Chris Jericho Details His AEW Return, Says It was Months in the Making

Former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho recently opened up about his return to weekly programming earlier this week.

Jericho’s AEW future was an intense subject of speculation during his 12-month hiatus from the company between April 2025 and 2026. His contract with the Tony Khan-led company reportedly expired at the start of his year, leading to speculation that he’d leave the promotion and return to WWE. That obviously never happened, as Jericho ended up signing a new deal with All Elite Wrestling and made a shocking return during the April 1, 2026, episode of Dynamite in Winnipeg.

Jericho spoke to Renee Paquette on this week’s episode of AEW Close Up, where he detailed his return and the reason behind his brief promo. He revealed that his return had been planned for a while, but very few people were aware of it.

Below are the highlights:

On his AEW return:

“I mean, obviously, it’s been planned for a while. It was months in the making. I flew in a private jet the night before because I didn’t want anybody to see me. I basically sat in my room for 24 hours. I didn’t see any of my friends. One of my best friends flew in from Vegas for the show, and he didn’t even know I was going to be there. It was a really cool moment, and nobody knew. Tony knew and a few other people, but even when I got picked up at the hotel, the driver was like, ‘I can’t believe it’s you.’ We waited outside on the street, and I didn’t even take the elevator to the lobby because it got stuck… I ran down the stairs. I wasn’t leaving to chance. We drove down to the basement behind Gorilla, waited in the car until 30 seconds before, got out of the car, and walked right out.”

On his brief promo:

Following his blockbuster return to AEW TV, Jericho grabbed the microphone and uttered, “I’m home!” The veteran explained the reason behind his short and sweet promo, stating:

It was something I learned in WWE, where you don’t have to say a lot; that’s why the promo was two words. It’s a Pat Patterson thing: ‘Why throw everything out at once? You got the initial pop of being on the show; let’s leave it and then explain more the following week.’ It was great, too, because the Winnipeg reaction was great, but it got better in Edmanton and better in Vancouver. It kept getting better and better. It was a reset and kind of threw a proverbial cup of cold water in everybody’s faces because nobody knew what was going on, and then it was done.”

Listen to Chris Jericho’s comments below:

After engaging in a feud with The Demand, Jericho is currently embroiled in a heated rivalry with Tommaso Ciampa. He will go one-on-one with The Psycho Killer at AEW Beach Break next Wednesday.

Please credit AEW Close Up and give an H/T to 411Mania for the transcription if you take quotes from this article.