Former Ring of Honor (ROH) World Television and NEVER Openweight Champion Jeff Cobb joined New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) English announcer, Kevin Kelly for a virtual interview as a part of the ‘NJPW Together’ initiative the company has put together to entertain fans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I hope everybody out there watching and listening on New Japan World are safe. Wash your hands,” Cobb said near the beginning of the interview, referencing the coronavirus that has caused havoc and over 233k deaths worldwide. “I have a one on one trainer that I workout with secretly and privately…we have a bottle of Clorox water [used for sanitizing equipment]” Cobb continued in response to a question about how he’s staying in shape during the quarantine.
Cobb would also state that he has a gym at home that he’s using to lift weights when not working out with his trainer. Kelly would transition into a conversation about past NJPW events, asking Cobb if he ever goes back and watches NJPW archives, Cobb detailed that he recently watched Wrestle Kingdom 10, and enjoyed seeing his friends as Young Lions throughout the show including David Finlay, Juice Robison, and Sho who are all graduates of the NJPW Noge Dojo.
After speaking about his time at the Olympics, Jeff Cobb went into detail concerning his defeat of Will Ospreay during the G1 Supercard on April 6, 2019, he went into detail about the experience. “When we got the word that New Japan was going to MSG (Madison Square Garden) it was a dream come true.”
He detailed his experience of being in the building and brought up that Cobb winning the NEVER Openweight Championship was the first title change in Madison Square Garden since at least 1960. Cobb would also explain how nervous he was coming out to the ring, comparing it to his first Wrestle Kingdom appearance at Wrestle Kingdom 13.
Kelly then asked Cobb if he was surprised about making his G1 debut at G1 Climax 29. Cobb would say that he was nervous and felt it’s the most prestigious tournament he’s taken part in. Later he would detail how much he loves being in Japan, and everything about the country.
Before the interview ended Cobb and Kelly spoke about the “Gachimuchi” nickname Cobb has earned during his time in Japan. The term loosely translates to mean a big bulky guy, but can also mean ‘big strong sexy boy’ depending on the intent of the person saying it.
The interview can be seen in its entirety on New Japan World. The cost is approximately $10/month for those in the United States. During COVID-19, NJPW has offered up a slate of ‘NJPW Together’ programming. Kevin Kelly has also added English commentary to numerous classing NJPW matches from the past.
