After years away from the company, is AEW star Chris Jericho finally considering a return to WWE? The latest reports seem to suggest so.
Parting ways with WWE, Jericho joined AEW in 2019 and became the promotion's first World Champion. Several championship runs later in this course of six years, “Y2J” might be on his way back for his final in-ring run.
According to a recent report by Jon Alba of Sports Illustrated and Alex McCarthy, it was noted that Jericho's All Elite Wrestling contract was scheduled to conclude on Dec. 31, 2025. Additionally, there were also discussions within WWE regarding Jericho's potential return on the Jan. 5, 2026, episode of RAW in Brooklyn, rather than reserving it for the Royal Rumble PLE in Riyadh.
Earlier today, Sports Illustrated updated its previous report stating that higher-ups in AEW are under the impression that Jericho is done with AEW and will return to WWE. Dave Meltzer's WON Daily Update also backed both Jon Alba and Alex McCarthy's reports and claimed that,
“Regarding Chris Jericho, it is accurate that his AEW deal expires on Wednesday, and most expect him in WWE in January. That’s been the expectation for months but I don’t have confirmation he’s 100 percent there.”
Dave Meltzer backs @AlexMcCarthy88 and @JonAlba’s reports about the belief Chris Jericho will return to WWE soon:
“Regarding Chris Jericho, it is accurate that his AEW deal expires on Wednesday and most expect him in WWE in January. That’s been the expectation for months but I… pic.twitter.com/iCc4dhybN3
— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) December 28, 2025
Jericho's last WWE match took place in Saudi Arabia at the 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble event, and if the reports are true, he could be making his return to the Middle-Eastern country soon.
A reflection on Chris Jericho's successful AEW run
Despite a limited few days reportedly remaining on Chris Jericho's AEW contract, fans need to remember that he enjoyed one of the most successful and colorful runs across the entire All Elite Wrestling roster. From emerging as the first AEW World Champion in his late 40s, Jericho also ran multiple factions and won several other championships.
Positioned at the top of the roster since the promotion's start, Jericho also headlined AEW's first PPV against Kenny Omega. His last AEW match was on April 6 at Dynasty, losing the ROH World Championship to Bandido in a Title vs. Mask match.
