Why did Chris Jericho leave WCW?
Chris Jericho is one of the greatest stars in the pro-wrestling industry, with him making his presence felt in various major promotions like WWE, WCW, NJPW and AEW. However, Jericho's career got a major boost when he debuted in WWE.
Chris Jericho was a significant star in WCW before he debuted in WWE. In 1999, he left WCW and according to various interviews, Jericho left the promotion because he wanted to work for Vince McMahon.
Jericho was asked why he left WCW when he appeared on Broken Skull Sessions. Steve Austin asked this question and Y2J replied by saying:
"Prompted by the fact I wanted to work for Vince [McMahon]. Oh, yeah [wanted to work with McMahon]. Always. Always having this plan in mind - keep in mind, I grew up in Winnipeg. We didn't have WCW there, we didn't really have NWA. I wanted to be the WWE Intercontinental Champion. I wanted to work for Vince McMahon. I wanted to work in Madison Square Garden, where my father played hockey and I remember watching him as a little kid. Unfortunately, WWE wasn't calling me at the time but WCW did. And I thought, 'If I could go there, maybe I'll become a big star and they'll take me.'", said Jericho.
This answer points out that Jericho didn't have any other major problems with WCW. He just wanted to work for a bigger company.
In another interview, former WCW President Eric Bischoff was asked if he tried to stop Chris Jericho from leaving WCW.
“I tried really hard to keep Jericho. I offered Chris a lot of money; I did everything I could to keep Chris, but Chris was determined to leave WCW because he really only used WCW as a stepping stone to get to WWE, and once he used it as a stepping stone to come to WWE, there wasn’t anything I could have done realistically, I don’t think I could have kept Chris Jericho in WCW.", Bischoff said.
It can be said that history repeated itself when Chris Jericho left WWE in 2018 without having much problems with the company. Y2J is currently wrestling for AEW, where he is a former World Champion.
A brief history of Chris Jericho's WCW Career
Jericho made his first appearance in WCW on the August 26, 1996 episode of Monday Nitro. After a rivalry with Chris Benoit, Jericho became the new WCW Cruiserweight Champion by defeating Synxx. He won the title once more when he defeated Alex Wright.
Jericho had feuds with Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio Jr., and won the World Television Championship as well, by defeating Stevie Ray in 1998. After his reign, Chris Jericho left WCW and joined WWE. Jericho also wrestled a few matches for NJPW in around 1997 under the ring-name 'Super Liger'.