Dave Meltzer has provided new details on Chris Jericho’s return to AEW, reporting in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the belief among those in the know is that a move to WWE is now dead and that Jericho is back with AEW for the long term.
Jericho returned to AEW on Wednesday’s Dynamite in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, after a nearly year-long absence. Meltzer reports that Jericho’s contract had expired at the end of 2025 but was extended by Tony Khan due to the time Jericho missed for various reasons, including acting commitments.
On the subject of WWE, Meltzer wrote that the company’s interest in Jericho was limited in scope from the beginning. “We had been told that WWE only wanted to bring him in for a retirement tour and farewell,” Meltzer wrote. “At one time, we were told that the 2026 year would be built around retirements for AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, and presumably Jericho. But even though there were teases by Pearce and another by CM Punk, we had been told repeatedly that you should not believe any of the stories going around involving WWE and Jericho.”
Meltzer acknowledged that full clarity on the details of the deal has not yet to come out.
“There are more questions than answers right now as nobody is talking about the details,” Meltzer wrote. “The belief is that him going to WWE is now dead and he’s back in AEW for the long term. What he’ll be doing and how the crowd will react to what he’s been doing will be a lot more clear in two weeks when they are out of Canada.”
AEW has already confirmed that Jericho will be making an appearance on Dynamite next week.
