s motives are, but there’s no doubt that the presence in ROH of pro wrestling’s hottest -- and most dangerous -- free agent is a game-changer.
For those fans who may not be familiar with Cobb, he wrestled for Guam in the 2004 Summer Olympics before turning pro in 2009. Possessing a burly build at 5 feet 10 and 263 pounds, Cobb combines superb mat skills, freakish strength and athleticism that belies his size.
Cobb competed in a number of matches for New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 2017 and this year, including challenging Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship at the G1 Special in San Francisco in July.
He also has enjoyed major success on the independent wrestling circuit, most notably with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in California, where he formed a tag team with Matt Riddle. Cobb and Riddle defeated the likes of former ROH World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks and reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) before going on to win the PWG Tag Team Titles from Penta el OM (Pentagon Jr.) and Rey Fenix last year.
Cobb has made an impact in singles competition as well. Last year, he made it to the finals of PWG’s prestigious Battle of Los Angeles tournament by defeating Sami Callihan, Riddle and Sammy Guevara in succession, and he also holds victories over international stars such as Jack Swagger, Ricochet, Nick Aldis, Moose and Keith Lee.
When and where will Cobb show up next in ROH? Why is he attacking top prospects? What is his end game? Stay tuned.