Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that former AEW Champion Chris Jericho was expected to return to WWE once his deal with AEW expired. He had been in touch with former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. However, with McMahon gone from the company, it looks like Jerico decided to stick with All Elite Wrestling for a big-money, three-year deal.
”There was an expectation in WWE that when Jericho’s deal expired that he would go back for a final WWE run and the Hall of Fame at the end. He maintained a good relationship with Vince McMahon, but McMahon is now out of the picture day-to-day, but his name would have been super valuable from a perception standpoint if he had left AEW for WWE when the old deal was up,” noted Meltzer.