Chris Jericho Explains How He Pulled Off Top Secret AEW Return

Chris Jericho has always had a way with entrances.

When Jericho debuted for the WWE in 1999, he did so with epic fanfare and a legendary entrance, which not only included working with The Rock but featured a long millennium countdown that led to fireworks upon his arrival.

After a brief hiatus in WWE, Jericho returned a second time, but once again in memorable fashion. In the weeks leading up to the return, a random code appeared on the screen and called for fans to break it. The code revealed itself when he made his return entrance.

Chris Jericho's AEW run hasn't been much different. Cool entrances, fanfare, and creativity. Jericho recently returned to AEW after a year-long hiatus from the company, working with Ricochet in a handful of matches for his first feud, and since then angling toward a feud with Tommaso Ciampa.

Chris Jericho's most recent AEW return was filled with secrecy and surprise

Just like earlier in his career, the same fanfare and surprise went into his most recent return to AEW. In a new interview on Close Up with Renee Paquette, Jericho detailed all the secrecy that hovered around his return to the company.

“We planned it for a while, so it was kind of months in the making," Jericho said. "I actually flew in a private jet the night before because I didn’t want anybody to see me ... I didn’t see any of my friends. I didn’t even tell any of my friends that I was there. One of my best friends was there, he flew in from Vegas for the show, he didn’t even know I was going to be there, so it was a surprise for everybody."

Jericho said that he stayed in his hotel room for nearly 24 hours ahead of the return, so that nobody would spot him and ruin the surprise. He even noted that he didn't want to use the elevator at the venue because he was worried about it getting stuck and then not being able to hit his mark for the return.

Chris Jericho was a major get for AEW when it began in 2019, giving the promotion instant credibility. He built on that credibility when he became the first-ever AEW Men's World Champion.

Jericho has led two different factions throughout his time in AEW. The first was Inner Circle, which began on the first episode of AEW Dynamite in October of 2019. He later followed that up with The Learning Tree, which lasted until his AEW hiatus last year.

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