After nearly a year away, Chris Jericho is back in the AEW fold again following his return to open "AEW Dynamite" in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. And as the dust settles, many are still searching for answers regarding Jericho's return, particularly regarding previous reports that suggested Jericho would leave AEW for WWE, and whether Jericho ending his AEW hiatus means that he's signed a new deal with the promotion.In regards to the latter question, PWInsider reports that there's a "general belief" within the AEW locker room that Jericho and the promotion did come to terms on a new contract prior to his return. However, the report stopped short of confirming whether Jericho had re-signed, leaving the door open for him to still be on his previous AEW contract.More details were also provided regarding Jericho's return, with AEW going to great lengths to keep it a secret. The promotion reportedly kept Jericho away from "Dynamite" throughout the day, only bringing him into the arena just a couple of minutes before the show started. At that point, Jericho was spotted in the gorilla position, waiting to make his entrance following Tony Schiavone's brief introduction.While Jericho's "Dynamite" appearance was largely brief, there was still plenty to do for the former AEW Men's World Champion throughout the evening. Jericho was later spotted backstage doing a photoshoot, as well as filming additional material to be used later. And while much of the AEW locker room has remained the same since Jericho was last there, it was said he made a point to introduce himself to any new AEW talents he hadn't previously met.
Before I defend Chris Jericho coming back to AEW, let me start by saying that I, personally, would not have brought Jericho back to AEW, or signed him to WWE, if I was either Tony Khan or Triple H. Even if you take all the outside of the ring baggage away from Jericho, you're still left with a guy who, in my opinion, is three years removed from being a wrestler that delivered consistently good matches or promos. Like it or not, there is a certain performance standard wrestlers need to meet these days, and based on Jericho's last run, where his feuds and matches often felt like neverending slogs, it's tough to see where he fits into the modern wrestling landscape, particularly a "wrestling first" promotion like AEW.At the same time, for those acting like the sky is falling because AEW brought Jericho back, let me assure you that the sun will, in fact, rise tomorrow. For starters, I get why AEW wanted him back; Jericho is an important part of their legacy, and he still does have name value, which makes him important in some regards for a promotion looking to secure another TV deal in an uncertain landscape. On top of that, while Jericho will undoubtedly be a part of shows going forward, he's not going to suddenly be pushed straight to the top like he was in AEW's early years. At most, Jericho is taking up a midcard to upper midcard segment on AEW's four plus hours of TV per week, leaving plenty of time for everything else AEW wants to do. And again; I get it. I'm not jumping for joy about Jericho being back either. But in the grand scheme of things, this is not the end of the world, or AEW for that matter.
