Legend discusses possibility of John Cena-style retirement tour in AEW
AEW said farewell to Sting as an in-ring talent in March 2024. The wrestling legend received a massive sendoff, and WWE Superstar John Cena could top it with a year-long retirement tour in 2025. Chris Jericho has now opened up on the idea of doing something similar.
Jericho has been with AEW since its founding and was the company's inaugural World Champion. He's still active as a full-time talent, but at 54 years old, many are wondering when The Learning Tree might hang up his boots.
John Cena will spend the entirety of 2025 saying goodbye to WWE fans before calling it quits at the end of next year. In a recent interview with Z100 New York, Chris Jericho was asked if he's thought about retiring:
"I really haven’t, man, because it could end tomorrow," said Jericho. "I mean, Sting quit at 65. You know, times have changed now in wrestling because there’s so much money involved from a television standpoint, and it’s still a very star power-driven business—it always has been. So, you can stay in this job a lot longer than you ever thought you would, as long as you’re healthy and can still perform."
Jericho then mentioned a potential year-long retirement tour. However, he doesn't think that's the path for him:
"I don’t know; I haven’t really thought about that. I’ve never been the guy who’s like, ‘year-long retirement ceremony.’ That seems a little, kind of like, eh." [H/T: Ringside News]
Check out his comments in the video below:
The Ocho further mused on the possibility of simply disappearing one day, referring to legendary drummer Nicko McBrain's sudden retirement from touring with Iron Maiden.
Jim Ross on Chris Jericho booking his own angles in AEW
Chris Jericho has remained in the spotlight throughout the short history of All Elite Wrestling. He's currently the ROH World Champion, but he often competes on AEW programming.
On a recent episode of Grilling JR, legendary commentator Jim Ross discussed The Learning Tree's importance to the company and noted that he booked most of his own segments:
"He became one of the biggest stars in wrestling history, and he’s still going. Jericho’s still going. When you see him on AEW, you see good work. You see a smart program. He gets to book his own stuff, more often than not, and I’m sure glad we got him. I’ve said many times, arguably, over the last two or three years, he’s been kind of the MVP of AEW because he’s stayed in place,'' he said.
Chris Jericho recently defended his ROH World Championship against Matt Cardona. As 2024 draws to a close, it remains to be seen who he'll tangle with next.