Chris Jericho was one of the most important stars back in 2019 when Tony Khan joined hands with Cody Rhodes to form AEW. Being the inaugural World Champion of AEW, there was immediate star value, legitimacy, and publicity to the brand associated with Jericho. The name of the ring is already a household name through his glorious WWE, Y2J career; he was also one of the most vocal and dependable spokesmen of AEW in their initial years.
The Departure of Chris Jericho From AEW
Chris Jericho has not made an appearance in AEW or its sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), since April. He was absent partially because of his Fozzy band tour, which concluded in May. But there were also unconfirmed rumors that Jericho wanted to have a break from wrestling before managing a possible surprise return.
Lots of AEW supporters expressed their reaction to the break enthusiastically. It was starting to be noticeable that the 54-year-old legend was inserting himself into feuds with younger talents and was reluctant to push young talent.
Some fans even speculated about backstage misconduct, but no evidence ever confirmed those claims. Anyway, such rumors hurt the reputation of Chris Jericho within certain segments of the AEW fandom.
Lingering Departure Symptom
Chris Jericho liked an Instagram post about his AEW contract length and the possibility of a WWE return. Would you wanna see one more Y2J run in WWE? pic.twitter.com/eKfP033uWp
— Robert DeFelice (@dudefelice) August 17, 2025
Although several people believed that Chris Jericho would come back one day. It seems he is not actively performing, which increases the speculation of his permanent exit. On Aug. 17, wrestling fans noticed that Jericho had liked an Instagram post that offered speculation about his possible future in WWE in 2026, when his AEW contract runs out at the end of this year.
Chris Jericho has reportedly got an AEW deal until December this year. The longer he stays off AEW television, the stronger the belief grows that his time with the company could be winding down.
Could Chris Jericho Return to WWE?
In case of Jericho moving out of AEW, the biggest question would be where he’s planning to go. The most apparent choice appears to be the WWE, despite Jericho throwing his barbed words at them during AEW’s younger days. But, as we have seen, WWE is not one to hold grudges as they are ready to bury the hatchet to get value out of a talent.
Chris Jericho was famously loyal to WWE before AEW was formed and, if Triple H feels that he could assist the company in attaining further world domination, then a reconciliation is always a possibility.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on Chris Jericho and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8 pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube
