 Cobb in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jeffrey Cobb (1982-07-11)July 11, 1982 (age 43)[6] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Jéfe Cobbo[1] JC Mateo[2] Jeff Cobb[3] Matanza Cueto[4] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 264 lb (120 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Honolulu, Hawaii[3] |
| Trained by | Oliver John[5] |
| Debut | June 4, 2009[5] |
| Amateur wrestling career | |
Nickname | Mr. Athletic |
| Nationality |  Guam |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 84 kg (185 lb) |
| Style | Freestyle |
| Club | Guam Amateur Wrestling Federation |
| Coach | Neil Krantz |
Jeffrey Cobb (ジェフリー・コブ,Jefurī Kobu; born July 11, 1982) is an Americanprofessional wrestler and formeramateur wrestler. As of May 2025, he is signed toWWE, where he performs on theSmackDownbrand under thering nameJC Mateo. He is a member ofThe MFT stable. He is best known for his tenure inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he performed under his real name and was a member ofUnited Empire.
In NJPW, he is a formerone-timeNEVER Openweight Champion, one-timeNJPW World Television Champion, and athree-timeIWGP Tag Team Champion. He also wrestled for various promotions, such asLucha Underground (as themasked wrestlerMatanza Cueto) where he is a formerone-timeLucha Underground Champion,Ring of Honor (ROH) where he is a formerone-timeROH Television Champion, as well asPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) where he is a formerone-timePWG World Champion,one-timePWG World Tag Team Champion and is also the winner of the2018 Battle of Los Angeles.
As an amateur wrestler, Cobb representedGuam at the2004 Summer Olympics, where he became the nation'sflag bearer in the opening ceremony and competed in the men's light heavyweight freestyle category.[7] He transitioned to professional wrestling in 2009.[8]
During his amateur wrestling career, Cobb trained for the Guam Amateur Wrestling Federation under his personal coach Neil Krantz. Cobb qualified for the Guamanian squad in themen's 84 kg class at the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens by receiving a continental berth from the Oceanian Championships inDededo.[9] He received two straight losses due to technical superiority and no classification points in a preliminary pool match against Cuba'sYoel Romero and Germany'sDavyd Bichinashvili, finishing 21st overall out of 22 wrestlers.[10]
Cobb beganprofessional wrestling in 2009 training and working for Action Zone Wrestling inHawaii. He was given the name "Mr. Athletic". He won the AZW Heavyweight Title a record setting three times. He made appearances for many independent promotions inNorthernCalifornia such asAll Pro Wrestling, Supreme Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Bushido, Fighting Spirit Pro, Phoenix Pro Wrestling and PREMIER Wrestling, where he held their heavyweight championship for 427 days. In September 2014, he received a tryout at theWWE Performance Center.[11]
Cobb signed toLucha Underground in 2015.[12] He debuted for the promotion on March 22, 2016, under a mask and the ring name "The Monster" Matanza Cueto,[13] the storyline brother ofDario Cueto, winning theLucha Underground Championship in his first match.[14]
Matanza remained undefeated until April 9, 2016, when he was pinned byRey Mysterio in an Aztec Warfare match, losing theLucha Underground Championship in the process.[15]
His character was killed off in the fourth season, which aired in 2018. Despite this, it was reported in April 2019 that Cobb was seeking legal action to be released from his Lucha Underground contract. This came after similar motions from others on the show, includingKing Cuerno andJoey Ryan.[16] More days later, it would be confirmed that he had been released from the company.[17]
