Jeff Cobb on his G1 competition
After two entries ending with impressive performances, but only eight points overall, ‘third time lucky’ might be an accurate way to look at Cobb’s favourite status heading into this year’s G1 Climax, but for the fact that the United Emprie member is leaving nothing to luck. Transformed since joining the new faction last November, Cobb has been on a hot streak this year that started with taking Shingo Takagi to the very limit at Wrestle Kingdom, and where his latest achievement was a convincing victory over Kazuchika Okada in the MetLife Dome September 4. As he prepares for G1 31’s kickoff in Osaka, we sat down with the man himself.
Watch EVERY G1 Climax 31 event live and in English on NJPW World!
You have to be in top shape for this, and I will be
–As we speak, it’s a week after your match with Kazuchika Okada in the MetLife Dome, and a week before the G1. Now you’ve gotten that big victory over Okada, you must be in high spirits going into the G1.
Cobb: Definitely. You always want a win before going into a big tournament. There’s no bigger tournament than the G1, and Okada’s in my block this year. So I know guaranteed that’s one win coming my way.
–You’re completely confident you’ll beat him in your group match now.
Cobb: He was trying to go back to the heights he was at before, but he ran into a giant roadblock in Jeff Cobb and the United Empire. It’s a lot of momentum to have on my side, having one of the biggest wins of my career to go into the G1.
–It was a very physical match with Okada, and the G1 in itself is incredibly demanding. Are you 100% physically before we start in Osaka?
Cobb: Oh definitely. We have a few days off, and I’m using this time to pick up the intensity on my training. There’s minor soreness after Okada and that will be fixed. You have to be in top shape for this, and I will be.
The United Empire’s chances of winning? 1000%
–One person not in the G1 tournament is Will Ospreay. He is representing in the US on NJPW STRONG though, and you and Great-O-Khan are in separate blocks in the G1. How well is the United Empire set up for the G1?
Cobb: Great-O-Khan is in block A, I’m in block B. If Ospreay was here, that would have meant three of us in there, and whatever block he was in, the United Empire’s chances of winning would be 1000%. Now, he’s not here. So do you know what percent chance we have?
–I’m, err..
Cobb: Still 1000%! The United Empire will win A block and B block. If Ospreay isn’t here, we’ll pick up what’s missing. Ospreay will expand the United Empire in America, and we’ll keep dominating here.
–Let’s run through the schedule. It all starts for B Block in Osaka on September 19, where you will be facing Chase Owens. Chase is well experienced, but in his first G1. If you could offer advice to a G1 debutant, what would it be?
Cobb: “Forfeit your match to Jeff Cobb.”
–…I see. Chase has made a lot of strides in 2021, have you watched him in action recently, and what are your thoughts?
Cobb: I always do my homework. I don’t scout per se, but I do watch matches, and I watch Chase Owens. My big thought? The guy is white, paper white. He needs a nice tan, some time in the islands, so I’ll take him there, heh.
There’s a big difference between the Jeff Cobb that had his first G1 to now
–In Ota-ku on the 24th, YOSHI-HASHI. He has impressed a lot as NEVER Openweight 6-Man Champion, but this is a different environment. Has he impressed you?
Cobb: No. Like you said, he’s been impressive in six man matches, tag matches, but this is a singles tournament. I just beat Okada. I’ve had a lot of singles matches lately and he hasn’t and that’s a disdadvantage for him.
–September 29 in Korakuen Hall, you face Hirooki Goto. You have a history with him, and he is 2-1 against you. What will make this match different?
Cobb: Just like with YOSHI-HASHI, Goto has been doing these six man tag matches. His focus has gotten away from the singles division. I’ve been tagging a lot, sure, but I’ve had more singles matches with high profile names. So I’ll make this 2-2.
–Last time you met was in your first G1. Is it important to you to show the difference between Jeff Cobb in G1 number three as opposed to G1 number one?
Cobb: Yeah. You know, people have said that I’ve developed a mean streak. I don’t think that’s true, it’s more that I won’t take any more bulls**t. There’s a big difference to the Jeff Cobb that had his first G1 to the man I am now, and Goto will find that out.
The goal is to main event Wrestle Kingdom
–October 1, you wrestle Tama Tonga in his first G1 since 2018. We haven’t seen him in ring for several months, but one has to assume he’s been putting all of his focus into training for this tournament. Does that make him a dangerous X factor?
Cobb: I know he’s doing a lot of cardio yelling on his stupid podcast. But podcast cardio and in-ring cardio are very different.
–October 4 and Taichi is another opponent you have history with.
Cobb: Yeah, I hate him.
–On paper it looks like one of the hardest hitting matches of the entire block.
Cobb: I’ll give Taichi credit where it’s due. He’s beaten me in the G1 before, and we’ve both hit each other hard. And in Dontaku 2019, he beat me for the NEVER title. So do I want revenge? Yes. Will I be throwing him halfway across the ring? Also yes. History will not be repeating itself.
–Taichi has stated that he and Zack Sabre Jr. are an effective tag team because they are effective singles wrestlers as well. You’re obviously a singles wrestler, but team very effectively with O-Khan, Ospreay or Aaron Henare. Would a win here set you up for an IWGP Tag team Championship challenge perhaps?
