A major update on Chris Jericho’s WWE return

After years of absence from the company, is AEV star Chris Jericho finally considering the return to VVE? The latest reports seem to suggest that.

Parting ways with WWE, Jericho joined AEV in 2019 and became the promotion’s first World Champion. A few championship runs later in this six-year run, “I2J” could be returning for his final run in the ring.

According to a recent report by Sports Illustrated’s John Alba and Alex McCarthy, it is recorded that Jericho’s All Elite Wrestling contract was set to expire on December 31, 2025. In addition, there were discussions within WWE regarding Jericho’s potential return on the January 5, 2026 episode of RAW in Brooklyn, instead of being booked for the Royal Rumble PLE in Riyadh.

Earlier today, Sports Illustrated updated their previous report stating that higher-ups at AEV were under the impression that Jericho was done with AEV and would be returning to WWE. Dave Meltzer’s VON Daily Update also supports the reports by John Alba and Alex McCarthy and claims that,

“As for Chris Jericho, it is true that his AEV contract expires on Wednesday, and most expect him at VVE in January. That has been the expectation for months, but I have no confirmation that he is 100 percent there.”

Dave Meltzer running backs @AlekMcCarthy88 and @JonAlbaUser reports believing that Chris Jericho will return to WWE soon:

“As for Chris Jericho, it’s true that his AEV contract expires on Wednesday and most expect him at WWE in January. That’s been the expectation for months, but I… pic.twitter.com/iCc4dhibN3

— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) December 28, 2025

Jericho’s last WWE match took place in Saudi Arabia at the Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 event, and if reports are true, he could be returning to the Middle Eastern country soon.

Reflections on Chris Jericho’s successful AEV drive

Despite the reportedly limited number of days left on Chris Jericho’s AEV contract, fans should remember that he enjoyed one of the most successful and colorful runs on the entire All Elite Wrestling roster. Since emerging as the first AEV World Champion in his late 40s, Jericho also led multiple factions and won several other championships.

Positioned at the top of the roster since the promotion’s inception, Jericho also headlined AEV’s first PPV against Kenny Omega. His last AEV match was on April 6 at Dynasty, losing the ROH World Championship to Bandido in a Title vs. Mask match.