According to Alex McCarthy of Wrestling Intel, Chris Jericho’s AEW contract expired on December 31st and a lot of people in All Elite Wrestling expect him to return to WWE.
McCarthy also reported that WWE officials are considering bringing back Jericho on tonight’s January 5th edition of RAW, instead of Royal Rumble 2026 in Saudi Arabia on January 31st.
After this report came out, Jon Alba of Sports Illustrated reported that his sources also believe Jericho will show up on WWE programming very soon.
While reviewing the card for RAW, General Manager Adam Pearce teased Jericho’s return by dropping the following line: “Who can break down the walls?” For those who don’t know, the name of Jericho’s WWE theme song is “Break Down The Walls.” You can watch it below:
#WWERAW GM @ScrapDaddyAP previews the FIRST Raw of 2026 🔥
A special @Stranger_Things themed episode of Raw to kick off the new year!
📺: 8e/5p on @netflix pic.twitter.com/MWCLKGl4AT
— WWE (@WWE) January 4, 2026
According to the Wrestling Observer, Pearce’s comment was deliberate, as WWE is pushing for a big increase in ticket sales for RAW at the last minute, with the idea being that Jericho could return on this episode after being away from the company for 8 years.
While nothing has been confirmed, the Observer noted that the belief among many is that a return is coming, whether as soon as tonight or sometime before the end of the month.
Jericho was last seen in WWE at the Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 PLE, which was WWE’s first premium live event in Saudi Arabia. Jericho competed in the 50-man Royal Rumble match that night and lost.
Y2J recently went live on YouTube. During the stream, a fan message caught Jericho’s attention, recalling watching his 1999 WWF debut and expressing hope that he might one day return to WWE. Jericho didn’t shut the idea down: “You never know. You never know.”
Below is the card for tonight’s RAW, which is the one-year Netflix anniversary show:
– World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Bron Breakker
– Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Maxxine Dupri (c) vs. Becky Lynch
– WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) (c) vs. Rhiyo (Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY)
– Liv Morgan vs. Lyra Valkyria
– Crossover with Stranger Things
Also Read: Latest WWE Departure Announced
