Chris Jericho is not retired.
The former AEW Champion has not been seen in a wrestling ring since April last year, fuelling up all kind of rumors about his status and future in the industry.
Y2J provided a passing update on his career during a recent interview with GamesHub. Chris Jericho was discussing his concern for the current generation of talent over their high-risk working style, and said that he still has some career left:
What worries me about the guys working today is here I am at 55, 35 years in, with still some career left to go. I don’t know if it’s a year, two years, four years — I’m not sure. But I don’t know how many of the guys working now will have the option to go 35 years. Hopefully all of them.
The Longevity May Be Harder To Sustain: Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho then recalled the first time he got hurt while competing in an event in León, Mexico. The former WWE star revealed that his opponent called Masaka stepped aside instead of catching him during a dive over the top rope. Jericho messed up his arm after landing on the arena chairs, and it was the moment that smartened him up about the risks of the business:
But you can already see what serious injuries do — a bad neck surgery changes everything. The longevity may be harder to sustain when there’s so much emphasis on the physical at the expense of charisma and character.
The most recent reports on Jericho's status suggests that his deal with Tony Khan's promotion was frozen upon his hiatus. This means that his absence from the company will not automatically result in free agency and there is a chance of the 55-year-old returning to AEW instead of going back to WWE. You can check out more about it here.
