Former AEW World Champion Confirms They Have “Zero Interest” in Returning to WWE

Chris Jericho has been with AEW since its very first press conference back in 2019. He was the first man to hold the AEW World Championship and has since main evented a handful of AEW pay-per-views, all while taking part in high-profile feuds while spearheading two of AEW’s most prominent factions (the Inner Circle and the Jericho Appreciation Society). And while he has consistently taken a pro-AEW stance in interviews, there’s always been lingering speculation that he’ll eventually wind up bac in WWE for a swan song run. 

However, in a new interview with The Daily Star, Jericho confirmed he has “zero interest” in returning to his old promotion. He signed a contract extension back in October 2022 that will keep him with AEW until at least 2025. 

“I don’t hold a torch for WWE,” Jericho said. “To me, that’s not ‘the place to be’. AEW is the place to be. It really is. I’ve been in WWE. I know how it works. They work that way, I don’t care if Vince is there, Hunter is there, or whoever is there. They have a way of doing things, and I was there for 20 years and was pretty good at it. I like the way we do things at AEW better… so I don’t know why I wouldn’t want to finish my career in AEW. I never thought that I wouldn’t finish my career with WWE, but things happened, and I was just like ‘I want to go to Japan and do this match [with NJPW]’ and it opened up a whole new world for me. It was like ‘oh my gosh, this is the fun side of wrestling again!’ Business is business and there’s always ups and downs, but I have zero interest in ever going back to WWE. 

“That’s not out of bitterness or anger. I love Vince and I love Hunter and all the people there,” he continued. “But I just really dig AEW, and I have a stake in the game. I came here right out of the gate —I was the guy. Besides Jim Ross, there was nobody that had really been on television on a national basis other than me. I take great pride in that. I started here, why would I want to walk away? There’s so much more that we can do. The sense of accomplishment is massive.”