[6.0] "Jeff Cobb found his niche as part of New Japan's midcard (and it also seems like wants to be there for the sake of being there and not just for the payday.) You'd be forgiven if you lived stateside and forgot about he was ROH's TV Champion or Lucha Underground's Champion as Matanza Cueto, but he's been part of the United Empire stable and enjoyed a few title runs as a result. His style seems better suited for Japan, though don't be surprised if he shows up on TV or in a town near you, either, given he still makes appearances stateside from time-to-time. ."
[7.0] "One of the best powerhouses you can have, and a perfect mid carder... I think Jeff Cobb is a great worker, always stiff and putting good matches, his look is great, looks imposing and destructive all the time. Cobb is hugely underrated, the guy is impressive, he's big but can also do some high-flying stuff that makes me lose my mind."
[9.0] "The man is a perfect embodiment of a utility roster member because he is a jack of all trades. He's extremely athletic in every way and very versatile as a performer both in-ring and in terms of putting him on a match card. He can do a 10-15 minute sprint, a more slower 20-25 minute match, a tag match, a midcard match etc. He is someone I never get tired of watching because he finds new ways to show off his raw power, explosiveness or his flippiness. The man is in his early 40s and still going very strong after many would consider his Matanza Cueto run in LU his peak run. His brashiness is very comedic to me because not only is it well earned but his sense of humour is cheap yet cheerful i.e. pretending to surf on opponents' backs and then apologising to the ref."
[8.0] "(Sorry english is not my firtst language) Jeff is just cool, what even more should i say... hey did you remember this weird and cool gimmick in lucha underground"
[9.0] "Incredibly underappreciated and unacknowledged, Jeff Cobb is the fucking best. Cobb's booking, still whilst being somewhat inconsistent (especially considering his 2020) is still able to highlight him as one of the most consistent workers NJPW has currently. Tbh, if there's an alternate universe where Cobb is IWGP champion, that universe would be fucking dope, but as of now it's unlikely, as despite an amazing look, incredible move-set and presence, I think the time for Cobb to be a main eventer expired. But wtf that's life I guess :P"
[8.0] "Amazing worker, amazing commentator, hilarious guy. Jeff Cobb is a national treasure. Jokes aside, I have always loved Jeff Cobb, he is a great big man wrestler who sells better than most and carries a big charisma with him. He has a very natural comedic aura, but can also portray sheer intensity when he is angry. His matches do have a ceiling, albeit a high one, and due to booking and injuries I doubt he will ever make it to the top of New Japan, but he is a brilliant talent and manages to always entertain."
[7.0] "Crazy power and move set for a guy of his size. Unfortunately has only middling charisma and promo skills and very rarely drags guys less skilled than him to a good/great match. Knocked on the door of the upper card at times but will always be a midcarder I expect."
[9.0] "Cobb has been a reliable big man for multiple companies. His best work was his Lucha Underground work with Mantaza being one of the biggest stars. His work in other promotions like NJPW, ROH and AEW has been really good. His legit Olympic background makes him seem legit and his move set fits it perfectly."
[8.0] "Jeff Cobb's been around for awhile and has always been, at the very least, good, but he seems to be getting better since going full time with New Japan and I still think he's got a higher ceiling too."
[7.0] "Cobb's had a decent career. He can be fun in the ring, and has more personality and a better look than most of his stablemates. He's athletic, but doesn't have the size of a true big man wrestler, or the raw talent/charisma to otherwise get to the top."
[7.0] "Dug his work as Matanza Cueto but that's more down to Lucha Underground as a product than him as a performer. I keep waiting for him to impress me in NJPW and he continues to be... decent. Nothing special. Dependable b-list guy."
[7.0] "I am all about beefy boys in my pro wrestling. He can be up and down once the bell rings but with the right chemistry he can absolutely have great matches. I think he is especially good in tags when he can be more of a wrecking ball."
[6.0] "An impressive powerhouse with surprising athleticism. Could have a lot to offer, but at this point he's probably too old to ever make it big in wrestling. He has a decent look and skill set, but his character work, like much of UE, is what's lacking and unlikely to improve."
[6.0] "Every now and then Jeff Cobb will have an absolute barnstormer and you think he's ready to kick on but then the follow up will just fall a bit flat. Everything he needs to be a big threatening powerhouse is there but I don't think you can rely on his work to be consistently good enough to be at the top of the card. I've thought for years now that he'd be best doing the bulk of his work in tag team wrestling."
[8.0] "Cobb is an awesome powerhouse but lacks on the character side of things, and also he? s getting fairly old now. Still though, the guy is really fricking good in the ring and his feats of strength always impress the hell out of me. Excels most in the role of an enforcer though. Will probably never be a top tier singles star at this point, but he can still play the role of a legitimate threat to legitimate competitors if needed."
[7.0] "Die Combo aus Power und High Flying, welche er besonders Mitte der 2010er Jahre hate, war schon Wahnsinn. Damals wrestlerisch noch etwas grün, hat Cobb sich durch seinen spektakulären Stil bei Lucha Underground und PWG einen Namen gemacht. Mit dem Alter sind vor allem die High Flying Aktionen weniger geworden, den Standing Shooting Star Press packt Jeff mittlerweile nicht mehr aus. Dafür ist er als Worker in Japan in den letzten Jahren extrem gereift, seine Matches bewegen sich alle auf mindestens solidem Niveau, mit Ausreißern nach oben wie dem klasse Match gegen Shingo bei Wrestle Kingdom. Was mich an ihm allerdings nervt ist, dass er glaubt, Trademark-Posen und Moves von seinen Gegnern nachzuahmen gehe als Charisma durch. Da würde ich mir das ein oder andere Mal etwas mehr Kreativität wünschen. Nichtsdestotrotz hat er sich seinen Upper Midcard Platz bei New Japan durch seine guten Leistungen, vor allem als Teil des United Empire, auf jeden Fall verdient."
[10.0] "He really won me over during the past few months. Before then, I thought he was just a good mid-carder powerhouse but not much else, someone who can give you a good match but without much personality. I was proven wrong during this year, he is great. Hopefully, he gets more recognition in NJPW."
[9.0] "One of the better big man wrestlers. Predominantly a power based wrestler but he has a versatile moveset and his athletic ability is very impressive for a man his size."
[8.0] "I've finally turned a corner on Cobb. He's always been a world-class athlete with a great combination of impressive power moves and wild high-flying in his arsenal. He's just never really been able to put it all together in his matches until recently, often feeling more like a gif machine than anything else. Starting with the incredible performance he had against Shingo at Wrestle Kingdom, he's shown he can structure great matches on a more consistent basis and I'm looking forward to the rest of his run in Japan."
[10.0] "He is one of the greatest hybrid wrestlers in the game. Wether it be striking, technically, slightly highflying, or doing power moves he excels. He is so good and his heel work is so good. Def the future of NJPW"
[9.0] "Vastly improved in his heel role, and New Japan responded with their booking. His tone-setter vs Shingo at Wrestle Kingdom set both men up for greatness. He held down good singles matches vs Okada and Ibushi, and tore through the G1, his best match being against Taichi. Incredibly talented and watchable."
[9.0] "Loving his recent work, he's a great hard hitting worker and very agile for his size, he showed how amazing he can be when he wrestled Shingo and I'm looking forward to see how far he can go"
[3.0] "Keine 1, 80m und dennoch wird er oft als Big Man verbucht, da seine Physis einfach Eindruck macht, wenn man ihn sieht. Seine Athletik passt nicht zur Physis und schon ist das besondere Paket fertig. Was macht er daraus? Nichts. Seine Matches sind nur sehenswert, wenn der Gegner den Ton angibt unbd selbst gut arbeitet. Cobb kann kein Match tragen, er weiß nicht, wie er seine Physis nachhaltig ins Match bringt. Mimik, Gestik und Körpersprache kann er nicht nutzen, um irgendwie authentisch, überzeugend oder gefährlich zu wirken. Er geht von Move zu Move und bietet halbwegs passables Selling. Wieviele große Paarungen wurden gehyped und wie oft waren es wirklich gute Matches? Die Quote ist marginal. Bei NJPW Strong zeigt er derzeit "eindrucksvoll", wie wenig da zusammenläuft. Er kann keine Story prägen, sondern ist stets nur dabei. Außer zwei, drei High Impact Moves kann er den Matches meistens wenig geben und so wird er von seriösen Wrestler im Ring dominiert, auch wenn er in der Story bzw. Konstellation der Favor ist. Das ist immer wieder enttäuschend und mein Interesse an seinen Matches ist quasi nicht mehr vorhanden, da auch der 2020er G1 Climax gezeigt hat, dass da nicht viel zu holen ist. Im starken A Block war er nach Yujiro der Wrestler mit der schwächsten durchschnittlichen Matchwertung. Und das sagt alles, was man über den Wreslter Cobb wissen muss."
[6.0] "He's quite agile for someone with his build and generally solid in the ring but he rarely exceeds a 7/10 match rating and totally lacks charisma and mic skills."
