Hulk Hogan makes major claim about Chris Jericho's current AEW run - "He's a good friend of mine"

At 53 years old, Chris Jericho is still finding ways to remain relevant in the wrestling industry. WWE legend Hulk Hogan, while not active in the business at this time, has claimed that he still keeps up with several top stars and speaks to them occasionally.

Hogan and Jericho don't seem to have all that much in common, but they've crossed paths several times over the years. The two stars were on WCW's roster during the most tumultuous stage of the Monday Night Wars, and they linked up again when Hogan rejoined WWE following its acquisition of WCW.

Jericho has been a heel throughout a large chunk of his run in AEW. His initial persona seemed to be a throwback to his WCW days, but Hulk Hogan recently claimed that The Learning Tree confided he was portraying "Hollywood Hogan '96." Speaking on the Barstool Rasslin' podcast, The Hulkster said:

"Yeah. I'll hit Cody [Rhodes] up, or we'll talk, you know. He wears that weightlifting belt and stuff like that. I talk to a lot of the guys like Chris Jericho. He's a good friend of mine. He goes, 'Well, I'm just doing Hollywood Hogan '96.' I said, 'You're doing a good job, brother.' So I talk to a lot of the young guys. They're still running around." [h/t Fightful]

---

Bully Ray believes Chris Jericho will end his career in WWE

Chris Jericho has been with AEW since its founding, and he's waved the banner for the young promotion over the last five years. However, it's clear that The Ocho has a WWE Hall of Fame induction waiting for him if or when he chooses to return.

WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray thinks Jericho will finish his career in the Stamford-based promotion. On a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Bully touted Jericho's intelligence:

"Chris Jericho will finish his career in the WWE, end of story, and be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and then pull an Axl Rose and no-show his Hall of Fame induction. Chris is very smart, Chris is a master chess player. You don't think that the WWE sees the value of Chris Jericho's last run in the WWE? It's a no-brainer."

Jericho has rarely taken time off from AEW television, and his latest run presents a new side of the wrestling legend. Whether he returns to WWE when all is said and done remains to be seen.