From the WWE rumor mill: Chris Jericho will miss WrestleMania in addition to the Royal Rumble
What's the story?
Sportskeeda previously reported that Chris Jericho will not be at the Royal Rumble this year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as he will be on a European tour with his band Fozzy. A spring tour was just announced by Fozzy; which proves that he will miss WrestleMania as well. Take a look at the tweet from the band below:
In case you didn't know...
Jericho founded Fozzy in 1999 and the band primary was a cover band before starting to write their own material. Jericho describes Fozzy as "if Metallica and Journey had a bastard child, it would be Fozzy."
The heart of the matter...
Jericho last appeared in the WWE on the July 25th edition of SmackDown live in a surprise return. He would compete against Kevin Owens and AJ Styles for the WWE United States Championship in a Triple Threat Match, but would leave without the title as Styles earned the victory.
Since then, Jericho is busy with the promotion of Fozzy's seventh studio album, Judas; which released on October 13th, peaking at #147 on the Billboard 200 charts. The spring tour will take place entirely in the United States starting New Orleans, Louisiana and ending in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.
The interesting thing about the tour schedule is the final date of the tour in New Hampshire is the night of WrestleMania, April 8th. This could signify the return of Jericho (drink it in maaaaan) at either the Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live after WrestleMania in New Orleans.
What's next?
Next up for Jericho in the professional wrestling world will be Wrestle Kingdom 12 on January 4th live from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Jericho will take on the IWPG United States Champion Kenny Omega, and the title will be on the line.
Author's take...
I do miss Jericho from my WWE television, but Fozzy is a huge part of his life, so I definitely understand the need to promote an album that they just released. As I mentioned in the heart of the matter, I fully expect a big return after WrestleMania.
Mainly because there is a lot of unfinished business left for Jericho to attend to, including hopefully becoming the first ever 10-time WWE Intercontinental Champion.