[6.0] "His matches are hit or miss. He has wrestling talent, and can put on good matches with the right opponent. But his work isn't consistent enough to make up for his look, size, and lack of charisma."
[9.0] "OK he might not be the next Samoa Joe but frankly who cares ? He has a tremendous look, legit wrestling credentials and the most beautiful suplexes I've seen in years. Jeff Cobb is the man."
[7.0] "I like Jeff Cobb, but he suffers of the same problem as many other monster wrestlers nowadays: he loses way too often to opponents he should squash in under five minutes. I know that wrestling has changed a lot, and not always for the better, over the past decade but somebody like Jeff Cobb would be perfect for a "monster invades your promotion and demolishes it" angle which would also help give a big push to the local hero who would eventually defeat him. Alas nowadays that kind of angle has fallen into disuse, and not without reason, so all Cobb can do is showcase his excellent in-ring skills around the world."
[7.0] "A couple of years ago, I liked him more especially when being paired with Matt Riddle. Now he is still just good. His work in G1 29 so far proves that and his current PWG run from late 2018 also does the same. He is still good enough to produce sometimes great matches but not a 4 star machine approved. His matches can look awkward and the pacing can be off. Sometimes, his matches just turn into random moves hitting with little storytelling or certain dynamic. From last year to now, I expect him more, but I am disappointed."
[6.0] "Can we all please have a laugh at the "Cobb is SOO better than Elgin! " crowd now? This dude is impressively athletic for his size, and has some great strength displays in his arsenal, but he's painfully 'just good' the majority of the time, and his 2019 G1 performance has proven that. He has a unique look and style, but that doesn't translate to great performances sadly. He's had plenty of very good matches, but I havent seen any great performances from him in the past few years, even when paired with a truly great partner."
[8.0] "Jeff Cobb is pretty good, but he can be a big flop as well. I mean, his G1 run is not being one of the greatest, but I know that he can deliver great matches, he's very good!"
[8.0] "Jeff Cobb is running on a ton of momentum right now. As a legit olympian, he's definitely got a lot of upsides, but there's just something about his character (or lack thereof) that doesn't work for me. He's great in the ring & is able to do things that no other guy really can. His character as Matanza in Lucha Underground was done so well. Perhaps a heel turn would help him now? Just being a sort of happy-go-lucky dude is not going to get him to the next level. Still one to watch going forward."
[6.0] "I'm really only familiar with his work as Matanza. The presentation of the character is amazing but the actual performance is somewhat lacking. There's a slowness to his in ring work that really throws the flow of a match off. Not that he lumbers (well he does but that suits the character), but he is slow in transitions which makes his opponents lack of response stand out. Maybe he would be better in a promotion that has a slower pace."
[8.0] "Eines der besten Powerhouses überhaupt. Es ist unglaublich was dieser Mann im Ring kann und wie er dabei aussieht. Als ich ihn zum ersten Mal gesehen habe, dachte ich, dass er wieder ein 0815 Big Man ist, der absolut unbeweglich ist und diesen kann er auch hervorragend spielen. Als er dann aber plötzlich eine Shooting Star Press auspackt, konnte ich meinen Augen nicht trauen. WIrklich ein absoluter Ausnahmekönner vor allem für seine Größe."
[8.0] "Acht Punkte für Jeff Cobb für seine Darstellung des Matanza Cueto über vier Staffeln Lucha Underground hinweg. Ein richtig guter Big Man, der diese Rolle sehr, sehr cool gespielt hat! Auch das bisschen seiner Arbeit von außerhalb (hin und wieder große Matches + NJPW) das ich gesehen habe veranlasst mich definitiv nicht runter zu gehen."
[9.0] "Jeff Cobb ist ein richtig sympatischer Typ, dessen Power einfach nur der Wahnsinn ist. Athletisch ist er auch noch dazu, setzt es aber in maßen was so viel besonderer wirkt."
[7.0] "Great technical wrestler and highly athletic for a man of his size, but he lacks the charisma of a true star. He's a very reliable choice to put on entertaining matches and has an interesting moveset. I thought his LU run was fine but uninspiring: he had plenty of good matches, but no great ones and although coming across as convincingly intimidating, he never showed any more to his character or gave me much reason to care. He's definitely a talented athlete and above-average worker, but I find him to be a bit overrated among the IWC."
[9.0] "Finde ihn unmaskiert besser. Er hat mal in einen Interview erzählt das er aus Rechte nicht als Monster Matanza außerhalb LU antreten darf. Ist sehr sympathisch in den Interviews. Toller Mann sehr beweglich und kräftig. Inzwischen durch bestimmte Matches überall begehrt. Würde ihn als Allrounder bezeichnen kann jeden Stil."
