There are reportedly people within AEW who believe that Chris Jericho will be at the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble

In recent days, there have been rumors about Chris Jericho potentially returning to WWE once his AEW contract expires at the end of 2025. WWE reportedly has “significant interest” in bringing back Jericho.

At this point, neither Jericho nor AEW President Tony Khan have commented on the matter. Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com noted the following about the rumors…

“There are those in AEW who believe that he’s not going to be back and will start in WWE as a Royal Rumble surprise. The only thing we’ve heard from WWE is that they expect him, but keep in mind at this stage of everything if he’s looking to go there or negotiate with them, he’s going to give that impression.”

According to Meltzer, people in WWE are of the impression that if they want Jericho, they can probably sign him in January. Jericho is said to be one of the highest paid wrestlers in AEW and there are questions in regards to how much Khan is willing to keep paying him.