After months of uncertainty and growing rumors about a possible jump back to WWE, Chris Jericho made a surprise return to All Elite Wrestling on the April 1 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Jericho had not appeared on AEW television since April of last year, leading to widespread discussion about whether the company’s first world champion was preparing for another run in WWE. Instead, per an official announcement from the company, Jericho re-emerged in front of a hometown crowd in Winnipeg, Manitoba, helping open the broadcast before the scheduled AEW World Championship contract signing between MJF and Kenny Omega.
The return caught both viewers and announcers off guard. As Tony Schiavone stood in the ring preparing for the segment, Jericho’s entrance music hit and the arena immediately erupted.
Fans in Winnipeg loudly sang along to “Judas,” the entrance theme Jericho has used throughout his AEW run. By the time the second chorus arrived, the crowd had grown even louder, turning the moment into one of the night’s biggest reactions.
Once he reached the ring, Jericho paused to take in the response before delivering a brief message. “Winnipeg … AEW … I’m home,” he told the crowd.
Jericho’s return comes just days after Tony Khan publicly praised the veteran while declining to address his future directly. Speaking on Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez, Khan described Jericho as “instrumental” to AEW from the beginning and said, “I love Chris very much.”
Khan also called Jericho “a huge part” of the company’s history, noting that AEW’s launch in 2019 would not have been the same without him.
Rumors surrounding a potential WWE return had only intensified in recent months. Jericho previously fueled that speculation himself by responding, “You never know,” when asked during a livestream whether he might eventually return to WWE.
He later confirmed that he expected to wrestle again in 2026 but stopped short of saying where.
That uncertainty led many inside the wrestling world to predict that Jericho could resurface at the Royal Rumble, with figures like Diamond Dallas Page and Matt Hardy openly discussing the possibility.
