Chris Jericho has been with All Elite Wrestling since the company’s formation in 2019, providing the brand with an instantly recognisable star from the jump thanks to the many years he spent as a prominent figure within WWE. Jericho carried the company through their first few months as the inaugural AEW World Champion, and currently finds himself leading the Jericho Appreciation Society, a group that features heavily across the promotion’s weekly TV shows.
Many fans have long assumed that Jericho will eventually end up back in WWE, however, during a recent interview with the Daily Star, the 52-year-old revealed that he has no desire to do so, not out of bitterness or anger, but simply as he views AEW as being the place for him to be.
“I don’t see why it wouldn’t be. I don’t hold a torch for WWE. 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’ 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. 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.”
-Chris Jericho
As a veteran of the industry, Jericho is often relied on to guide the company through difficult periods, as displayed during the number of talent meetings he was noted to have had involvement in.
Speaking on his backstage role, Jericho revealed that whilst he does pitch in with pre-tapes several times per show, he doesn’t see himself transitioning into a permanent backstage role, with his onscreen character being his priority as of now.
“Do I help with backstage pre-tapes? Absolutely. I probably do two or three of those a night, and maybe that’s kind of where I go to. I don’t really see myself as an agent, I’m more of an in front-of-the-camera kinda guy. So, we’ll see. I don’t know what the future of me in wrestling is. I could quit tomorrow, or I could quit in six years, I don’t know. I’ll worry about that when it happens. Right now, I do enjoy the backstage role of helping guys and girls out with their interviews and promos. There’s a lot of stuff I do backstage at AEW. When we have Dynamite, I get there at 1 and leave at 11 or 12 – it’s non-stop, all the time. That’s fun for me, but to exclusively do just that? I don’t know. I still like being part of the show.”
-Chris Jericho
Regarding his aims for the future and the potential for another run as World Champion, Jericho stated that you shouldn’t be in the wrestling business if that isn’t your goal.
Despite that, Jericho also stated that he’s enjoying his current role, and believes he doesn’t need the World Championship to be main event level.
“Do I want to be world champion? If you don’t, you shouldn’t be in the business. But do I need to be? Probably not. I don’t really need a belt to be in the main event so as long as I can continue to tell stories that help grow the show, the talent and me… I just think that I’m really happy with what we’re doing. My biggest goal is to see us continue to build this amazing universe.”
-Chris Jericho
As for what’s next for Jericho, he’s set to take on Ricky Starks at the upcoming AEW Revolution PPV, a match that will see his Jericho Appreciation Society stablemates banned from ringside.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any updates on Chris Jericho’s long-term future as soon as we hear more.
