WWE Raw General Manager Adam Pearce got the rumor mill going into overdrive yesterday when he previewed tonight's big episode of Monday Night Raw on Netflix by using the phrase "break the walls down", which of course is a strongly associated with Chris Jericho's time in AEW.
Despite the speculation and teases that Jericho could be making an appearance as early as tonight, a pwinsider.com reports suggests that it is unlikely we will see the veteran wrestler on tonight's Raw in Brooklyn, NY.
According to the report, there are currently no indications internally within WWE that Jericho will be at the event tonight and they noted that no one in WWE that they have talked to believes the plan is to bring him back tonight.
Jericho is believed to be a free agent now, with reports suggesting that his contract with AEW expired at midnight on December 31, 2025. It is also assumed by many that Jericho will choose to return to WWE and run through a retirement storyline perhaps culminating with a Hall of Fame induction next year.
It should be noted however that despite belief that Jericho is done with AEW, his profile is currently still active on AEW's official roster site when generally both WWE and AEW are quick to take down profiles of wrestlers (or move them to their Alumni section in WWE's case) who have moved on or are no longer under contract.
On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer suggested that Pearce teasing Jericho's arrival was simply to move ticket sales and generate buzz for tonight's first Raw of the year, which also represents the one-year anniversary show of Raw moving to Netflix. Meltzer did re-iterate that the expectation is still that Jericho will be in WWE by the end of the month.
