Published: 5 hours ago by Jamie Toolan | Last Updated: 4 hours ago by Jamie Toolan
Jamie has been covering the world of wrestling for four years and currently holds the position of Assistant Editor of WrestleTalk.com. During his time working for WrestleTalk.com he has written and published over 4,000 news and feature articles covering events and happenings from WWE, AEW, TNA and a variety of international and independent wrestling promotions.
AEW/WWE
More details have emerged following a major update regarding Chris Jericho’s future in AEW and WWE.
It has been almost a full year since Chris Jericho was last seen on AEW TV, and in his absence a swath of reports and rumors regarding his potential departure from the company and return to WWE have circulated online.
While a WWE return had been speculated upon for months due to reports of Jericho’s AEW deal expiring soon, the inaugural AEW World Champion’s latest USPTO trademark filing of “The Cornerstone” cast a new layer of doubt on his future.
Amid the renewed interest and questions regarding the veteran’s future, Fightful Select has now revealed that there is a “growing belief” within AEW that Jericho will return to the company.
Jericho and AEW have reportedly been in talks regarding a return in “the past couple of months,” with “a lot of chatter” internally regarding his return potentially happening at tonight’s AEW Dynamite in Jericho’s hometown of Winnipeg.
As for the status of Jericho’s potential WWE return, Fightful note that there “absolutely” have been talks between the two sides in recent months.
However, creative plans have never been set for his return as far as Fightful has heard, and it was never planned for him to return at the first Raw on Netflix of the year, the 2026 Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber on March 1, despite plenty fan speculation.
More Details On Jericho’s Potential WWE Return
Following Fightful Select’s report, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer shared what he has heard regarding Jericho’s future, specifically a WWE return.
In a post on Twitter, Meltzer revealed that he had been told by a source in WWE a week ago not to expect Jericho to return to the company “any time soon, if ever.”
He wrote:
Regarding Jericho, I was told a week ago from WWE not to expect him in WWE any time soon, if ever, regarding rumors going around of him starting in WWE & AEW, both of which were out at the same time when he filed for the trademark.
It had been reported that Jericho’s AEW contract was due to expire at the end of 2025, however, he was never removed from the company’s official roster page due to his deal reportedly being frozen.
Is An AEW Return A Mistake For Chris Jericho?
Even with his deal being frozen, most fans expected Jericho to still eventually depart AEW once he was free and able to, however, that may not be what happens in the end.
Yes, despite a great number of the AEW audience growing tired of seeing Jericho on their TV screens every Wednesday, it now, all of a sudden appears as if he will be back.
His new trademark filing for “The Cornerstone” suggests that this return will come with yet another new moniker and character reinvention for the man who was last known as “The Learning Tree”, but will that do anything to get fans excited about Jericho?
While there will undoubtedly be a lot of buzz initially if Jericho comes back, it’s hard not to envision the crowd becoming tired of him once again unless there’s some drastic changes made to his character.
A WWE return on the other hand would absolutely guarantee Jericho a hero’s welcome, a Hall of Fame induction and a whole host of new and familiar opponents.
After all the twists and turns, all fans of AEW and WWE can do is wait, tune into AEW TV and see how this saga ultimately plays out.
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