[8.0] "Cobb/Matanza ist für mich extrem unterbewertet. Er ist nicht nur ein super Wrestler in fast allen Belangen, dafür aber bei LU noch ein sehr guter Charakter und essentieller Faktor der 2. Staffel. Er stellt viele sehr gute Matches in vielen Indy-Ligen auf und so runde ich das Ganze auf 8 Punkte auf."
[9.0] "Ich muss zugeben, dass ich persönlich ein sehr großer Fan von Jeff Cobb / Matanza bin. Seine Fähigkeiten im Ring sind sehr sehr gut. Vom Powerhouse Offensive bis zum Standing Shooting Star Press kann er alles. Zudem ein klasse Worker."
[7.0] "I think Jeff Cobb is Overrated. People make him out to be this great wrestler, but i don't see it. I've never seen a bad Jeff Cobb match, but I've never seen a great one either. He's like "Mr. 3 1/4 Star Wrestler". He's good, but he's really nothing special. He is fun to watch though."
[10.0] "Ein wahres Monster von einem Wrestler! Weiß sich ideal den verschiedenen Situationen anzupassen und zieht sein Ding voll durch! Ist durchaus noch für mehr berufen!"
[8.0] "Jeff Cobb or Matanza Cueto in Lucha Underground - this guy is for real one of the best Technical wrestlers i've seen - the Olympic amateur wrestling background shows through in his moveset - this guy can go and looks like a BEAST at 265 Pounds (Not the 185 He's listed at - that was his Olympic wrestling weight) like if ECW badass Taz had ate Current size Taz for lunch - for a big guy he's deceptively quick too - Highly recommend you seek out his matches - especially his PWG work"
[10.0] "Wie er als Matanza ist, ist mir egal. Ich schau kein LU. Im Independet-Bereich ist er großartig. Keiner hat so viel Kraft wie er. Dadurch kann er Aktionen zeigen wie kein anderer und seine Highflying-Moves sehen bei seinem Körper besonders gut aus."
[3.0] "Ein paar ganz ansehnliche Powerhousemoves. Das ist alles. Matanza kann selbst mit guten Wrestlern nur mittelmäßige Matches worken. Echt lächerlich wie Lucha Underground mit seiner Darstellung übertreibt. Ich meine wer darf bei einem Elimination-Match 9 oder 10 Leute eliminieren. Sein ganzer Auftritt ist absolut unglaubwürdig, da er weder die Wrestling-Skills noch die Größe hat um so einen Zerstörer zu spielen. Seine Ausstrahlung und sein Charisma sind auch bestenfalls ausreichend."
[7.0] "Haven't watched his work in Lucha Underground as Matanza yet, but any match I've seen him in has been awesome. The man is a legitimate beast, an suplex machine, and one of the best big guys in wrestling right now. He's got speed, strength, and technique."
[8.0] "A legitimate suplex machine. The guy's power move set reads like a wikipedia article. His work as Matanza on LU is solid, but nothing too special."
[7.0] "Bei Jeff cobb bin ich verdammt zwiegespalten. Auf der einen Seite bei LU als Matanza ein Gigant der alle vermöbelt und meiner Ansicht nach zu krass dargestellt wird. Auf der anderen Seite ist Jeff Cobb ein recht guter Big Men der extrem stark und trotzdem sehr agil ist und durch aus gute Matches außerhalb von LU zeigen kann (siehe Hero vs Cobb). Matanza ist durchschnitt und Jeff cobb ist recht gut...."
[5.0] "Jeff Cobb aka The Monster Matanza Cueto, ein gutes Jahr wurde er angeteast bis er bei LU debütierte. Ich bewerte hier nur seine Auftritte als Matanza, da ich von ihm als Cobb nur 2 Matches gesehen hab. Zu allererst muss gesagt werden: Für sein Booking kann er ja nichts aber mir geht sein Monstershowing schon gehörig gegen den Strich, die größten Namen bei LU (die ohne Zweifel wesentlich besser im Ring sind als er) werden von ihm weggesquasht. Seine bisherigen Matches bei LU fand ich nie mehr als 5 Punkte gut, er wirkt so behäbig und langsam im Ring, was durch seine 'Monsterart' (dieses schwerfällige Laufen, die Grobmotorik) nur noch verstärkt wird. Das er bei seinem Debüt schon Champion wurde und alles zerstört passt zwar in die Story um das Gimmick, wertet für mich aber die Shows mittlerweile echt stark ab."