On May 20, 2016, Cobb made his debut forPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), losing toChris Hero.[18] On September 2, Cobb entered the2016 Battle of Los Angeles, from which he was eliminated in the first round byRicochet.[19]
On December 16, 2016, Cobb andMatt Riddle defeatedThe Young Bucks.[20] Cobb and Riddle were later known in PWG as "The Chosen Bros". On February 18, 2017, Cobb and Riddle would defeat the Unbreakable F'n Machines (Brian Cage andMichael Elgin). On March 18, 2017, the team would beatOI4K (Dave Crist and Jake Crist). On April 21, 2017, Cobb, in singles action, would defeatKeith Lee. On May 19, 2017, The Chosen Bros defeatedreDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly andBobby Fish). On October 20, The Chosen Bros defeated the Lucha Brothers (Rey Fenix andPenta el Zero M) to win thePWG World Tag Team Championship.[21] They retained the titles until April 20, 2018, when they lost them againstThe Rascalz (Zachary Wentz andDezmond Xavier). On September 15–16, 2018, he went on to win the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles, defeatingDarby Allin in the first round,Rey Horus in the second round,Trevor Lee in the third round, andShingo Takagi andBandido in the final.[citation needed]
On October 19, Cobb defeatedWalter at Smokey and the Bandido to win thePWG World Championship. He then successfully defended it against Trevor Lee at Hand of Doom in January 2019. He would also successfully defend his title againstJonathan Gresham and BOLA runner up Bandido during his reign. He then competed in his 4th Battle of Los Angeles but fell in the second round toDavid Starr. He would go on to drop the title after 421 days in a rematch with eventual tournament winner Bandido later that year.[citation needed]
On May 27, 2017, Cobb made hisProgress Wrestling debut by defeatingNathan Cruz in the first round of the Super Strong Style 16 Tournament 2017. The following day, Cobb lost his second round match toMatt Riddle. On May 29, Cobb received his first shot at theProgress World Championship, losing toPete Dunne.
On November 6, 2017, Cobb was announced as a participant inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling's2017 World Tag League, where he would team withMichael Elgin.[22] Cobb and Elgin did not get along behind the scenes with Elgin making disparaging remarks about his tag team partner in private messages that were made public while the tournament was still in progress.[23] The two finished the tournament on December 9 with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals.[24] On June 11, 2018, it was announced that Cobb would return toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling for Kizuna Road shows. On June 17, it was announced that Jeff Cobb would faceHirooki Goto for hisNEVER Openweight Championship.[25] He would go on to lose the match. Cobb spent the bulk of late 2018 participating in theWorld Tag League tournament with partnerMichael Elgin, winning eight matches, but failing to qualify for the finals. On April 6, 2019, Cobb won the NEVER Openweight Championship in aWinner takes all match againstWill Ospreay atG1 Supercard. Cobb'sROH World Television Championship was also on the line. Cobb would eventually lose the NEVER Openweight Championship toTaichi in the first night ofWrestling Dontaku 2019. Cobb then competed in his first2019 G1 Climax Tournament where he finished with 8 points thus failing to advance to the finals. On November 6, 2019, Cobb was announced to be in one of the teams in the2019 World Tag League Tournament with tag partnerMikey Nicholls where they finished with 16 points failing to advance to the finals.
