Chris Jericho Not Expected To Appear At WWE SmackDown Or Saturday Night's Main Event

Pro wrestling fans shouldn't expect to see Chris Jericho make his return to WWE this weekend.

Jericho has announced he will be performing at JAMM Night from the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, January 23, which rules him out of appearing at SmackDown in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. PWInsider has reported that Jericho is also expected to be at the gathering for the National Association of Music Merchants all weekend, which means he won't be appearing at Saturday Night's Main Event on January 24 unless there is a last second change.

If Jericho is even returning to WWE is currently up in the air. The expectation for months had been that he would return to WWE upon the expiry of his AEW contract, which was believed to be up at the end of 2025. Jericho is still listed on the AEW roster page, however, and other exits in 2026, like Powerhouse Hobbs and Matt Taven, were quickly removed from the company's website.

WWE teased Chris Jericho would be making his return on the first episode of Monday Night Raw of 2026, with Raw General Manager Adam Pearce uttering, "Who can break the walls down and claim the gold?" as part of a social media rundown of the January 6 card. The tease was instead simply a way to entice fans to buy last-minute tickets for the show at the Barclays Center.