[6.0] "I'm not really sold on Matanza. I find his in ring work sloppy. He's supposed to have an amateur background but he certainly does not move like Angle or Brock. The best thing about Matanza is the part he plays in the story of Dario Cueto. His match with Pentagon Jr. was not great and neither was his first match with Mil Muertes. The graver consequences match was good, but most of that was the theatrics and Mil Muertes."
[10.0] "Ich kenne ihn leider nur aus Lucha Underground, aber da gefällt er mir richtig gut. Auch, wenn man durch die Skits in der ersten Staffel natürlich eine viel größere Erscheinung bei Matanza erwartet hätte, macht er diesen Makel durch sein absolut starkes In Ring-Work und teils spektakuläre Aktionen wieder wett. Ein kleiner Brock Lesnar für mich - und genau diesen würde ich mal gerne gegen Cobb sehen, gerne auch bei Lucha Underground... das wäre dann nämlich wirklich Suplex City!"
[7.0] "Oh my Lord. Wie krass ist er denn bitte drauf... durch das Outfit ordentlich an der Größe und Mächtigkeit getrickst, aber die Darstellung von ihm ist schon mal fantastisch. Nicht einer, nicht zwei, nicht drei, sondern hunderte Finisher. Was. Zur. Hölle. Der könnte ganz groß rauskommen mit dem Gimmick, aber ich habe Angst davor, wenn er einem echten Riesen wie Muertes begegnet. UPDATE: Wie schnell man sich doch blenden lässt. Mein Vorredner hat etwas ganz wichtiges gesagt, was mir auch so schon aufgefallen ist - es macht tatsächlich den Anschein, als würde er jedes Mal vor und nach seinen Moves überlegen, was als nächstes kommt. Weiterhin war er zwar bei Aztec Warfare sehr beeindruckend, seitdem kam aber nichts neues. Außerdem sind es mir diese Riesen-Spots nicht wert, das Wohl der anderen zu gefährden. Jetzt gegen Muertes sah er schon eher mickrig aus."
[5.0] "Ich finde ihn tierisch langweilig, zudem ist sein Push bei Lucha Underground völlig übertrieben, wenn man sich einmal anschaut, wie seine Matches ablaufen. Er hat zwar ein paar coole Moves drauf, aber das war es auch schon. Dazu wirkt es manchmal so, als wenn er nach jedem seiner Trademark-Moves erstmal überlegen muss, wie es nun weitergeht."
"Ich vergebe noch keine Wertung, da falls er wirklich das Monster aus Lucha Underground ist ich ihn bei Aztec Warfare zum allerersten mal gesehen habe. Der Typ soll nur 1, 78 groß sein und 84kg wiegen ? Irgendwie mag ich das nicht so recht glauben aber wenns stimmen sollte, dann haben die Regiseure von Lucha Underground gute Arbeit bei den Kameraeinstellungen geleistet ;-) Ich glaube es immer noch nicht...... liegt da bestimmt keine Verwechslung vor ?"
[6.0] "Er ist definitiv nicht schlecht, aber gut ist auch wieder anders! Man sieht unter anderem bei Lucha Underground teilweise unsauber ausgeführte Moves, unsaubere Ringer-Brücken (Er ist nunmal kein Daisuke Sekimoto) allerdings sieht man teilweise auch sehr sehr gute aktionen! Ich bin mir sicher, dass er sehr gut werden kann!"
[10.0] "Krasser Typ. Das Matanza-Gimmick ist der Monster Heel schlechthin. Habe mir jetzt mal ein paar seiner Matches als Mr Athletic Jeff Cobb angesehen. Tolles Oldschool-Wrestling kombiniert mit Aktionen, die man ihm bei seiner Statur nicht unbedingt zutraut. Bin total auf seine weitere Karriere gespannt."
[10.0] "German Suplex, Lariat, Powerbomb, Gutwrench Suplex, Powerslam, STANDING MOONSAULT! , those are just some of the things this guy can do, and his Gimmick, MY GOD HIS GIMMICK! So Amazing! the Mask is so Badass, this Monster is the New Definition of Badass"
[10.0] "Jeff Cobb is an overlooked talent, but possibly one of the best on the indie scene. A former Olympian, his technical proficiency is only matched by his insane strength, and on top of all that he can sell like a champ and do standing moonsaults; the nickname Mr. Athletic is well-deserved. When I think of wrestlers I would compare to him, amazing names like Kurt Angle, Daisuke Sekimoto, and Brock Lesnar come to mind. He's a total package in terms of ring work, although I admit I've never seen him work a microphone. Hopefully, his involvement in Lucha Underground will be what he needs to give himself some notoriety and recognition that someone as talented as he is deserves."
