Many WWE fans expected Chris Jericho to show up at the Royal Rumble this year after rampant speculation that he would be leaving AEW and had been negotiating with the E for months to return in Saudi Arabia.
Instead, Y2J’s music did not hit, and the purported trade between AEW and WWE for AJ Styles and Jericho remains nothing more than a wistful Internet rumor from the AEW faithful.
In reality, Jericho may very well be on his way to WWE but simply delayed in his appearance at the largest professional wrestling company due to ongoing contract negotiations regarding the specifics of his return – or even lingering financial details.
But if we kayfabe it and say that Jericho is a top competitor in the twilight of his career looking to make one last run to the top in WWE and prove that he is still world championship material.
Standing in his way will be a certain Gunther, who just added another huge feather in his cap at the Rumble Premium Live Event by retiring yet another legend of professional wrestling in AJ Styles.
So the real (kayfabe) reason why Chris Jericho has not shown up in WWE yet and may be getting cold feet is fear of going to WWE just to immediately get retired by Gunther at WrestleMania 42, victimized by the hottest heel in professional wrestling.
Joe helped manage the pro wrestling site Daily DDT from 2017 to 2019. He has appeared in many wrestling podcasts and has had his work featured by mainstream media sites and professional wrestlers themselves. Joe also covers soccer, writing about Tottenham for Hotspur HQ, Real Madrid for A Trip to Cibeles, and general world football for The Trivela Effect.