Latest on Chris Jericho’s WWE Status After Not Returning at Royal Rumble 2026

Despite weeks of rumors and fan speculation, Chris Jericho did not return to WWE at the Royal Rumble this past weekend in Saudi Arabia.

Latest on Chris Jericho’s WWE Status After Not Returning at Royal Rumble 2026

Chris Jericho [via- WrestleZone]

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After Chris Jericho didn’t show up on the 1st anniversary show of Raw on Netflix, the fans were convinced that WWE was holding him off until the Royal Rumble. But guess what? That didn’t happen either.

This year’s 30-man Royal Rumble match is in the books, and the only real surprise was the WWE debut of former AEW star Powerhouse Hobbs, now going by Royce Keys. Having not seen Jericho come out until the 29th spot, there was a glimmer of hope about ‘Y2J’ being #30.

But it turned out to be Gunther. The fans have since been scratching their heads over what kept the 55-year-old from returning to WWE at the Royal Rumble.

A new report from Fightful suggests that, contrary to the belief of Jericho leaving AEW and becoming WWE-bound in early January, he wasn’t factored into any WWE plans during the course of the past few weeks.

The outlet also clarified that ‘The Demo God’ was never discussed to appear on the first Raw of 2026. Fightful continued in its report that people in WWE have maintained an interest in Chris Jericho should he become available, which hasn’t happened yet.

While his AEW deal was until the end of 2025, it doesn’t appear like he has left the company officially, due to his profile still being up on AEW’s roster page.

Moreover, the 9-time WWE Intercontinental Champion has a lot on his plate right now, with the New York-born wrestler set to embark on a full-blown UK tour of his rock band Fozzy from February 6 to 21. It has consequently ruled out the possibility of Jericho appearing on WWE programming in the meantime.

Speaking of his other ventures, the inaugural AEW Champion will be seen in Apple TV’s upcoming drama series Margo’s Got Money Troubles, premiering April 15. Jericho recently shared a preview of his role in the series on Instagram while also noting that he enjoyed filming with the likes of Nicole Kidman and Nick Offerman. The series created by David E. Kelley is an adaptation of the pro-wrestling novel of the same name written by Rufi Thorpe.

What did Tony Khan say about Chris Jericho still being up on AEW’s official roster page?

It was way back in April of last year when Chris Jericho appeared on AEW television for the last time. After not being on screen for the company for months, the fans started speculating that he was planning to exit. How did the company president and CEO, Tony Khan, feel about it?

Chris Jericho and Tony Khan
Chris Jericho and Tony Khan (via- AEW)

Almost a month ago, Khan was asked about Jericho’s profile still up on the AEW website by Adrian Hernandez. The Jacksonville Jaguars executive started off by saying that he would always be grateful for the people who laid out the foundation stone for AEW and have been with the organization since its debut show.

Calling ‘Y2J’ instrumental in the expansion and early growth of AEW, Tony Khan affirmed that none of that would’ve been possible without Jericho. The AEW head honcho, however, kept beating around the bush and never addressed what was going on between the veteran wrestler and AEW. In November, Khan had a sit-down conversation with Ariel Helwani in the studio.

The AEW CEO was a bit more willing to go into the details of where things stood between Chris Jericho and his potential comeback to All Elite Wrestling. Khan spoke highly of The Lionheart’s accolades and asserted that the doors would always be open for him to return. When asked about it, the company CEO said he couldn’t comment on Jericho’s contractual status with AEW at that juncture.

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