Major backstage news on Chris Jericho's NJPW status
Chris Jericho's last NJPW match happened in January at Wrestle Kingdom 14 when he took on Hiroshi Tanahashi on the second day of the event.
A lot has changed since Chris Jericho's last NJPW match as Harold Meij stepped down from the CEO/President role in September 2020. The travel restrictions that had been in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented several wrestlers from working overseas.
While the situation has changed, the fans might not see top AEW wrestlers such as Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, and Kenny Omega at the Wrestle Kingdom 15 show scheduled to occur in the first week of January 2021. There is a mandatory quarantine for all the performers who travel to work in Japan, leading to top stars being forced to miss two weeks of AEW tapings.
On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer provided an update on Chris Jericho's NJPW status. It was noted that NJPW had a few matches planned for Chris Jericho before the pandemic began. However, as things stand, Chris Jericho is reportedly no longer under contract with NJPW.
It was also added that Harold Meij wasn't a fan of getting Chris Jericho back to Japan as the former AEW World Champion demanded a lot of money. However, the new NJPW management wants Jericho to wrestle for the company, but it would not happen anytime soon.
Here's what Meltzer noted on the Wrestling Observer Radio about Chris Jericho's NJPW status:
"There would be a chance you would have Jericho if the situation was different. I suppose, you know, a shot at Omega. You know, there are ways to work it in. I know that, like when Harold Meij was there because of the cost, he was not hot on bringing Jericho back. Jericho, I believe, does not have a contract with New Japan any longer. I think that's expired, but with Harold gone, I know that there was renewed interest in Jericho. But it doesn't matter now because, you know, he couldn't go. So, but that's something for down the line. Maybe, Dominion next year, or something really big next year."
Wrestle Kingdom 15 will take place on the 4th and 5th of January, and as highlighted by Meltzer, it's too late to expect any AEW stars to work at the event.
While Chris Jericho might no longer be under an NJPW contract, he could work things out with the promotion in 2021 and return for a few big appearances.