Former WWE Champion close to Vince McMahon was expected to return and be inducted into the Hall of Fame before Triple H took over – Reports

A former WWE Champion and current AEW star was expected to return to the company once his contract with AEW expired, and had reportedly been in touch with Vince McMahon.

Chris Jericho allegedly signed a new deal with AEW after his previous one expired. However, it was believed that the veteran would eventually return to WWE for a final run and induction into the Hall of Fame.

Chris Jericho has been with AEW since the company started in 2019. He is a pillar of the young company and has featured regularly in its programming. Jericho was a big part of WWE as well, but was sporadically used towards the end of his run.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed that Jericho was expected to return to WWE once his deal with AEW expired. He had been in touch with Vince McMahon. However, with McMahon gone from the company, it looks like The Ocho decided to stick with All Elite Wrestling for a big-money, three-year deal.

''There was an expectation in WWE that when Jericho’s deal expired that he would go back for a final WWE run and the Hall of Fame at the end. He maintained a good relationship with Vince McMahon, but McMahon is now out of the picture day-to-day, but his name would have been super valuable from a perception standpoint if he had left AEW for WWE when the old deal was up,'' noted Meltzer.

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Will Chris Jericho return to WWE with Vince McMahon out of the equation?

The current ROH Champion has often stated that he had a love-hate relationship with Vince McMahon. One of the primary reasons he quit WWE was because he wasn't happy with McMahon's decision to have his WrestleMania match against Kevin Owens go second on the show.

Reports stated that Jericho's last contract with AEW was around $3 million, and he has most likely received a pay bump with his new contract. Jericho is 51 years old and by the time his contract expires he will be 54.