Cobb: You never know. We always have different goals, but the goal right now is for either myself or Great-O-Khan to main event at Wrestle Kingdom. I will beat Taichi, and O-Khan will beat ZSJ in A Block. So if we decide to take those championships we will. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
When I suplex someone, they all land the same way
–On October 8, you face SANADA. You’ve tagged against one another a lot, but this is your first singles match with him. Your thoughts?
Cobb: He has OK hair, I guess. Apart from that the only thing I can say is I’ll beat him. Everyone in this tournament belongs there, but everyone in this tournament will lose to me.
–He was the finalist last year, and much more of a classical wrestler than Taichi before him. Is there a particular style of wrestler that you find easier or harder to deal with in ring?
Cobb: No. And I’ll explain why. It’s because when I suplex someone, they all land the same way. Taichi can hit you hard, but when I suplex him, he lands on his head. When SANADA jumps around and tries to put me in his goofy Paradise Lock, when I suplex him, he lands on his head. Same deal with Tanahashi, or whomever. They all land the same way, whatever they try to do.
–October 12, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Currently the IWGP US Champion. That title is seen as the ‘key’ to the ‘Forbidden Door’ between NJPW in Japan and in the US. Is that status attractive to you?
Cobb: Not really. I mean yes, championships mean more money in this business, so that’s the goal. But I don’t care about going and wrestling in AEW, or ROH, MLW, wherever. It doesn’t matter where I show up, it only matters that I make more money where I do show up. That’s what matters.
–Hiroshi Tanahashi has been on a hot hand of late, between main events in Nagoya, Tokyo Dome, LA and then MetLife Dome. Compared to last year where he headed into the G1 on a losing streak, do you feel he’s more dangerous now, or just a more attractive opponent?
Cobb: He’s definitely more of an attractive opponent. With all the momentum behind him, then that means when I beat him, myself and the United Empire will be all the more stronger.
I’ll be at 16 points by the time I get to Okada
–Next you have EVIL. That almost certainly will mean interference from Dick Togo, just as it did during the New Japan Cup. With Great-O-Khan in A Block, you won’t have backup here in this bout. How do you feel about this being an effective handicap match?
Cobb: I mean, you can see what happened in the New Japan Cup, and all that interference from Yujiro and Togo. But I’m a NJPW World subscriber, and I can see what happened, and how to approach things with a different gameplan. I don’t know what he and his new stupid little group have planned, but don’t piss off the United Empire is the message here.
–HOUSE OF TORTURE was formed when SHO joined BULLET CLUB in MetLife Dome. A lot of fans had speculated SHO could have fit into the United Empire; was there ever any conversation about recruiting SHO?
Cobb: It wasn’t a surprise to us that he didn’t want to come into the United Empire. It’s a high pressure spot to be among greatness in the United Empire. So he wants to run round with BULLET CLUB, that’s absolutely fine; less dead weight on our team.
–Your campaign ends in the Nippon Budokan against Kazuchika Okada. Obviously, we don’t know the card order at this point, but this would be a main event in any building. Theoretically, would that be any added pressure, to headline in such an iconic building?
Cobb: No, there’s no pressure, because I have the most recent win over him. So that’ll make him come to me. He’s going to be more desperate, and that means he’ll make a lot of mistakes. I’ve already figured out how to beat the Rainmaker, and not with a quick roll-up either.
–You beat him at MetLife Dome with a top rope Tour of the Islands, and then a second in ring.
Cobb: I gave him two tours, because I know he likes Hawaii so much, heheh. He probably didn’t like the landing, but I can’t help that there’s turbulence. But hey, at this stage, I’ll be at 16 points already, so no pressure. He’ll lose to me regardless.
No doubt I want to beat Shingo Takagi in the Tokyo Dome
–Should Great-O-Khan win A Block, what kind of match can fans expect in the final at the Budokan?
Cobb: You can expect United Empire winning, a United Empire in the main event at Wrestle Kingdom, and green black and gold confetti. Now as for the match, it’ll be tough. We’ve tagged together a lot, but in the ring it’s all business. Afterward, we’ll be celebrating, drinking Zimas and getting ready for Tokyo Dome and Yokohama Arena. As for which one of us will be celebrating the most, we’ll find out on the 21st.
–Up to now the G1 winner has had the right to challenge the IWGP Champion at Wrestle Kingdom. We have three nights of Wrestle Kingdom 16, and we also have two men with IWGP World Heavyweight Championships. Shingo Takagi is recognized as champion, and Will Ospreay claims-
Cobb: Let me cut you off. He doesn’t claim to be the true IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Will Ospreay is the true champion, because he did nothing wrong and the company took the title off him for no reason.
–…Be that as it may, should you win the G1, would you target whomever holds the belt that Shingo Takagi now possesses, or do you feel there should be an all United Empire main event at Wrestle Kingdom perhaps with Ospreay involved?
Cobb: Look, no doubt I want to beat Shingo Takagi in the Tokyo Dome. This year he beat me for the NEVER Championship. But with the stakes higher, and me a lot meaner? Well, I think you know what would happen. And then once I win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship then me and Ospreay can sit down together and figure out what to do next. I don’t look too far into the future, so all I’ll say is what I know for sure. One of the United Empire will be in the main event at Wrestle Kingdom. Then we’ll take it from there.
