Chris Jericho has skin in the game.
A WWE return had been a real possibility for Y2J when he took a long break from AEW last year. The wrestling veteran ultimately chose to return to Tony Khan’s promotion, however, making his first appearance in a year during a Dynamite episode in April 2026.
The former AEW World Champion gave us an insight into this decision during a recent interview with Beef Vegan. Chris Jericho confirmed that his contract with the company expired during his time away but claimed that he wasn’t a free agent for long:
You weigh all your options, but I have skin in the game with AEW. I helped create AEW, and I was never gone. I was just off TV for a while we figured out some stuff. Basically, I ended one contract and went straight to the other one.
Skin In The Game: Chris Jericho
Explaining why he did not go back to WWE, Chris Jericho mentioned that WWE existed long before he joined the company. Staying with AEW is more exciting for him because it’s the company he helped create:
I like Tony Khan as a boss. I like AEW as a company. I like the growth that we’ve had, and I helped start the company, so I always have, like I mentioned, skin in the game.
WWE existed before I was there, and it’ll exist after I was there. Of course, AEW will exist after I was there too, but it didn’t exist before I was there. It was more exciting to be with the company that I helped create.
The 55-year-old has been revisiting his past personas since his return to AEW. He brought back the list for a segment of Dynamite and Jericho most recently picked up a victory over Tommaso Ciampa at the Redemption PPV using his Painmaker gimmick.
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