Major wrestling star ‘suddenly’ quits WWE rival days before WrestleMania 41

Jeff Cobb has been granted his release by New Japan Pro Wrestling (Picture: AEW/Lee South)

Wrestling star Jeff Cobb could be finally joining WWE after New Japan Pro Wrestling confirmed his departure the week of WrestleMania 41.

The 42-year-old wrestler, who has has made his name all over the world in NJPW, Ring of Honor (ROH) and Lucha Underground as well as a sporadic appearances for AEW, has been heavily rumoured to be heading to the sports entertainment juggernaut for weeks.

Now, that looks to be close to happening after New Japan announced they have granted his release request, and his final match will take place later this week.

In a statement on their official website, the company – who have a working agreement with WWE rivals All Elite Wrestling, said: ‘New Japan Pro-Wrestling has come to terms with the departure of Jeff Cobb at his request.’

They added: ‘New Japan Pro-Wrestling profoundly apologises for the sudden nature of this news and joins fans in wishing Cobb the best in all his future endeavours.’

The iconic wrestling promotion noted Cobb has been stripped of his IWGP Tag Team Championship, which he held with Callum Newman.

The wrestling star has made his name all over the world (Picture: AEW/Lee South) Cobb will perform in his farewell match this weekend (Picture: Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

New Japan added: ‘Cobb’s final match in NJPW will take place in Korakuen Hall on April 19 against Hiroshi Tanahashi.’

His final match with the company will fall on WrestleMania weekend, which will see WWE take over Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 19 and 20.

While Cobb will be in Japan for his farewell bout, there’s a chance he could make his debut soon after this week’s festivities, with WWE running Raw and NXT shows in Sin City early next week.

According to a recent Fightful report, WWE has been keeping their eye on the heavyweight star, and he has even been listed on the internal roster.

There has been plenty of speculation that Cobb is on the move, and last month he heavily implied a change could be on the horizon after losing a match.

Cobb is following the likes of Rey Fenix into WWE (Picture: Eric Johnson/WWE via Getty Images) Fenix’s brother Penta has proven how outside stars can catch on with WWE fans (Picture: Andrew Timms/WWE via Getty Images)

‘So where does that leave Jeff Cobb? It seems I can’t win when all the marbles are down. G1, New Japan Cup. Long gone are the days when I went 8-0 in the G1. Now I can’t even break .500,’ he said in an in-character promo.

‘Where does that leave Jeff Cobb? Maybe it’s time to take my bags and go somewhere else. I don’t know. I don’t know.’

Cobb would be the latest big free agent to make the jump to WWE after AEW star Rey Fenix – real life brother of new Raw favourite Penta – joined the SmackDown roster.

As well as the Lucha Brothers, Ricky Saints – formerly known as Ricky Starks – is now with the company on NXT, and there have been vignettes heavily hinting at the return of Aleister Black over the past few weeks.

Former WWE star Miro is also expected to re-sign after leaving AEW, while the women’s roster has seen the arrival of big names like Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer earlier this year.

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