Chris Jericho has been a top name in the world of pro wrestling for more than 30 years. The current AEW star remains on hiatus, but rumors of a major WWE return have picked up pace lately. Jericho himself fueled the talk earlier this week, and now he’s back at it with more antics.
The former Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla has not wrestled since Bandido ended his second reign as ROH World Champion at the 165-day mark during AEW Dynasty on April 6. Jericho stormed out on The Learning Tree later that week, declaring it was best if he just left for a while.
Jericho went on a planned hiatus for Fozzy’s 25th anniversary tour, but there was a Dynamite storyline in the works for Wednesdays as the band had those nights off. However, the program was nixed as the veteran legitimately felt like a break was needed. This came during a period of heat from fans, who often chanted “Please retire!” at the 54-year-old, who has also lost some weight while being away.
The Demo God has dismissed talk of a WWE return while working for Tony Khan’s companies. However, it was recently reported that an interesting situation was brewing backstage in AEW ahead of Jericho’s return. Despite Y2J’s own words, rumors of the inaugural AEW World Champion returning to the Stamford-based promotion for a run and Hall of Fame induction have picked up in recent months.
Chris Jericho fueled rumors and speculation this week when he “liked” an Instagram post that said his AEW contract ends in December, and that he’s open to a WWE return, if the situation is right.
Furthermore, a new report claims Jericho’s future has been a hot topic within WWE, so much so that some sources believe the 5-time WCW champion could be a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble next year.
Chris Jericho Shares Rare WWE Tour Photo
Chris Jericho and The Rock shared the ring around 50 times between 1999 and 2003. They traveled to Japan for a big taping on March 1, 2002, and the 20-minute main event saw The Living Legend retain the Undisputed Championship over The Great One. This matchup also took place on March 3 in Singapore and March 4 in Malaysia.
Jericho took to X/Twitter today to share a group photo that he says he’d never seen. It shows part of the crew from that 2002 tour, including The Rock, Pat Patterson, Lita, Molly Holly, Stacy Keibler, The Dudley Boys, Fit Finlay, Torrie Wilson, and Dean Malenko. Jericho thanked The Man of 1000 Holds for sending him the photo.
With the rampant talk of a potential AEW departure, it’s interesting to note that Jericho disabled most comments on the post so that only people he had mentioned could reply, one of them being The Rock.
Great pic that I’ve never seen before from the classic #WWF tour of Japan, Singapore & Malaysia in March of 2002! I worked with @TheRock for the World Title the whole tour, and we tore the house down every night. Then, we drove our mentor, #PatPatterso, crazy by doing 20 minutes of improv comedy for the fans after the matches. Thx to #DeanMalenko for sending this to me!” wrote Chris Jericho with the photo below.
Great pic that I’ve never seen before from the classic #WWF tour of Japan, Singapore & Malaysia in March of 2002! I worked with @TheRock for the World Title the whole tour, and we tore the house down every night. Then, we drove our mentor, #PatPatterso, crazy by doing 20 minutes… pic.twitter.com/PFvIBeWJwg
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) August 19, 2025
Chris Jericho and The Rock last wrestled on June 15, 2002, at a non-televised live event in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Great One won that match, just weeks after the same bout took place on SmackDown in Rochester, NY. This was just a month after the aforementioned tour.