Chris Jericho

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Cody Reportedly WWE-Bound, Set for Big Push

After AEW and Cody Rhodes mutually announced Tuesday that they were parting ways, multiple reports emerged that Rhodes was in discussions with WWE.

While nothing is official, PWTorch's Wade Keller (h/t WrestlingInc's Sai Mohan) reported that Rhodes is indeed going to sign with WWE, where he will receive a "big push."

Keller noted that sources told him WWE Chairman Vince McMahon "loves" the idea of signing someone who co-founded AEW and served as an executive vice president. The expectation is Rhodes will appear on WWE programming soon.

While Rhodes never held the AEW World Championship, he was a key cog behind the scenes and was also presented as one of the company's top stars, holding the TNT Championship three times.

Cody held the TNT title as recently as the Jan. 26 edition of Dynamite, which is when he dropped it to Sammy Guevara in a ladder match.

Keller reported that he expects Rhodes to either compete in a match at WrestleMania 38 in April or make his first appearance for the company on that show.

He also said he could see Rhodes appearing on WWE programming as soon as next week in order to build up to a WrestleMania match.

Rhodes began his wrestling career in WWE, signing a developmental deal in 2006 and remaining with the promotion until his requested release was granted in 2016.

While he never ascended to a main event level during his first WWE run, Rhodes experienced plenty of success, holding the Intercontinental Championship twice and tag team titles six times.

There have been several WWE-to-AEW defections already, including Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole, but Rhodes would be the first major star to go from AEW to WWE.

Because of that, it would make sense for WWE to position Cody in a big spot if and when he makes the leap.

WWE Reportedly Planning Another "Austin-Level" Surprise for WrestleMania

Rumors and speculation are already running rampant that WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin will return to the ring at WrestleMania 38, but that may not be the only surprise WWE has up its sleeve.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Michael Perry of Ringside News), the current plan is for Austin to compete at WrestleMania, likely in a match against Kevin Owens on the heels of Owens running down the state of Texas on Monday night's episode of Raw.

Meltzer added that WWE has another surprise in store for WrestleMania as well, and noted that it is at an "Austin level."

He then proceeded to list The Rock, The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and John Cena as talents that could be considered "Austin level" if they were to appear at WrestleMania.

While Hogan and Flair would likely be unable to wrestle a match at WrestleMania or any time in the future, the others could.

The Rock hasn't had a match with an actual build since WrestleMania 29 nearly a decade ago, but with Roman Reigns doing the best work of his career, there is some belief The Rock could face his cousin at some point.

Cena is no longer a full-time wrestler due to his commitments in Hollywood, much like The Rock, but he returned for a program with Reigns over the summer.

The Undertaker retired after WrestleMania 36 nearly two years ago and has not had a match since then, but he left the door open to at least listen to McMahon if he were to pitch him a match.

Meltzer noted that both The Rock and Cena are busy with filming, but if it is just a one-off appearance for WrestleMania, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that one of them could show up.

Perhaps the biggest thing WWE could do would be for The Rock to appear after the main event match between Reigns and Brock Lesnar in order to set the stage for The Rock vs. Reigns at WrestleMania 39 in Inglewood, California.

Jericho Reportedly Under Contract with AEW Until 2024

While Rhodes may be making the leap from AEW to WWE, that reportedly won't be the case for Chris Jericho any time soon.

According to Meltzer (h/t Perry), Jericho signed a two-year contract extension with AEW in January 2020, and his contract is not set to expire until January 2024.

Jericho was the inaugural AEW world champion, and he played a huge role in establishing the credibility of the promotion when it was in its infancy.

While Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks were stars in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and other companies, Jericho was a top guy in WWE, holding the world title on six occasions.

Other wrestlers who enjoyed success in WWE have gone to AEW since then, including Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson and CM Punk, but Jericho was the one who started the trend.

While the 51-year-old veteran hasn't been near the top of the card in recent months, he is still an integral part of the AEW roster. In addition to his own matches and promo work, he has made it known that he enjoys sharing his knowledge with the rest of the roster.

