Chris Jericho says that he doesn’t want to leave AEW and return to WWE.
Jericho worked for WWE for many years, dating back to his debut in 1999. He left the company in 2005 but later returned in 2007. Jericho spent several months away before he came back again at WWE Royal Rumble 2012. He continued to work for the company, with some breaks here and there, until his departure in 2018. The former World Heavyweight Champion wrestled for NJPW on several occasions before he signed with All Elite Wrestling in its formative days in 2019. He has remained one of the key figures in the company ever since.
Speaking with Daily Star, Jericho was asked whether AEW will be the place where he ends his legendary career. He responded by stating that, to him, AEW is the place to be, not WWE, and he likes the way the company does things better. He then made it clear that he has zero interest in ever going back to WWE.
“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 [with NJPW]’ 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.”
Jericho made it clear that he wasn’t speaking out of anger, as he stated that he loves Vince McMahon and Triple H (Paul Levesque), but he enjoys working in AEW, and he has a stake in the game. He recalled how he helped build the company from the ground up, and he’s proud of that. Jericho also made it clear that he believes there’s so much more the company can do, and he doesn’t want to walk away from it.
“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.”
Jericho will face Peter Avalon on the March 1 episode of AEW Dynamite. More information is available here.
At AEW Revolution, Jericho will continue his feud with Ricky Starks when they clash in a rematch. The veteran recently discussed their storyline; check out his comments here.
RELATED: Action Andretti: I’m Very Grateful Chris Jericho Gave Me A Chance, It Shows How Selfless He Is
