NJPW/WWE News: Former WWE Champion makes a shocking return to NJPW

What's the story?

Despite having signed an exclusive deal with All Elite Wrestling, former six-time WWE World Champion, Chris Jericho once again shocked the entire world today when he challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the culmination to Wrestling Dontaku.

In case you didn't know...

Chris Jericho's last NJPW appearance was at Wrestle Kingdom 13 when he lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship back to Tetsuya Naito in a grueling rematch. Following the conclusion to NJPW's biggest show of the year, Jericho signed a deal with Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Tony Khan's wrestling promotion, All Elite Wrestling.

In the lead-up to AEW's first ever show Double or Nothing, Jericho is currently preparing himself for a Wrestle Kingdom 12 rematch against Kenny Omega. Omega and Jericho initially collided at the Tokyo Dome with the latter challenging 'The Best Bout Machine' for the IWGP US Championship.

The heart of the matter

At tonight's Wrestling Dontaku show, reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada marked his first successful title defense since re-capturing the title from Jay White at MSG, as 'The Rainmaker' defeated his arch-rival Sanada in yet another classic bout en route to retaining his championship belt.

Following his historic win, Okada started addressing the Fukuoka audience, as he was abruptly interrupted by the returning Chris Jericho, who cut yet an impressive promo and claimed that he will be challenging Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at this year's Dominion show.

Chris Jericho challenges for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on June 9 DOMINION!!“苦痛を与える男”クリス・ジェリコが IWGPヘビー級王座へ挑戦表明！メインイベント終了後、@IAmJericho からの衝撃メッセージ動画が！6月9日　#njDOMINION でのIWGPヘビー級王座挑戦を強烈にアピール。 pic.twitter.com/oGYKMufK1f

— njpwworld (@njpwworld) May 4, 2019

What's next?

Chris Jericho is currently a member of the AEW roster; his return is definitely something we didn't expect and it'll also be interesting to see if this somehow leads to a working relationship between AEW and NJPW.

Nevertheless, the title match between Jericho and Okada is yet to be made official but it is only a matter of time.