Jericho would likely be a name of interest for WWE when his contract expires since he has a long history with the company and with McMahon.

At 53 years old, Jericho may not have been of interest to WWE as a full-time performer, but WWE would likely have been open to signing him to a legends contract and putting him in the Hall of Fame.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.

Jericho, Owens Go Back and Forth on Social Media

Sunday marked the five-year anniversary of the "Festival of Friendship," the instant-classic segment that saw Kevin Owens turn on Chris Jericho to build their WrestleMania 33 feud. 

Owens commemorated the anniversary by changing his Twitter profile picture to the moment Jericho realized his name was on The List, with Jericho responding with an ominous threat:

Out of all the talent that left WWE for AEW, Jericho seems the most likely to eventually find his way back in WWE. The future Hall of Famer has kept a strong relationship with most people in the company, most notably Vince McMahon.

Jericho seems more than happy where he's at with AEW at the moment, but it would be a surprise if he didn't wind up doing one last retirement run in WWE when his name gets called for a Hall induction.

It's worth noting that Jericho's contract with AEW was set to expire in January, but the company had a one-year option to keep him until 2023. There has been no announcement of Jericho signing an extension, so the soonest we could see the two in the ring together is a year from now—especially now that Owens is inked to a long-term deal in WWE.

Vince McMahon Happy With Current Product

Well, that makes one of us.

While the overwhelming majority of fans would say WWE has qualitatively struggled in recent years—especially amid the emergence of AEW—Vince McMahon, the most important internal voice, doesn't seem to agree.

“In his mind, he doesn’t think anything is wrong,” Mike Johnson of PW Insider wrote (via Wrestling Inc). “The company made a billion dollars last year, so there’s a billion reasons for him to shrug off any criticisms. We are told he pushes and presents what he likes and wants and nothing else makes a dent in that vision. That’s why the shows are presented the way they are and that’s why nothing is going to change anytime soon, if ever.”

WWE does, indeed, continue to rake in record revenue—a move that's made it a massive success for Wall Street investors.

Those consuming the product won't assess quality by dollars and cents, but they've continued to watch WWE programming despite growing frustrations. The Royal Rumble live event was one of the lowest-rated in history among fans despite being the most-watched event since WWE moved to Peacock.

There's a disconnect WWE needs to fix.

Lita Talks Becky Lynch Match

Lita has not had a proper one-on-one match in WWE since dropping the women's championship to Mickie James at the 2006 Survivor Series pay-per-view. While she's made occasional appearances in a ring since then, her match against Becky Lynch at the upcoming Elimination Chamber match will be the first time she's been responsible for carrying 50 percent of the workload in over 15 years.

Lita recently sat down with Denise Salcedo and spoke about WWE approaching her for an in-ring return. 

“They hit me at a great time, right after the match,” Lita said, per Wrestling Inc. “Literally like, sweaty, like right coming out, ‘what do you think about facing Becky in a couple of weeks?’ And I was like, ‘what? Yes. Oh s--t, did I say yes?’ I didn’t have a chance to doubt or think about all the reasons I shouldn’t face Becky, or all of the reasons I wouldn’t be ready or what could possibly go wrong. All I thought of is what could possibly go right, committed to that and haven’t looked back. Like, ever since, 'yes,' I wasn’t like, ‘oh wait, what am I doing?’ No, I’m just like, ‘no, no, no. That time has passed. The time now is to think about how it’s going to go good.'”

It's likely that Lita will be one-and-done against Lynch, especially given her appearance is mainly because she's a relic of the Attitude Era and Saudi officials have long pushed WWE to bring back legends for their events in the country. 

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AEW star Chris Jericho posted a positive update Saturday following a brief stay in the hospital.

Jericho tweeted a photo of himself on a sidewalk and noted that he is "back on the streets":

Jericho's band, Fozzy, is in the United Kingdom for a tour, and the band was supposed to perform in Swansea, Wales, on Friday night, but the Swansea Sin City venue posted the following statement from the band, per WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton:

"Chris was checked into [the] hospital by doctors, with a non-COVID related, treatable health issue. Regrettably the show on Friday in Swansea is cancelled and all tickets will be refunded. Will have updates on Saturday's show in Nottingham and Sunday's show in London as soon as possible."

