January 8 saw the WWE host SmackDown Live, like any other Tuesday evening, in Jacksonville, Florida, their first live episode of 2019.But just around the corner from the arena that same day they were performing at came even bigger happenings - All Elite Wrestling were revealing that Chris Jericho was their marquee capture for the start-up promotion.Everyone knows Jericho is a WWE legend, his resume is second-to-none - six world championships and a nine-time Intercontinental Champion amongst other accolades.So it will have been seen as a bit of a shock to fans considering he stated last year that he would never work for another American promotion out of respect for Vince McMahon.He's seemingly gone back on his word now though, with the AEW deal being an exclusive one to the States, but he is able to still work in New Japan Pro Wrestling should he wish, the company where he just dropped their IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Tetsuya Naito.They must have moved pretty quickly to wrap the deal up as well because according to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Y2J had been in talks with WWE for weeks about returning.WWE have now made their move on what to do with Jericho next - and it seems pretty drastic considering he one day may return to the company.An eagle-eyed fan discovered that WWE had removed Y2J from their opening 'Then, Now, Forever' montage, the one he was in as of last Tuesday's SmackDown taping.

Seems very petty, doesn't it?

They've also moved Jericho to the Alumni section of their official website, which does make sense considering it doesn't seem like he will be back for a while.

Jericho always stated that McMahon was happy that he was seeking new challenges outside of WWE in Japan and with his 'Rock 'n' Wrestling' cruise, but maybe signing for a rival promotion on Vince's territory is just a step too far for the CEO of WWE.