Chris Jericho Won't Be At WrestleMania Because NJPW Uses Him Better

TheSportster

By Alex Hoegler

Published Dec 21, 2017

Chris Jericho revealed he won't be at WrestleMania in 2018 and it's because New Japan is using him better at Wrestle Kingdom.

via wwe.com

Chris Jericho revealed his status for WrestleMania, and why he prefers his position at Wrestle Kingdom right now.

Chris Jericho hasn't appeared on WWE programming since the July 25, 2017, episode of SmackDown, when he lost a triple-threat match between Kevin Owens and AJ Styles for the United States Championship.

There has been plenty of speculation about Y2J returning to the WWE in the near future, specifically at the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans. But in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Jericho shut down any rumors of making a return on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

“If you want to see Chris Jericho wrestle, the Tokyo Dome is where you’re going to see me. If you watch one show this year, that’s the one to watch. I could go back to the WWE, I love working for Vince McMahon. But if I showed up tomorrow, as of right now, I am not slotted for the main event of WrestleMania. I am in the main event at Wrestle Kingdom."

Jericho noted that his band, Fozzy, will be touring on the same day as WrestleMania 34. That basically confirms that he won't be appearing, so don't believe that this interview is just a bluff.

As he detailed in the interview, Jericho is set to wrestle for the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, when he'll face Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome on Jan. 4, 2018.

There has been speculation that Jericho will return on the Raw 25th Anniversary show at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 22, 2018, but there hasn't been any confirmation nor denial on his end so far.

Fans shouldn't be surprised if Jericho isn't seen on WWE programming for a while. In his most recent run with the company, Jericho did his job by putting younger talent over, including Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, and Seth Rollins, among others.

Jericho is a sure-fire Hall of Famer one day and doesn't have anything left to accomplish at this stage of his career. At 47 years of age, his in-ring skills have diminished a bit, and being the lead singer of Fozzy is obviously quite time-consuming.

We can expect him to return sometime, but it doesn't appear to be imminent right now.