It has been almost three months since Chris Jericho has appeared on All Elite Wrestling television. Jericho lost the Ring of Honor World Championship at AEW’s ‘Dynasty’ pay-per-view on April 6 to Bandido. Shortly after, “The Ocho” told his Learning Tree pupils (Big Bill and Bryan Keith) that he was going to take some time off while they got their act together. In reality, Jericho was leaving to go on tour with his hard rock/heavy metal band Fozzy. Now that Fozzy’s most recent tour has ended, and new dates aren’t scheduled until February of 2026, Jericho is just sitting and waiting for AEW to work him back in.

How Should AEW Creative Handle Jericho’s Return?

Jericho has a tendency to disappear for a couple of months and come back with a new gimmick or faction. He is the master of re-inventing himself. Think of all his different incarnations over the years: Lionheart, Y2J, the Painmaker, The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla, Le Champion, the Ocho, the Learning Tree…the list goes on and on. His list of props goes on and on as well–the flash paper fireballs, “The List of Jericho,” his bat named Floyd, his champagne named “A Little Bit of the Bubbly,” etc. Jericho is also known for forming new stables like the Inner Circle, the Jericho Appreciation Society, and now the Learning Tree.

So, after three months, does Jericho have something new planned again? Sadly, it is very possible that this time he won’t. Jericho left a lot of loose ends when he went on tour. Besides losing to Bandido and being disappointed in the progress of his Learning Tree, Jericho had a feud on hold with Samoa Joe and The Opps. When Joe left AEW television to film Season Two of the Peacock series Twisted Metal, AEW wrote him off by having Jericho load him on the front of a forklift and drive him through a wall. The Learning Tree had also attacked other members of Joe’s faction. The angry Samoan is not known for his forgiving nature.

It would appear that the Learning Tree and The Opps (Joe, Hook, Katsuyori Shibata, and Powerhouse Hobbs) have a date with destiny when Tony Khan puts Jericho back on television again. Will Jericho come back and take one more crack at Bandido for the ROH title first, while The Opps wrap up their feud with Jon Moxley and the Death Riders? Will he scrap the disappointing Learning Tree altogether?

There are other options for Khan. Jericho could make his return in the Casino Gauntlet match at the ‘All In’ pay-per-view on July 12. He has not forgotten that after he became AEW’s inaugural World Champion, it was Jon Moxley who ended his reign. The Casino Gauntlet’s prize of a shot at the AEW World Championship could be very enticing considering Moxley is the one currently holding the belt again. A re-pairing with Kenny Omega against the Don Callis Family could also work, at least in the short term. Jericho has a history with both Callis and his newest family member, Kazuchika Okada.

Khan could also revisit Jericho’s on-again, off-again tag team with Sammy Guevara (Le Sex Gods). Guevara is currently one-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions, the Sons of Texas, with Dustin Rhodes. If the Sons lose those titles, it would be easy to see Khan use Jericho to drive a wedge between the two men. This would also allow Jericho to pull Guevara, a member of all of the Ocho’s former factions, back into AEW, and possibly, the Learning Tree.

End Of My Chris Jericho AEW Return Rant

As much as I would like to see Chris Jericho return to something new, I think AEW is stuck finishing off some old storylines first. That means, as stale and annoying as the Learning Tree is, we will most likely be subjected to it for at least a little while longer. Khan and Jericho may give it a bit of a makeover, though. I could see them pulling in Guevara or maybe even Hook as new members.

Rhodes is still a member of the ROH World Six-Man Tag Champions with Marshall and Ross Von Erich. A split with Guevara would not take him completely out of the limelight. Besides, Rhodes is 56 years old and doesn’t need to be holding two titles at this stage of his career. Hook seemed a bit disillusioned that Joe and The Opps moved on without him. I could see him defecting to a new mentor, and who better than Jericho? After all, it was Jericho’s Learning Tree that wiped out The Opps months ago. Who better to help him do it again?

Alas, whether it is three members, four, or five, the Learning Tree seems stuck going up against The Opps sooner rather than later. It will probably make for a good feud, but neither team seems to have much on the horizon. Khan has a lot of talent wrapped up in these two factions, but not a whole lot for them to do besides battle each other. That being the case, it should be Jericho’s Learning Tree that takes the AEW Trios Championships from The Opps with Hook’s help. Hook turning heel against his former friends might keep the feud between these two groups going long enough for Khan to figure out what to do with them next.

Ultimately, though, I think it is time for the Learning Tree to evolve into whatever Jericho has planned next. The faction never really gained traction. Too much revolved around Jericho hogging valuable television time just to say that he was doing just that, and no one wants to keep hearing him yell “Hi, guys!” It is time for Jericho’s next big re-invention, gimmick, or faction.

Whatever form that takes, the 54-year-old should bring at least Big Bill, Hook, and Guevara along for the ride. Hook and Guevara give the group the young talent, and Bill fills the obligatory ‘big man’ role. Jericho only has so much time left in pro wrestling. He can’t waste his final years on the Learning Tree. Whatever Jericho’s ‘end game’ is (and that would make a good faction name), it is time to put it into effect in the coming months. After all, his current AEW contract is slated to expire in December.