Chris Jericho’s future appears to be firmly locked in with AEW following his surprise return, according to the latest update from Dave Meltzer.

Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer noted that within wrestling circles, the expectation is that any potential move to WWE is now off the table, with Jericho set to remain part of All Elite Wrestling for the foreseeable future.

Jericho made his return on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite, appearing in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, marking his first appearance in nearly a year. According to Meltzer, Jericho’s deal had originally expired at the end of 2025, but Tony Khan extended the agreement to account for time Jericho missed due to outside commitments, including acting work.

As for the long-rumored WWE interest, Meltzer indicated that discussions never went beyond a very specific idea.

“We had been told that WWE only wanted to bring him in for a retirement tour and farewell,” Meltzer wrote. “At one time, we were told that the 2026 year would be built around retirements for AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, and presumably Jericho. But even though there were teases by Pearce and another by CM Punk, we had been told repeatedly that you should not believe any of the stories going around involving WWE and Jericho.”

While the finer details of Jericho’s current deal remain unclear, the overall direction seems settled.

“There are more questions than answers right now as nobody is talking about the details,” Meltzer added. “The belief is that him going to WWE is now dead and he’s back in AEW for the long term. What he’ll be doing and how the crowd will react to what he’s been doing will be a lot more clear in two weeks when they are out of Canada.”

AEW has already confirmed that Jericho will appear on next week’s Dynamite, continuing his latest run with the company.