The Latest on Chris Jericho After Not Appearing at the WWE Royal Rumble

Chris Jericho remains missing in action from the professional wrestling world and it's still not clear when he'll show back up on television, or what company will book that eventual appearance.

Many were anticipating that the 55-year-old would break the walls down at the Royal Rumble on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, but that obviously did not happen, and there continues to be conflicting reports on Jericho's current status with All Elite Wrestling.

His AEW contract was supposedly set to expire at the end of last year, and reports surfaced in December that he was WWE bound. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, however, has heard differently.

"We’ve been told for weeks that Jericho has not been factored in to WWE plans," Ross Sapp wrote in a new report Sunday evening. "Jericho was never brought up for the Raw on Netflix anniversary show, and was not a Royal Rumble participant. Sources in WWE that we’ve spoken to say there is interest in Chris Jericho from WWE, should he become available. However, that just hasn’t happened yet.

Chris Jericho signed a three-year contract extension with AEW in 2022, which was due to expire in late 2025. As Ross Sapp pointed out in his report, however, professional wrestling companies are not obligated to disclose extensions or freezes like NFL, MLB, or other major sports franchises are required to do.

As of this writing, Chris Jericho remains on AEW’s roster page and is believed to still be under contract with the company. This is despite the fact that he has not appeared on AEW programming since April of last year.

WWE and AEW continue to trade stars

If Chris Jericho does ultimately wind up in WWE, he would become the latest star to switch allegiances in the past few months.

AEW President Tony Khan has been able to add both Andrade and Tommaso Ciampa to his roster, with the Psycho Killer defeating Mark Briscoe to become the new TNT Champion in his debut match, while Powerhouse Hobbs has made his way over to WWE.

Hobbs, a former TNT Champion in his own right, debuted Saturday at the Royal Rumble under his new ring name of Royce Keys.

WELCOME, ROYCE KEYS!!! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/q1t9DD0t6Z
— WWE (@WWE) January 31, 2026

"We heard very positive things about the debut of Royce Keys and his reaction backstage," Sean Ross Sapp noted in his report Sunday. "There were some confused as to how WWE could use Powerhouse Hobbs, as the Powerhouse name originated in AEW."

Keys was initially introduced as Powerhouse Hobbs, before the name of Royce Keys was unveiled by commentator Michael Cole. For those who are wondering, Royce is the name of his youngest son, while Keys is the maiden name of his late mother.

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