One of the most surprising announcements during the All Elite Wrestling press conference was that Chris Jericho has signed a contract with the company which poses a very real threat to WWE moving forward. Now, the former WWE Champion has revealed just how long he's signed for and it sounds like Y2J could end his wrestling career with the new promotion as he's signed for a solid three years!
"As the past year progressed, going from New Japan to All In to The Cruise, and kind of seeing how life was on the other side, I realized, like The Young Bucks, like Kenny Omega and these guys, you can make a good living outside the WWE. Then when you have a billionaire getting involved, suddenly you have the biggest offer of my career — by far — I couldn’t say no. For the next three years, it’s AEW. That’s where I’m signed, and that’s the contract that I have."
A lot of fans are going to be disappointed to learn that Jericho won't make his WWE return until at least 2022, a time when his wrestling career may very well be nearing its end. However, you can see why he made this choice upon realising that there's life outside of the company but that must have really p*ssed off Vince McMahon, right? Well, it sounds like he was actually okay with Jericho's decision.
"I spoke to Vince before I signed, and he knew it. The words we exchanged were very amicable, and it wasn’t like it was a surprise. Business is business. Vince McMahon is my friend; I respect him, I love the guy — no ill will whatsoever, just the business road took me this way. I would’ve been crazy not to do it because I might insult somebody. I think the first guy who would agree with that is Vince."
Given all the talent WWE has these days, it's easy enough to see why Vince didn't feel he needed to pay huge money to keep Jericho around and it seems as if things will now continue in his absence.