Despite heavy online speculation, Chris Jericho did not appear on the first WWE Raw show of the New Year of 2026 on Monday night in “The Empire State.”
According to one source, Jericho was never scheduled for the show and is currently in Los Angeles, California this week for unrelated reasons.
Much of the buzz stemmed from a recent social media video featuring WWE Raw General Manager Adam Pearce, in which he made a remark about “breaking walls down.”
Some fans immediately linked the line to Jericho, especially with rumors already circulating ahead of Raw.
However, with this week’s episode themed around Stranger Things, dubbed WWE Raw: Stranger Things Night, the line was widely understood backstage as a nod to the series’ iconic wall and the Upside Down, references to the enormously popular Netflix original series.
It was not, in fact, tied to a surprise appearance, but instead the line was simply a clever tie-in to the crossover branding.
Whether the double-meaning you could draw from it, with the Stranger Things tie-in being one thing, but the obvious assumption fans would make to Chris Jericho due to the strong existing rumors before Adam Pearce’s video, was done on purpose, is unclear.
Still, the wording did its job.
Adam Pearce’s comment generated plenty of chatter heading into the show, even if expectations quickly drifted beyond the original intent.
As we noted heading into the WWE Raw on Netflix 1-Year Anniversary show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this past Monday night, there had been no internal expectation within WWE that Chris Jericho would be present for Raw, and that stance never changed.
Despite the speculation gaining traction online, nothing materialized.
Because nothing was ever planned.
For those who missed this week’s show, fear not, as you can check out our complete WWE Raw Results 1/5/26 here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.
After the show, we also published a backstage update on rumors of Chris Jericho jumping-ship from AEW to WWE despite not appearing on Raw.
We will keep you posted here at WrestlingHeadlines.com as updates regarding Chris Jericho’s status and potential WWE return continue to surface.
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(H/T: PWInsider.com)
