WWE Rumors on Chris Jericho, Dragon Lee's Contract, Elimination Chamber 2026

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Jericho Reportedly Generating Interest from WWE, Other Companies

Chris Jericho is reportedly generating a ton of interest ahead of his potential foray into free agency.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), there are people in WWE who believe the company will offer Jericho "several million dollars annually" for him to return after spending the past six years in AEW.

However, the same sources told Fightful that AEW could possibly match any offer that WWE makes, plus they are unsure of what Jericho's "motivations" are.

In addition to WWE, Fightful reported that at least two other "national/global level" wrestling companies are interested in bringing Jericho in for appearances.

Joe Otterson of Variety reported in October 2022 that Jericho signed a three-year contract extension with AEW, naturally leading to speculation that his deal with AEW may be up this month.

Of course, it is possible that the extension started at a date later than October 2022 or that AEW could have added time to the contract since Jericho has been off AEW programming for the past six-plus months.

While Jericho's exact contractual status remains unclear, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestleTalk) recently reported that some people in AEW expect Jericho to return to WWE and be a surprise entrant in the men's Royal Rumble match in January.

It was also reported by WrestleVotes (h/t Carrier) that there is "a lot of enthusiasm" in WWE about Jericho possibly returning, and that a reunion is ""expected to be completed" when he becomes a free agent.

At 54 years of age, Jericho isn't the in-ring performer he once was, and there is no question that his past couple of years paled in comparison to what he did early on when he was the inaugural AEW world champion.

However, Jericho has a ton of history in WWE, and a loyal fanbase that would undoubtedly love to see him have one final run in the company.

Even if Jericho simply does a retirement tour before getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, it would give WWE the opportunity to come up with plenty of compelling programming focused on the legendary performer.

WWE Reportedly Wants to Re-Sign Dragon Lee

WWE is reportedly hoping to ensure Dragon Lee remains with the company moving forward after initially signing with WWE at the start of 2023.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE was impressed with Lee's performance in the AAA Mega Championship match against Dominik Mysterio at AAA Héroes Inmortales this past weekend, and it wants to sign him to a new deal before his contract expires in 2026.

WWE sources reportedly told PWInsider that they feel Lee has become a key part of weekly programming, and that they want to lock him into a new contract before he can field other offers.

Last week on Raw, Lee was rewarded with the first championship gold of his WWE main roster career, as he and AJ Styles beat The Judgment Day's Finn Balor and JD McDonagh for the World Tag Team Championships.

Lee previously held the North American Championship in NXT and the WWE Speed Championship when it was exclusive to the X social media platform.

Before signing with WWE, Lee was a top star in Mexico, holding titles in both CMLL and AAA. He is also a former IWGP junior heavyweight champion in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and a former television champion and tag team champion in ROH.

Despite being only 30 years of age, Lee has already accomplished a great deal in promotions across the world, but it sounds like WWE wants to ensure that he stays put for the foreseeable future.

Reported Plans for Elimination Chamber Weekend in Chicago

WWE is reportedly planning to take over Chicago in February with multiple events surrounding the Elimination Chamber premium live event.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), in addition to hosting Elimination Chamber in the Windy City on Feb. 28, 2026, WWE intends on doing SmackDown the night before in Chicago, and potentially some other shows as well, such as NXT or AAA.

PWInsider added that the date for Elimination Chamber 2026 isn't set in stone yet, meaning WWE could move it up or back a week in order to potentially go head-to-head with an AEW pay-per-view.

Meltzer (h/t Brandon Thurston and Jason Ounpraseuth of Wrestlenomics) first reported the planned date and location for Elimination Chamber 2026, although WWE has yet to publicly confirm it.

Elimination Chamber is typically the final WWE PLE before WrestleMania, and it seems like that will be the case once again in 2026.

The past four Elimination Chamber events were all held outside the United States with Canada hosting two of them, while Saudi Arabia and Australia hosted one each.

Elimination Chamber 2026 in Chicago would help set the stage for WrestleMania 42, which will emanate from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18 and 19.