In his WWE run, wrestling fans knew Jeff Cobb as JC Mateo. As Cobb discovered “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” However, he could have adopted a different name that previously belonged to his partner.
It WWE on his debut daysame as Backlash 2025, Cobb recalled WWE officials presenting him with a list of potential new ring names, one of which was “Jafar Smash”. The other was used by Bronson Reed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
“The first page, I will say that there were probably 60 names there. I was like, this is very good, very good,” Cobb said. “They’re trying to get in with my Guam background, my Hawaii background. I was like, okay. Page two, I don’t know what happened. Just started making random names. I said: “How do they choose this?” One that came out made me laugh because they were all hats, JONAH. (It was used by) Bronson Reed. The guy who is in your company. I was saying: “Wait a minute, are you trying now?”
In his early days on the independent wrestling scene, Reed performed as Jonah Rock. After being released from WWE in August 2021, he became JONAH, compete for promotions like NJPW, TNA and PROGRESS.
The former NXT North American Champion later returned to WWE in December 2022, again wrestling under the name Bronson Reed. If Cobb were to agree to take on the name “JONAH” in WWE, it’s not known if he or the sports entertainment franchise would face any legal issues.
Cobb has since left WWE after being released in May 2026. He currently performs for NJPW, a venue he initially called home from 2017 to 2025.
