Chris Jericho’s AEW Deal Believed To Be Frozen

Chris Jericho might not be leaving AEW as soon as everyone expected after all.

Rumours about Chris Jericho’s future have run rampant for most of the past year. Jericho has not been seen in AEW since losing the ROH World Championship to Bandido at Dynasty in April, 2025.

The longer Jericho’s absence from Tony Khan’s company has gone on, the stronger the rumours have grown linking Le Champion with a return to WWE.

Many fans expected to see Chris Jericho at the Royal Rumble, but that did not happen. Now, after a mysterious box appeared on Raw with a message indicating that it was not to be opened until the date of the Elimination Chamber, many people expect it to be Jericho who pops out of it. But that doesn’t look likely either.

Chris Jericho Stuck In AEW?

Fightful Select has offered a new update on Chris Jericho’s status, and for those desperate to see him back in WWE, it’s not good news.

The report notes that Jericho is still “firmly” under contract to AEW, as indicated by the fact that he still appears on the AEW roster page on the company’s website. The belief from those around the first-ever AEW Men’s World Champion is that Jericho’s AEW deal was frozen when he took time off in 2025.

It was mentioned that anything from Jericho re-signing, to injury time being added, to his deal being frozen could all be at play for his contract not having yet expired. There is a great deal of secrecy around Jericho’s next move, meaning nothing is for certain.