Given the bombastic title of The Greatest Royal Rumble, WWE has made a Herculean effort to make the Saudi Arabian show live up to its name. And that now includes the addition of Chris Jericho.
WWE announced on Tuesday that the 9-time WWE Champion will make his return to the company at the April 27th mega show.
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RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA and STAMFORD, Conn. — Fifteen WWE Superstars, including Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, 2016 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner Baron Corbin, four-time Tag Team Champions The New Day, and three-time World Heavyweight Champion and 9-time Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho, have officially entered the first-ever 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Match, which will take place at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, April 27, at 7 p.m. AST.
Jericho hasn’t been around much since his WrestleMania 32 match with Kevin Owens. Jericho defeated Kevin Owens to win the United States Championship at the Payback pay-per-view in April 2017. Jericho would make a leap to the SmackDown Live roster, only to drop the title two nights later and be attacked by Owens after the match, giving him a kayfabe injury excuse to go back on tour with his rock band Fozzy.
Jericho then pivoted to a surprise return to New Japan Pro Wrestling that November, though he assured in interviews afterwards that the WWE was well aware of his jump to the Japanese wrestling promotion.
He went on to be in the co-main event of New Japan’s equivalent of WrestleMania, WrestleKingdom 12, and put on a five-star rated No Disqualification match against Kenny Omega.
The day after losing at WrestleKingdom, Jericho attacked one of New Japan’s biggest names in Tetsuya Naito, presumably setting up a match for those two down the line. However, Jericho hasn’t been at a New Japan event since, and he made a surprise cameo at the Raw 25 eventback on Jan. 22, where he put Elias on “The List” in a backstage segment.
The Greatest Royal Rumble’s card looks worthy of WrestleMania comparison. Here’s a short list of what’s already booked:
John Cena vs Triple H
Steel Cage Match for the WWE Universal Title
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Title
Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Seth Rollins
Match for the Vacant RAW Tag Team Titles
Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy or The Revival vs. The Bar
50-Man Royal Rumble Match
Chris Jericho, Elias, Kurt Angle, Baron Corbin, Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods, Apollo, Titus O’Neil, Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable, Sin Cara, Goldust, Mojo Rawley, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Big Show, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, TBA.
