Major Update on Chris Jericho's AEW Status and Potential WWE Return

The AEW contract status of Chris Jericho has been a hot topic of conversation for several months now.

Despite heavy speculation that Chris Jericho would return to WWE this year, he remains under contract to AEW. It was initially reported that Jericho's deal would be up at the end of 2025 and that he could appear for WWE as soon as the January 5 episode of Raw.

That obviously didn't happen.

Fast forward to the middle of February, and Jericho is still on AEW's official roster page, which typically signifies he's still under contract to the company. So what exactly happened?

Update on Jericho's contract

According to Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, Chris Jericho remains fully under contract with All Elite Wrestling, as he has been told the general belief from people around Jericho is that his contract with AEW was frozen when he decided to take time off in the middle of 2025.

Sapp makes it clear that he hasn't seen Jericho's contract, but there could be several reasons his deal with AEW was extended, including it being frozen, injury time, or him quietly re-signing a new deal with the company. At this time, none of these factors can be ruled out entirely.

As it pertains to people close to Jericho, Sapp reveals they are being very tight-lipped about his future. However, Jericho had told some people he'd be open to a WWE return but feared it would mean giving up his outside projects while under contract with them.

An indication that Chris Jericho was planning to depart AEW

One of Chris Jericho's many outside projects includes his yearly Jericho Cruise. This cruise has prominently featured AEW talent since the company's inception, but the lineup for the cruise later this year doesn't currently include any AEW talent.

If Jericho or any other wrestler wants to leave a company when their contract expires, it should be within their right to do so. But both AEW and WWE have, on multiple occasions, frozen and extended contracts to keep talent from moving between the two companies.

At this point, one can only imagine what Jericho's road to WrestleMania 42 would have looked like. If the former AEW World Champion wants to return to WWE, it appears he'll have to bide his time until he's free and clear to do so. The specific date when Jericho's current AEW contract expires remains unknown.

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