Chris Jericho Reportedly Believed To Have Had His AEW Deal Frozen, Concerns Over Outside Projects In WWE

Y2J’s future remains up in the air.

Chris Jericho’s contract status has been a major talking point since late last year following reports that his AEW deal was set to expire at the end of 2025, with a return to WWE seen as a strong possibility.

Despite those reports, Jericho appears to remain with All Elite Wrestling, and Fightful Select has now provided an update on his status, noting that his AEW contract is believed to have been frozen.

“Chris Jericho is firmly under contract to AEW, and Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp is told the belief from those around Jericho and in AEW is that his deal was frozen after he took time off in 2025.”

-Fightful Select

While the exact nature of the situation remains unclear, Jericho’s contract could have been extended due to a re-signing, the addition of injury time, or the deal itself being frozen.

The report adds that Fightful has not received confirmation from AEW that Jericho has left the company, which would typically be communicated, and no internal memo regarding his departure has been distributed, as would usually be standard practice.

However, as fans noted when the cruise was first announced, AEW talent are not scheduled to appear on the next Jericho Cruise in November, and he continues to accept convention bookings in the months ahead.

Despite the uncertainty over his AEW status, many fans still expect Jericho to return to WWE in 2026. Fightful Select report that Jericho has said he would be open to a WWE return, though there are concerns about the potential impact on his outside projects, which he has been able to pursue while with AEW.

“Those close with Chris Jericho have been very tight lipped about his future, but we’re told that he’s mentioned to people he would be open to a WWE return, but feared he would have to give up his remaining outside projects while there.”

-Fightful Select

It remains unclear when Chris Jericho’s AEW contract is set to expire, and it cannot yet be ruled out that he may choose to remain with the promotion.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Chris Jericho’s future as soon as we hear more.