Original Plans For JC Mateo's WWE Name Change Revealed

WWE ultimately renamed Jeff Cobb to JC Mateo following on from his WWE debut, but that wasn't the original plan.

Dave Meltzer has reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE considering renaming Jeff Cobb to JC Matanza in a callback to Cobb's time as Matanza Cueto on Lucha Underground. Cobb was not a fan of the Matanza name, however, so WWE ultimately went with JC Mateo instead.

Jeff Cobb wrestled as Matanza Cueto - the monster brother of Dario Cueto - in Lucha Underground from season two until he was killed off in season four. While a part of Lucha Undergound, Matanza was a one-time Lucha Underground Champion, winning the belt in his first match. JC Mateo used his real name of Jeff Cobb outside of Lucha Underground and for his matches after the promotion shuttered.

JC Mateo made his WWE debut at Backlash 2025, helping Jacob Fatu to retain the United States Championship after Mateo was recruited by Solo Sikoa. Mateo was initially called Jeff Cobb at Backlash before being renamed on the post-Backlash edition of SmackDown.

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