Latest Update on Jeff Cobb's Status With AEW

Jeff Cobb made his surprise debut for All Elite Wrestling this week when he aligned himself with Chris Jericho's Inner Circle and attacked Jon Moxley in the closing moments of AEW Dynamite. Jericho announced earlier in the show that he had searched the world for a "hit man," and that he wound up recruiting Cobb for a match with Moxley on Feb. 19. The announcement came as a shock, considering Cobb worked a Ring of Honor show this past Sunday and is promoted for ROH shows up until the Supercard of Honor event in April, but AEW's commentary team referred to Cobb as a free agent.

Since then several reports have come out about the former Olympian's affiliation with AEW. Back in January Pro Wrestling Sheet's Ryan Satin reported that Cobb's contract with ROH had expired and that he'd be working with them on per-date deals going forward. Since Wednesday night both Satin and PWInsider's Mike Johnson have reported that Cobb hasn't signed a full-time contract with AEW. Dave Meltzer elaborated on an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that AEW wants Cobb full-time, but he wants to keep wrestling for other promotions like New Japan and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla on top of his ROH dates for the time being.

"Jeff Cobb has not signed a contract," Meltzer said. "He's going to be doing all the shows he's advertised to do. Actually, at this point he's in for an angle. It's not even that he's with AEW. He may be, he may sign with them, but he was looking at being a free agent and working New Japan as much as he can and I don't know if that's changed.

"I know Cody has wanted him ever since his contract with Ring Of Honor ended," he added. "They wanted him, and they wanted him as a full-timer, but right now he's just in for this and he hasn't signed a contract."

Cobb has previously held ROH's World Television Championship and New Japan's NEVER Openweight Championship. He first broke out on the independent wrestling scene in 2015 as "The Monster" Matanza Cueto, but has wrestled without a mask under his real name since Lucha Underground shut its doors.

Here's what AEW has lined up for the Feb. 19 episode of Dynamite in Atlanta:

• Feb. 19: Tag Team Battle Royal (Winner Gets an AEW World Tag Team Championship Match at Revolution)
• Feb. 19: Cody Rhodes vs. Wardlow in a Steel Cage Match
• Feb. 19: Jon Moxley vs. Jeff Cobb
• Feb 19: AEW World Tag Team Champions: Hangman Page & Kenny Omega vs. The Lucha Bros.