Jeff Cobb Opens Up About Biggest Culture Shock & Lesson From WWE Run

Jeff Cobb opens up about his time in WWE.

After a year with WWE, Jeff Cobb’s time with the company came to an end. He returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling and is now back in the mix with the company.

Cobb spoke to NJPW1972.com about the culture shock he experienced at WWE.

“There were a few things that were really shocking. The first time I went to Saudi Arabia was very interesting. being on a chartered jet to go from Miami direct to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, 16, 17 hours on a chartered jet was crazy, the first time I’d been in one. But it was interesting to see how pro-wrestling across the world, and not just WWE, but pro-wrestling affects people all over the world. We did a meet and greet there and people came up to me and said ‘oh I loved your stuff in New Japan’. That was a shock, because not to downplay NJPW’s popularity or influence, but to hear people in Saudi Arabia say that they watched me in New Japan Pro-Wrestling was very surreal. It was eye-opening; it was very touching, actually. People say that WWE is the biggest company in the world, and it is, but that doesn’t negate the fact that NJPW has a huge global reach as well.”

As far as the biggest lesson he learned, here’s what Cobb had to say:

“Fan interaction, definitely. It’s definitely huge in Japan, and Japan has the most wonderful fans I’ve ever dealt with in my career. In WWE it’s a little more strange, because fans will wait at airports. There are times, with an early morning flight or a late one, and I have no idea why the fans know when these flights come in, but fans will wait at baggage claim. Part of me can be annoyed by that, but another part of me makes me appreciate fans more, because they’re so passionate that they want to come to the airport at 5 in the morning for a chance to interact with one of us. So that made me appreciate fans more, and Ryogoku, when I came back- I’d fully expected there to be crickets, or even for some fans to be angry that I left, but the feedback that I got was 99 percent positive. So many people were thanking me for coming back and it just confirmed to me I was making the right decision in not coming back with United Empire, and joining Unbound Co.”

Cobb has wrestled several times for NJPW since coming back.