JC Mateo Says WWE Gave Him “Whatever You Want” Deal Before Backlash Debut

JC Mateo—formerly known as Jeff Cobb—opened up about his transition from NJPW to WWE in a new interview with KUAM News, and he’s not holding anything back about how his move came together.

Mateo revealed that his WWE deal officially kicked in on April 21, just two days after his final NJPW match on April 19. “I still stayed with them for two more months after,” he explained. “Not under contract, but just as a—like a handshake agreement kind of thing, while my WWE contract was being finalized.”

Mateo made his surprise WWE debut on May 10 at the 2025 Backlash PLE, and the moment wasn’t lost on him. “It’s pretty cool to hear a live reaction,” he said about the crowd pop. “Especially for somebody who—that for my case, I didn’t come up through the WWE system. I made a name for myself outside of WWE. So, it’s always scary when you’re gonna debut on WWE and you’re kind of like, ‘Oh man, I hope the people know who I am.’”

And they definitely did. “Hearing that reaction firsthand was like, very—thank goodness their camera didn’t zoom in on my arms but the goosebumps, it was there for sure,” Mateo added.

The former Olympian had a chance to join WWE back in 2020, but he wasn’t ready to commit just yet. “I wanted everything to be right with what I wanted, for a contract,” Mateo said of WWE’s earlier offer. When the company came calling again in late 2024, he made sure his concerns were addressed before signing. “We started talking again back in November of 2024, had a couple Zoom meetings… and they pretty much just said, ‘Okay. Whatever you want, let’s do it.’”

Mateo’s rise has been unconventional, but that only makes his arrival in WWE even sweeter. “Like the majority of the professional wrestlers, their goal was WWE or WWF or whichever one you remember it as,” he said. “So for me, I originally had a tryout in 2014. They said no at the time. So I just ventured off into other things.”

Now, he’s on WWE TV with a full-circle moment years in the making.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.