Usually, the rumor mill about free agents in the modern era revolves around either prospective talent from Japan or the independent circuit, and of course, underutilized talent that look for more opportunities elsewhere. When Will Ospreay and Okada debated their move to an American promotion after their individual runs as the top guy in New Japan, they had interest from WWE, but chose to pursue their careers in AEW. When FTR were being mismanaged during the latter stages of the Vince McMahon era. they jumped ship to work for Tony Khan.
On the flip side, names like Cody Rhodes, Jade Cargill, Andrade, Pentagon, Fenix, and others left AEW to either debut or return in the WWE. It goes without saying that each transaction between both groups has different levels of success, and obviously, that makes a statement about the promotions themselves, but the bigger point is that it’s not uncommon in the modern era for talent to shift around, which makes the business exponentially more interesting for the viewing audience.
The majority of the narrative around the transition of talent is that WWE often presents former AEW performers as much bigger stars in one night than they were in a few years under the direction of Tony Khan. That makes as much of a statement about Tony’s management of talent as it does his booking style, or lack thereof. Where’s Britt Baker? Is Jack Perry still under contract? Is Anthony Ogogo still on the payroll?
The reason the narrative matters is because when a talent signs with an organization, it’s an indication that they see it as a productive option for their careers. It sends the message to the paying audience of a level of optimism, as somewhat of a “it’s the place to be” notion to the fans, which makes it much easier to sell tickets and pay-per-views. Make no mistake about it, there was a very different dynamic in TNA when every former WWE guy went there just because Vince McMahon didn’t want them on his roster, and when Christian Cage opted to go to TNA instead of re-signing a WWE contract because he thought he had better career options in the alternative organization.
There was a time when the story within the industry was that the fresh company of All Elite Wrestling provided a fresh opportunity, both for the talent and the fans. Over the past six years, the script has flipped to some degree, as even some of those that put their stock in the Khan brand in 2019 eventually decided to sell their “investment” of their career in AEW for a run in the WWE.
The biggest example of this is Cody Rhodes, and I really think that his exit was a turning point in the direction of the company. The rocky tenure of CM Punk sent a message as well, prompting many to ask if Tony Khan was a major promoter in the business or just a big fan with a billionaire family to fund his vanity project.
However, as much as Cody’s involvement was a key piece of the puzzle of the early success of All Elite Wrestling, it’s fair to say that without the involvement of Chris Jericho from the inception, the project might not have been given a chance by many longtime fans. Make no mistake about it, Jericho’s involvement gave the venture the level of credibility that it needed for the audience to take a chance on it with their investment into the brand through pay-per-view orders and ticket sales. Keep in mind, since WCW imploded two decades earlier, there were several false starts of some delusional promoter that claimed to have the formula to compete with McMahon.
In many ways, Jericho staked at least some portion of his legacy on the potential of AEW. If the project completely flopped and went under within months of its launch, it would’ve been a stain on Jericho’s level of star power.
That’s why the recent reports of speculation about Chris Jericho’s future could be another pivotal point in the All Elite history books.
The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that Jericho’s AEW contract expires at the end of the year, with the notion that a WWE return might be in the cards for him, as some rumors suggest that his comeback is already a topic among those within the WWE office.
All things considered, it shouldn’t be too shocking that Jericho will probably conclude his career under the WWE banner, and that’s not a knock on Tony Khan either. For years, Y2J was a WWE guy and went as far as to say that he wouldn’t work for anyone other than WWE because of his loyalty to the company. Sure, prior to the launch of All Elite, Jericho, similar to many other legends of his era, were being typecast in their roles in WWE by Vince McMahon so it made sense for the guy that was always looking to reinvent himself to work outside of the system that seemingly thought his productive days as a main star were behind him. That same assumption is what led to The Big Show inking a deal with AEW a few years later. While Big Show’s history of injuries prevented him from a full-fledged return to the ring, Jericho certainly proved that he had a lot in the tank despite being near 50 when the first episode of Dynamite aired in October of 2019. Jericho was an anchor of the promotion and while it didn’t pan out nearly the way that most probably hoped, his association gave a lot of talent that hadn’t been on national television before a spotlight to showcase their skills.
That said, it’s fair to say and it’s also completely understandable that at 55 years ago that Jericho’s run in AEW has almost organically began to wind down over the course of the past two years. He unintentionally became overexposed in some ways on AEW programming, which caused some fans to sour on him. Granted, he tried to lean into the criticism with “the learning tree” gimmick, but it was more cringe worthy than a counter point in the situation. This isn’t meant as a jab at Y2J, he has accomplished more or less everything there is to do in AEW to the point that he got recycled to Ring Of Honor to give him something different to do. He was the biggest star on the roster, he was the first world champion, he was the leader of a few stables, and he gave the promotion credibility so his All Elite run was very successful.
That being said, everyone involved, probably even those in AEW, will acknowledge that a performer of the caliber of Chris Jericho, who is in a league of his own in many respects, deserves the pyro and ballyhoo of a WWE conclusion to his in-ring career with a WWE Hall of Fame induction. Given his extended history with the organization, it just seems to make sense that Jericho makes a comeback to the promotion that hosted most of his career.
The Jim Cornette adage of, “how can we miss you if you don’t go away?” sums up the situation.
Chris Jericho has been away from the WWE audience for seven years so there’s going to be at least some level of anticipation for his return. Taking his age into account and the level of cache that he has with the fans, a limited number of in-ring appearances could work well for him, as he doesn’t have to do anything too risky or too flashy since the fact that he will be back in a WWE ring will be enough to draw fans. Along with a HOF induction, there will also be new merchandise so there’s money to be made for everyone involved.
So, it makes sense for Chris Jericho to go back to the WWE, and if I had to guess, I’d say that he will return to the company early next year. Jericho hasn’t been on AEW television for six months and that seems to follow the standard protocol that Tony Khan uses when a performer is going to leave the company. As mentioned, Jericho has been more or less everything there is for him to do in the company, but his potential exit would still create more uncertainty about All Elite Wrestling. Keep in mind, this was the guy that put enough faith in the project to stake his reputation on its success. Without Jericho’s veteran presence as somewhat of a tent pole of the organization, will that have an effect on the company in the future?
That’s probably the biggest takeaway of this story. Jericho going back to WWE isn’t too surprising, but the bigger question is, how will All Elite continue to evolve as a commodity in the industry? At a time when Will Ospreay will be out of action for at least a year, Swerve Strickland is on the sidelines after knee surgery, and Jericho potentially out of the door, how will AEW reshuffle the deck to boost its star power next year?
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
