Significant Interest Within WWE to Bring Back Chris Jericho as His AEW Deal Nears Expiration: Reports

With Chris Jericho's AEW contract set to expire at the end of this year, he's expected to head to WWE by the onset of 2026.

Significant Interest Within WWE to Bring Back Chris Jericho as His AEW Deal Nears Expiration: Reports

Chris Jericho in AEW [via- ITR Wrestling]

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A series of recent developments indicates that Chris Jericho is primed for a WWE return. The veteran wrestler hasn’t appeared on AEW television since the April 9 edition of Dynamite, where his Learning Tree faction disbanded. The prolonged absence of ‘Y2J’ could be attributed to the musical tours with his rock band, Fozzy.

A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter claimed there are people in AEW who don’t believe Jericho would go back there. In fact, it was even said that the general notion within AEW is that the 54-year-old will start in WWE as a Royal Rumble surprise next year. A new report from WrestleVotes has backed it up.

As per the outlet, there’s significant interest in WWE for Jericho to have him back after his AEW contract expires in late 2025. Moreover, a deal is expected to be agreed upon between the two parties when the time comes. Jericho’s WWE return rumors picked up steam about a week ago when he liked an Instagram post that said he’d be open to it once his AEW deal runs out of time.

The online reception to the news, however, has been extremely polarizing. While a section of the fans believes that Jericho’s in-ring heyday is well behind him and he wouldn’t bring much to the table in that aspect, others claim that an industry icon like him would fit like a glove under the current regime of WWE CCO Triple H.

Why did Chris Jericho leave WWE in 2018?

For the unversed, Chris Jericho’s decision to quit WWE in 2018 was majorly influenced by creative fatigue and being made to compete after the opening match at WrestleMania 33. Jericho revealed in a 2019 interview that he and Kevin Owens were originally set to main event the show with the then-Universal Championship on the line.

Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho [via- Stay True Wrestling]

The New York-born grappler was disappointed after being relegated from such a significant spot to the second match of the night over the US title. It felt like an insult to him. Jericho said their match was taken away as Brock Lesnar had asked to have a rematch with Bill Goldberg for the world title. ‘The Beast’ had jobbed out to the WCW stalwart in a 1:26-minute squash at Survivor Series in 2016. Therefore, Lesnar wanted to get his lick back on Goldberg at the grandest stage.

Vince McMahon agreed to it, and he went ahead. McMahon didn’t tell Jericho about it himself, and the ex-AEW Champion heard that Lesnar vs. Goldberg was going to supersede Jericho vs. Owens for the Universal title. The entire storyline investment ‘Y2J’ had with Owens for over a year was flushed down the toilet that quickly. A few weeks after WrestleMania, Jericho realized that it was time for him to leave the place.

Bully Ray comments on Chris Jericho’s rumored switch to WWE

Amid ongoing rumors of Chris Jericho‘s potential WWE homecoming, several wrestling pundits have already started to weigh in on his future. Bully Ray addressed various fan sentiments around the ‘Lionheart’ on his Busted Open Radio podcast. At first, the tag team icon dismissed a caller’s suggestion of Jericho taking in-ring retirement to assume a backstage role in AEW.

Bully Ray and Chris Jericho
Bully Ray and Chris Jericho [via- SI Wrestling]

Ray then said he’d bring him back to WWE just so he could work a program with LA Knight. That could be interesting, as both Knight and Jericho are critically acclaimed for their abilities on the microphone. The Dudley Boyz member also explained why ‘Y2J’ would be a better fit for WWE at this stage of his career.

The beauty about going back to the WWE is Chris Jericho could show up at the WWE at the Royal Rumble with the same exact entrance that he made his debut in the WWE with… and that place would go f—ing bananas…….

Bully Ray on Chris Jericho via Busted Open Radio

Ray believes Jericho’s comeback screams nostalgic connection for a fanbase that has seen him evolve over the years. The ECW legend also affirmed that if Jericho were to be a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match, the place would erupt.

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