Following his hospitalization, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Robert Gunier) spoke to Jericho, who said: "I'm feeling good. They just wanted to observe me overnight, and I'm in the right place. Not COVID related."

The 51-year-old is one of AEW's biggest stars and has been since the beginning of the promotion in 2019.

Jericho, who won six world titles in WWE, was the first-ever AEW World champion, beating "Hangman" Adam Page in the main event of All Out 2019.

He would go on to hold the title for 182 days before dropping it to Jon Moxley at Revolution 2020.

Currently, Jericho is the leader of the Inner Circle stable, which also includes Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, Santana and Ortiz. The group defeated Men of the Year and American Top Team in a Street Fight at Full Gear last month.

AEW superstar Chris Jericho has reportedly been hospitalized while with his band Fozzy on their 12-date “Save The World” tour of the United Kingdom.

The band was scheduled for a show on Friday night at the Swansea Sin City venue in Swansea, Wales. Per Wrestling Inc., the venue posted a message today from the band that read:

"Chris was checked into hospital by doctors, with a non-COVID-related, treatable health issue. Regrettably the show on Friday in Swansea is canceled and all tickets will be refunded. Will have updates on Saturday's show in Nottingham and Sunday’s show in London as soon as possible."

Jericho and Fozzy performed in Bournemouth, England, on Tuesday night. The tour was scheduled to finish with stops in Nottingham on Saturday and London on Sunday. Those shows have not been canceled as of this writing.

Jericho did not appear on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite due to the tour. 

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Big E Talks Potential WrestleMania Match vs. Tyson Fury

WWE champion Big E is open to a massive crossover match at WrestleMania against one of the top boxers in the world.

In an interview with Gary Stonehouse of The Sun, Big E suggested the possibility of locking horns with Tyson Fury on The Grandest Stage of Them All:

Tyson Fury is arguably the best boxer on the planet. Some say Canelo [Alvarez], but Fury is a mega-star and a fan of what we do. He's dipped into it and he's a guy who understands entertainment. I can't say there's a better choice than Tyson Fury. I think Tyson Fury would be a lot of fun.

That's what we do at WrestleMania. It's about theatrics, entertainment, and being larger than life. So, if we are going to do it, that would be the place to do it. So I am open to a Tyson Fury WrestleMania match. As absurd as it may be to some, it would be a lot of fun.

In addition to being an undefeated heavyweight champion coming off a knockout win over Deontay Wilder in October, Fury has some WWE experience.

In 2019, Fury entered into a short-term feud with Braun Strowman and beat him by count-out at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. He later joined forces with Strowman on an episode of SmackDown in England to take down The B-Team.

Fury's size, athleticism and charisma make him an ideal fit for professional wrestling, and it seems possible he will return to WWE at some point.

Earlier this year, Fury divulged he was supposed to have a match against Drew McIntyre at a pay-per-view in the United Kingdom in 2020, but it was called off due to COVID-19.

An eventual match against McIntyre could still be on the table, but facing Big E for the WWE title at WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, Texas, next year would be a huge deal, and it may be realistic since there is no clear opponent for Big E right now.

WWE Reportedly Changed Plans for Lesnar

After being off television since the Oct. 29 episode of SmackDown due to a storyline suspension, Brock Lesnar is set return Friday night.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), the original plan called for Lesnar to return on the Dec. 10 episode of SmackDown in Los Angeles. The angle would have seen Lesnar appear while still suspended by buying a ticket.

Instead, Lesnar will appear on Friday's SmackDown in San Antonio after last week's SmackDown focused on Kayla Braxton getting confirmation of The Beast Incarnate's return.

Lesnar was given a storyline suspension after attacking referees and WWE official Adam Pearce on SmackDown the night after losing a Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns at WWE Crown Jewel.