In August 2020, Cobb competed in theNew Japan Cup USA where he defeatedTanga Loa in the first round before losing toKenta in the semi-finals. Cobb was also announced to be competing in the2020 G1 Climax tournament where he again finished with 8 points, failing to advance to the finals. It was also reported that Cobb had signed a contract with New Japan, officially joining the roster full time. He would join Will Ospreay'sUnited Empire stable (then known as the Empire) at the November 15 show, teaming withGreat-O-Khan in the annualWorld Tag League thus turning heel in the process, though finishing the tournament with 10 points, failing to advance to the finals.[26] AtWrestle Kingdom 15 in Tokyo Dome he challengedShingo Takagi for theNEVER Openweight Championship but lost the match.[27]
In March, Cobb would participate in theNew Japan Cup, he defeatedSatoshi Kojima in the first round, but was eliminated in the second round byEvil. Over the next few months, Cobb would team with his United Empire teammates in tag team matches againstLos Ingobernables de Japon. Cobb began a short feud withKota Ibushi which culminated in a match between the two atDominion 6.6 in Osaka-jo Hall, which Cobb lost.[28] Cobb then began a feud withKazuchika Okada, which started when Cobb pinned Okada in a tag match. The two would exchange losses and victories over the next few months, with Okada beating Cobb atWrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome and Cobb defeating Okada atWrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome.[29][30]
In September, Cobb would enter theG1 Climax 31 and would be in the B-block. During the tournament, Cobb would break records, defeatingChase Owens,Yoshi-Hashi,Hirooki Goto,Tama Tonga,Taichi,Sanada,Hiroshi Tanahashi and Evil, therefore winning his first 8 consecutive G1 matches, the most consecutive wins in the tournament's history. However, on Night 18 in the B-block final, Cobb would lose to eventual G1 winner Kazuchika Okada, failing to advance to the tournament with 16 points, as Okada had also only lost one B-block match to Tama Tonga.[31] On January 4 atWrestle Kingdom 16, United Empire defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon on night one, but Cobb would lose toTetsuya Naito on night two the following day.[32][33]
In March, Cobb would once again enter theNew Japan Cup. He defeatedTogi Makabe, Kojima and Yoshi-Hashi, but lost to Naito in the quarter final round.[34] Cobb reshifted his focus to tag team competition with Great O-Khan who had been teaming withAaron Henare. On April 9, O-Khan and Cobb became theIWGP Tag Team Champions for the first time in both men's careers, during the Hyper Battle series.[35] The two lost the titles atWrestling Dontaku, ending their reign at 22 days. They regained the titles on June 12, atDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall.[36]
After losing the titles atForbidden Door, Cobb was announced to be a part of theG1 Climax 32 in July atDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, where he would compete in the A Block.[37] Cobb finished the tournament with 6 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.[38] Later that year in October, Cobb participated in a tournament to crown the inauguralNJPW World Television Champion, but was defeated by Yoshi-Hashi in the first round.[39] The following month atBattle Autumn, Cobb and O-Khan facedFTR in a rematch for the IWGP Tag Team titles, but were defeated.[40] On January 4 atWrestle Kingdom 17, Cobb competed in theNew Japan Rambo, but failed to last till the final 4.[41] The following day atNew Year Dash!!, Cobb teamed with Aaron Henare in a losing effort to newIWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and newIWGP United States Heavyweight ChampionKenny Omega.[42]
In March, Cobb competed in theNew Japan Cup, receiving abye to the second round, where he was defeated by Evil.[43] Later that month, Cobb defeatedMoose atMultiverse United.[44] In May atWrestling Dontaku, Cobb challengedZack Sabre Jr. for the NJPW World Television Championship, but the match ended in a time limit draw, causing Sabre Jr to retain the championship.[45] A rematch was set up the following month atDominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall, where Sabre Jr defeated Cobb.[46] Later in the month, Cobb competed on the buy-in ofForbidden Door, where he teamed with United Empire stablemates,Kyle Fletcher andTJP in a losing effort to Los Ingobernables de Japon members, Shingo Takagi,Bushhi andHiromu Takahashi .[47] The following month, Cobb competed in the annualG1 Climax tournament, where he was placed into the D Block.[48] Cobb finished with 9 points, narrowly missing out on qualifying for a quarterfinal spot.[49] On May 3 atWrestling Dontaku, Cobb defeated Sabre Jr. to win the NJPW World Television Championship for the first time.[50] On October 14 atKing of Pro-Wrestling Cobb lost the World Television title to Ren Narita in a 3-way match that also includesYota Tsuji. He would compete in a losing effort for the title again atWrestle Kingdom 19 inFour-way match. On April 4 atSakura Genesis, Cobb andCallum Newman defeated Tetsuya Naito andHiromu Takahashi to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[51]
On April 14, NJPW announced that Cobb would be leaving NJPW and the IWGP Tag Team Championship would be vacated, ending Cobb and Newman’s reign at 9 days.[52] On April 19 during theRoad to Wrestling Dontaku tour, Cobb wrestled his final match in NJPW, losing toHiroshi Tanahashi. After the match, Cobb thanked NJPW, his United Empire stablemates, and the NJPW fans, officially ending his near 8-year tenure with the promotion.[53]
On July 21, 2018, Cobb made hisRing of Honor debut by attacking Eli Isom and FR Josie at a television taping. AtDeath Before Dishonor XVI on September 28, Cobb confrontedPunishment Martinez following his defense of theROH World Television Championship. At a television taping the following night, Cobb, in his first official match, defeated Martinez to win the ROH World Television Championship. Cobb then would win both of his matches during the two-dayGlory By Honor XVI event in October, all three of his matches during theGlobal Wars 2018 tour in November, and defeatedAdam Page atFinal Battle in December to round out the year.
