Chris Jericho celebrates 35th anniversary of debut: ‘It ain’t over yet!’
On Thursday, Chris Jericho took a moment to celebrate the 35th anniversary of his pro wrestling debut.
Jericho had his first wrestling match in Ponoka, Alberta, Canada on this date in 1990. It was a 10-minute draw against Lance Storm — and Jericho writes that he still remembers every single detail of the bout to this day.
“Crazy to think it’s been 35 years to the day of my VERY FIRST MATCH! On Oct 2, 1990 I faced [Lance Storm in Ponoka, Alberta at the #PonokaMooseHall, in front of about 85 people,” Jericho posted on Instagram. “The match ended in a ten minute draw and I remember every little thing as if it happened only yesterday! (I got paid 30 dollars….a 20 & a 10!). I have had a wonderful, amazing, one in a million career since then…. and I wanna thank all of YOU from around the entire world for joining me for certain parts …or even all of it! And the Good news is….IT AIN’T OVER YET!”
Jericho’s time in the industry has taken him from Canada to stardom in the United States, Mexico, Japan, and beyond. The journey continues, but Jericho’s next step remains unknown. With his AEW contract coming up at the end of the year, there are rumors Jericho could return to WWE in early 2026.
Last month, Jericho addressed those rumors while speaking with the Daily Mail.
“The best thing that can happen in wrestling is AEW. And the fact that there’s two huge promotions that you can choose from just makes it better for the guys, it makes it better for the fans, and everybody in between,” he said. “So I’m not going anywhere for a while, I’m still with AEW for right now. Would I go back to WWE? I wouldn’t be opposed to it. We just have to see what happens. But the best thing that can happen is that you have two great teams that you can play for, and that just makes everything bigger and more exciting.”
Jericho has been off AEW programming since April of this year, when he decided to take a break amid negative crowd reactions he was receiving. He’s been with AEW since the promotion launched and has not competed for WWE since 2018.
Tony Khan has stated that he would like to have Jericho back in AEW and is hopeful that it will happen.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.