That match ended in controversial fashion, as Paul Heyman threw the title belt in between Reigns and Lesnar, leading to questions about who Heyman is actually supporting.

Lesnar figures to continue his rivalry with Reigns on Friday night, which could lead to a rematch between them either at the Day 1 pay-per-view on Jan. 1 or at the Royal Rumble in late January.

Lesnar has long been one of WWE's biggest stars and draws, and with him being involved with WWE's biggest full-time star in Reigns, Friday's SmackDown looks like a can't-miss affair.

Major AEW Contracts Reportedly Expiring Soon

Some big names in AEW reportedly could see their contracts expire soon.

According to Meltzer (h/t Mukherjee), many of the wrestlers who have been signed with AEW from the start have contracts that run through Dec. 31, 2021, although the deals include two option years as well.

That means AEW President Tony Khan can exercise the options, which would take the contracts through Dec. 31, 2023.

Meltzer noted that Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, Brandi Rhodes and AEW World champion "Hangman" Adam Page are among those who fit into that particular category.

The Young Bucks also would have been part of that group, but Meltzer reported that Khan already picked up the two option years in their contract.

While it is possible some of the AEW wrestlers with expiring contracts could become free agents at the end of the year, Meltzer wrote that he "would expect" all of their options to be picked up.

Omega, Cody and Brandi are all AEW executives in addition to on-screen performers, while Jericho and Page are two of the company's biggest stars, so it would be surprising if any of them are let go.

AEW may need to be more selective with who it re-signs, though, as its roster has grown significantly over the past year because of some of the released WWE Superstars it has signed.

That means there could be some turnover in the middle and lower parts of the roster, but the top-tier performers don't figure to be going anywhere for quite some time.

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The Inner Circle defeated American Top Team and The Men of the Year in a 10-man Minneapolis Street Fight at AEW Full Gear on Saturday.

A massive, chaotic brawl erupted in Minneapolis, and it featured Sammy Guevara's death-defying Swanton Bomb:

Wrestling legend Baron von Raschke also got involved after Ethan Page screamed at Jake Hager's wife, Catalina White. The 81-year-old delivered the Iron Claw to the delight of the Target Center fans.

Eventually, the match ended with another tribute to the late wrestling legend Eddie Guerrero, who died in Minneapolis 16 years ago Saturday.

This time, it was Chris Jericho hitting Dan Lambert with a kendo stick and stapler before pointing to the sky, doing his version of Guerrero's shimmy and finishing him off with one of the legend's moves, the frog splash.

Faction warfare between The Inner Circle and American Top Team has run rampant over the past couple of months, dating back to Chris Jericho's decision to interrupt a promo by American Top Team founder Dan Lambert.

Page and Scorpio Sky, who make up The Men of the Year, aligned themselves with Lambert and American Top Team shortly before that, leading to a rivalry between Jericho and The Men of the Year.

Jericho teamed with Inner Circle stablemate Jake Hager against Page and Sky on the Grand Slam edition of Rampage in September, and The Men of the Year came out on top thanks to interference from Lambert.

Jericho and Hager paid the price after the match as well with American Top Team, including Jorge Masvidal and Paige VanZant, beating down both of them.

That led to a six-man tag team match on Rampage pitting Jericho, Hager and Sammy Guevara against Page, Sky and former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, who was making his pro wrestling debut.

Page, Sky and dos Santos won the match and another melee ensued afterward, leading to Santana and Ortiz making the save for The Inner Circle.

Subsequently, Guevara put the TNT Championship on the line against Page on the Oct. 27 episode of Dynamite with the added stipulation that Guevara would have to leave The Inner Circle if he lost.

Guevara managed to retain, meaning The Inner Circle were given the right to choose which American Top Team members would compete against them in a Minneapolis Street Fight at Full Gear.

Jericho ultimately selected Lambert, Andrei Arlovski and Junior Dos Santos to team with The Men of the Year.

With Guevara's win giving them some momentum and the upper hand entering Full Gear, The Inner Circle rode that wave and prevailed once again in a team setting at the pay-per-view.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).