Chris Jericho Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

Talk Of A Chris Jericho WWE Return Reportedly Heating Up

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Rick Ucchino | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 8:36 AM ET

Could The Nueve soon be on his way back to WWE?

The last time anyone saw Chris Jericho on AEW programming was back in April when he flipped out on Big Bill and Bryan Keith and left them to fend for themselves. The Learning Tree has been with All Elite Wrestling since 2019, but his current contract is set to expire this fall and there is a growing belief that his time with the company is coming to an end.

During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that talk surrounding a Jericho reunion with WWE has begun to heat up in recent days.

"Jericho is actually a really big story. His contract is up at the end of the year, or late in the year, and there’s certainly been lots and lots of talk about WWE," Meltzer said. "I know from a WWE standpoint that there is lots of talk there about Jericho. People speculating Royal Rumble. Nobody has officially said anything, nor will anyone officially say anything."

Chris Jericho has LOST IT!

Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS & MAX@IAmJericho | @TheCaZXL | @BountyKeith pic.twitter.com/2KUNRi67ai
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 10, 2025

WWE can't actively negotiate a contract with Chris Jericho until his current deal with AEW expires, but as that date approaches, fans can expect to rumor mill to swirl more rapidly.

"That’s a big story to watch at the end of the year. But yeah, there’s been a lot, a lot of talk I’ve heard in the last week from many different people about the situation with Jericho and the belief that he’s inevitably going to be in WWE."

Chris Jericho open to WWE return

Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

Talk is little more than that, but this latest chatter about Jericho's pro wrestling future does come just a few months after the 9-Time World Champion publicly declared his willingness to consider a move back to WWE.

"Of course I would consider going back there. I would consider not going back there too. It just depends on what the situation is and what's going on with me," Jericho said during a forum at a Horror Rock and Wrestle Fest event "We'll see. I mean, it's not even, never say never. It's consider all your options and choose wisely.”

Chris Jericho is arguably the single most important free agent signing in All Elite Wrestling history. Roll your eyes at that statement if you must, but as a day one talent he leant instant credibility to the start-up company and provided more than enough cachet to establish the AEW World Championship.

His value to AEW as an on-screen character today is significantly less than it was at the start, with bonafide main event stars like Hangman Page, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay proudly carrying the company torch.

I'd be remiss not to mention the stacked women's roster that has more than earned their fair cut of AEW television time.

Much is going to depend on what the 54-year-old feels he has left to offer the business and how many more notches he has left to fill out on his bump card, but Jericho finishing off his career with a John Cena-esque farewell tour in WWE may very well prove to be in the cards.

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This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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