2019 began with Cobb winning a four-way match atHonor Reigns Supreme, and then winning all three of his matches (two of them being tag team matches) during the Road to G1 Supercard tour. AtROH/NJPW War of the Worlds Night 2, Cobb would lose the World Television Championship toShane Taylor. After Cobb's contract ran out in 2020, Cobb stated he would still wrestle for ROH, albeit a lot less. In October 2020, his profile was moved to the alumni section.[54]
On December 10, 2022 atFinal Battle, Cobb returned to ROH, defeatingMáscara Dorada on the pre-show.[55]
Cobb made his debut forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the February 12, 2020 episode ofDynamite, attackingJon Moxley alongsideThe Inner Circle.[56] He wrestled his AEW debut match on the following week's episode ofDynamite, in a losing effort to Moxley.[57]
On the May 25, 2022 episode ofDynamite, Cobb andGreat-O-Khan interrupted a match for theROH World Tag Team Championships, betweenFTR andRoppongi Vice attacking both teams, and raising the titles signaling their intentions of challenging for the championships.[58] On theJune 15 episode ofDynamite, and after O-Khan and Cobb and the rest ofUnited Empire attacked both tag teams, Ospreay was announced to faceOrange Cassidy, whilst Cobb and O-Khan were placed into a triple-threat tag-teamWinner Takes All match for their newly wonIWGP Tag Team Championships and FTR's ROH World Tag Team Championships, along with Roppongi Vice atForbidden Door.[59] At the event, Cobb and O-Khan both failed to capture the ROH World Tag Team Titles and lost the IWGP Tag Team Titles to FTR.[60]
On the March 29, 2023 episode ofDynamite, he challengedKenny Omega for theIWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, in a losing effort.[61] On the May 15, 2024 episode ofDynamite, Cobb teamed withKyle Fletcher, in a losing effort againstBlackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley).[62]
On May 10, 2025, Cobb made hisWWE debut atBacklash, where he assistedJacob Fatu in retaining hisWWE United States Championship, establishing himself as a heel and joiningThe Bloodline.[63] The following week onSmackDown, he was given the new ring name,JC Mateo, and won his debut match againstLA Knight.[64] On the July 4 episode ofSmackDown, the Bloodline was rebranded to the "MFT".[65][66]
Cobb's finishers are a spinningscoop powerslam variation called "The Tour of the Islands" and aGachimuchi-Sault.[67]
During his work in Lucha Underground, Cobb performed as "The Monster" Matanza Cueto, wearing a mask and a boilersuit. He described his character likeJason Voorhees orMichael Myers.[68] During this time, his finisher was called "Wrath of the Gods".[69]
Cobb is of Filipino descent on his mother's side. He was born inHawaii to Filipino immigrants. Cobb's parents later moved to Guam when he was 11.[70]
| Olympic Games Matches | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Score | Date | Event | Location |
| Loss | 0–2 |  Yoel Romero | Tech. Fall (0–10) | August 26, 2004 | 2004 Summer Olympics |  Athens,Greece |
| Loss | 0–1 |  Davyd Bichinashvili | Tech. Fall (0–10) | |||
It also will be the official ROH debuts of El Jéfe Cobb and El Lethál.
,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database