In mid-2017, the former WWE star Chris Jericho was set to have a match against Kevin Owens for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 33.
While the original script for WrestleMania 33 was to put Jericho and Kevin in the main event with plans for Jericho winning the title as a baby face.
According to Chris, Vince McMahon, decided to put Goldberg and Brock Lesnar in the main event for the title instead, leaving Chris in the low-key. Regarding this, Chris even shared his statement in teh media saying;
“One of the original plans from Vince’s (McMahon) mouth to my ears directly was the main event of WrestleMania, was going to be Jericho vs Owens for the world title, and Jericho wins the title, for the first time ever as a babyface.”
Follwing this certain change, Jericho’s match was put on the second list, which Chris considered an insult, which ultimately led to his departure from the WWE. While continuing his statement with Inside the Rope, he added;
“Next week the plans changed, which Vince did not tell me, Goldberg vs Brock for the title, because that’s what they wanted to do. That’s fine. Maybe from a marquee standpoint, that might have been a bigger money match, but from a story standpoint ours was worth more. But the difference was we went from the main event to being put on second. That’s an insult, because the second match is just another match. Either you’re on last or you’re on first, and maybe the semi-main event. But that’s it, those are your big money spots at WrestleMania,”
While this was the reason behind Chris’s departure from the WWE Universe, it was justified enough for the fans.
Later, in January 2019, Chris joined AEW with a three-year contract, where he became an inaugural holder of the AEW World Championship in August of the same year.
EXCLUSIVE: Chris Jericho (@IamJericho) is Officially signed to @AEWrestling #AEW #AEWRally pic.twitter.com/In6Nc96am5
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 9, 2019
After his contract expiration in 2022, Chris extended his contract with AEW for more than three years, which now seems to come to an end in December 2025.
So with his extension from AEW in December 2025, there is quite a speculation that Crosh might retire to WWE in early 2026. While some also say John Cena’s return from WWE marks a rise in WWE.
Chris once made a statement saying, “Of Course, I Would Consider Going Back There”, saying there he referred to WWE, so there is quite a chance that we might see him in the WWE soon.
While not confirmed by the WWE Officials, there is a good chance that we will once again see Jericho rising in WWE as the champion.