Jeff Cobb Addressed Key Differences In Fan Culture Between WWE And New Japan Pro-Wrestling

Jeff Cobb has discussed the differences in fan interaction between WWE and NJPW.

On August 16, Jeff Cobb made his surprise return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, just over three months after his time with WWE came to an end. Being a member of the SmackDown roster for less than a year before being cut, Cobb wasn’t afforded the opportunity to truly show what he could do in a WWE ring, though he’s now opened up on what he learned from the experience.

In a special interview with NJPW, he was asked about the key differences between WWE and New Japan, and his answer centred around fan culture.

“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.”

-Jeff Cobb

Despite being a member of United Empire for the vast majority of his first stint with the company, Cobb stood against the unit when he made his return last month. Opposing Callum Newman, the former NJPW World Television Champion officially aligned with Unbound Co. and has been battling his former stable ever since.

Regarding his time with WWE, it wasn’t just fans who were frustrated at how his tenure went, as Cobb revealed in a previous interview that he’d asked to do more wrestling in the company, only to be turned down. You can read more about that here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Jeff Cobb as soon as we hear more.