Braun Strowman Injury Update, Chris Jericho's Status and More in WWE Roundup

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

Braun Strowman Not Cleared to Wrestle Despite Raw Appearance

Braun Strowman returned to WWE Raw on Monday night to begin hyping his WWE Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. Although both Superstars were at the show and had a brief interaction, they didn't get physical.

Wrestling Observer Radio (via Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co) reported that's because The Monster Among Men hasn't received clearance to compete after undergoing elbow surgery in late November.

Strowman has less than three weeks before the Royal Rumble, which takes place Jan. 27 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The fact WWE has continued to push forward with its plans for the match this late in the process suggests the company isn't concerned about his availability for the first pay-per-view of the year.

Don't be surprised to see a title change at the Rumble with Lesnar's extremely limited schedule one of the various issues plaguing Raw, which have led to record-low TV ratings for the modern era.

Chris Jericho, New Japan Pro-Wrestling Showing Mutual Interest

Chris Jericho is a wrestling free agent after completing his contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling following a loss to Tetsuya Naito in an IWGP Intercontinental Championship defense at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo on Friday.

Akhilesh Gannavarapu of Wrestling Inc. provided the latest update on Jericho's status from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio:

"Meltzer revealed that while Jericho's contract with NJPW expired at Wrestle Kingdom 13, NJPW really wants to keep him. He noted that Jericho wants to stay with NJPW as well. Dave further said that New Japan wants to book a match between Jericho and [Hiroshi] Tanahashi in 2019, and with Jericho wanting to stay with the promotion, it is just a matter of both parties agreeing to a new deal."

Jericho, who's circled back to WWE several times in recent years after emerging as one of its biggest stars during the Attitude Era, has also been speculated as a potential signing of the new All Elite Wrestling.

Along with wrestling, the 48-year-old New York native is also lead singer in the heavy metal band Fozzy, which limits his in-ring availability.

Matt Hardy Hints at Possible WWE Return

Matt Hardy last appeared with WWE in August before taking time off because of a back and pelvis injury.

He made a post Monday night on Twitter suggesting a return could be on the horizon:

Although Hardy didn't provide any further details or reveal his contract situation with WWE, there are a couple chances for him to make an impact in the coming months.

The Royal Rumble always features several surprise entrants, and the night after WrestleMania in April also brings the fresh slate necessary for debuts and returns.

Perhaps Hardy, who struck gold with his Broken gimmick in TNA before coming back to WWE in 2017, will be among those returnees.