Jeff Cobb departing from NJPW, tag titles vacated

Jeff Cobb is departing from NJPW.

NJPW announced that Cobb, one half of the current IWGP Hvt. Tag Team Champions, is leaving the compakny on their website earlier today. It was also announced that the IWGP Hvt. Tag Team Championship that Cobb held with Callum Newman would be vacated. Cobb & Newman won the titles at Sakura Genesis on April 5.

It was reported last month by Fightful Select that WWE had interest in signing Cobb and that one of their sources had said that Cobb was listed on WWE’s internal roster. Cobb had been working for NJPW without a contract recently. At the time of the report, Cobb beat Tetsuya Naito during the NJPW Cup and mocked the report on air during the show.

In addition to being one half of the IWGP World Hvt. Tag Team Championship, Cobb had mentioned that he wanted a shot at the IWGP World Hvt. Championship held by Hirooki Goto during his backstage comments after the Sakara Genesis PPV. He was also pushed on air as being the next challenger to IWGP World Hvt. Champion Hirooki Goto at the Wrestling Dontaku PPV on May 4 next month at the Windy City Riot PPV on April 11 in Chicago.

It appears that NJPW was not expecting Cobb to be leaving immediately. Cobb’s partner, Callum Newman appeared at a press conference in Japan today and said that he was going to be the one to challenge Goto now that Cobb is leaving NJPW.  NJPW made the match official and Newman will face Goto in the main event of the second night of Wrestling Dontaku on May 4.

NJPW announced that Jeff Cobb’s last match in the company will take place on April 19 at Korakeun Hall against Hiroshi Tanahashi.  Cobb is expected to start in WWE soon according to a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. 

NJPW wrote the following on their website regarding Cobb’s departure: “New Japan Pro-Wrestling has come to terms with the departure of Jeff Cobb at his request. With Cobb one half of the IWGP Tag team Champions, those titles have now been vacated. Cobb’s final match in NJPW will take place in Korakuen Hall on April 19 against Hiroshi Tanahashi. New Japan Pro-Wrestling profoundly apologises for the sudden nature of this news and joins fans in wishing Cobb the best in all his future endeavours.”