Jeff Cobb Says WWE Mistakenly Believed He Wore Face Paint During NJPW Run

In 2025, Jeff Cobb debuted in WWE at Backlash, where he aligned himself with Solo Sikoa and the MFTs under the name JC Mateo. Cobb was with WWE for less than a year when he was released in April as part of the post-WrestleMania 42 cuts. While with the MFTs, they began wearing face paint as Tama and Tanga Loa did at times during their run in NJPW as the Guerillas of Destiny.

During an appearance on SOTO619, Cobb weighed in on having to wear face paint. During his time in Lucha Underground, he wrestled under a mask and was asked which one was harder.

"Paint. Paint because I had never done that before. ... The paint was truly different because I was told, 'You're going to wear the paint like you did in Japan'. And I never wore paint in Japan. I think they got me confused with somebody else. But, yeah paint was hard because I had to find paint. The paint was the hardest just for the fact that like with the mask, I could I put it on – I couldn't breathe – but I could put it on and then when I'm done, I could take it off. But the paint took forever to get off and I had to use the wipes. But then I found out the wipes that I used got recalled. But then for some reason, the makeup lady still used them."

Cobb returned to NJPW in August during the G1 Climax finale where he turned on Callum Newman and United Empire and joined Unbound Co. Since then, he has continued to feud with United Empire. Upon his return, Cobb addressed his time in WWE by saying he never left, but was on hiatus. He also said he was not "bounded by The Knockout Company (TKO)".

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit SOTO619 and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.