It's officially Royal Rumble season, which means it's also the time of year for a potential Chris Jericho WWE return.
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The former World Champion has made his return during and leading up to the event on several occasions, but things are a bit different this year with a scheduled NJPW match against Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 12 on Thursday.
However, Jericho maintained that the appearance is a "one-off" and Vince McMahon is his "boss for life," during an interview with CBS Sports last month.
So the question remains — will we see the "Ayatollah of Rock N Rolla" at this year's Royal Rumble?
Apparently, it's "up to him," according to WON's Dave Meltzer, who responded to a tweet on Wednesday asking about Jericho's status for the event.
@davemeltzerWON do you think we see Chris Jericho at the Rumble?
— Exclusives define the better console. (@justin0862) January 3, 2018
Up to him and he keeps quiet on his plans. https://t.co/e0W2zIyu2C
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) January 3, 2018
It's likely that Jericho could make an appearance at this year's Rumble to provide a big pop and work the majority of the match, as has been the case in the past.
His upcoming match with Omega should only add to fan excitement given that it will likely receive plenty of acclaim. Also, the former champion would become the second person to participate in Wrestle Kingdom and the Royal Rumble in the same month during the past three years — following AJ Styles' debut in 2016, which also resulted in a huge surprise reaction from the live crowd.
Jericho has shown a willingness to put over new talent in recent years, which is incredibly valuable to WWE, no matter how long he chooses to stay. With an already etched legacy, losing matches doesn't hurt his reputation as much as it helps his opponents.
Plus, Jericho's most recent full-time run was arguably one of the best in a Hall of Fame caliber career, so there's no doubt that a return would be a good thing for both fans and the company.
