If there's anything to be learned from Chris Jericho's foray into New Japan Pro Wrestling in recent months, it's that the future of the WWE Hall of Famer may come down to two specific things. 

First and foremost, Jericho is in love with the art of surprise. Secondly, his public comments are almost always a work, meant to create a smokescreen to block his next surprise. 

Jericho, whose part-time WWE contract expired in 2017, was somehow able to keep a complete surprise his stunning November reveal that he was challenging IWGP United States heavyweight champion Kenny Omega at Thursday's Wrestle Kingdom 12, which is NJPW's version of WrestleMania. Throughout the build to the match, a 35-minute classic won by Omega, the 47-year-old Jericho maintained it was merely a one-off, meant to prove he's the greatest wrestler of all time by challenging the man many believe to be the best in the world today. 

But as things stand just one day later, after Jericho was a major reason Wrestle Kingdom was able to attract 43,000 to the Tokyo Dome (NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 11 drew 26,000 in 2017), there's plenty of reason to believe Jericho isn't going anywhere. 

Early Friday morning, at NJPW's New Year Dash card (their equivalent to the Raw after WrestleMania show), Jericho made a huge splash by running in to attack Japanese star Tetsuya Naito from behind.

Naito, who heads up the Los Ingobernables de Japon faction, had lost in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom one day earlier to reigning IWGP heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada. But the idea of a spinoff Jericho-Naito feud wasn't necessarily a major surprise, outside of the fact that Jericho had only revealed he was signed on with NJPW through New Year Dash. 

The seeds for the feud had been planted months earlier when Naito, possibly the biggest star in his own country at the moment, was outspoken against NJPW, giving "dual main event" status to Jericho-Omega. His comments were perceived as likely more than just storyline when you consider Naito was infamously pulled from the main event in 2014 following a fan vote after NJPW was weary his star power could carry the show. 

Jericho took hold of the comments and ran with it on social media and various podcasts, leading some to question whether a feud between the two was being set in motion. 

A master of reinvention to the character of his legendary career, Jericho evolved into a maniacal heel in this most recent NJPW run, and he left fans buzzing following his brawl with Naito by throwing chairs into the ring and flipping over tables. 

Naito, who returned to NJPW in 2015 after a run in Mexico as a heel, armed with a no-care attitude, took a chair from a woman in the crowd and teased that he might throw it at Jericho in retaliation. Instead, Naito showcased his marketable "tranquillo" disposition by sitting on it and posing. 

The reason why the tease of Jericho continuing on with NJPW is so compelling is how it might affect his relationship with WWE chairman Vince McMahon moving forward.  While Jericho previously revealed McMahon was supportive and happy during a phone call after the deal for the Wrestle Kingdom match was signed, it's one thing to take his star power to Japan for one night but another to continue with a competitor on U.S. soil. And that's where things are about to get interesting. 

NJPW, which has a good relationship sharing talent with U.S. indie promotion Ring of Honor, is in the midst of a major North American expansion that could see it become a legitimate rival -- at least critically, although it's unlikely financially -- to WWE. Part of that expansion came last July when NJPW held its independently promoted card in the U.S. with the G1 Special in Long Beach, California. 

In March of 2018, NJPW has plans to return to the U.S. a second time, with an additional show teased for later in the year. NJPW announced Thursday that the spring show, dubbed Strong Style Evolved, will be March 25 at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach. 

With an online streaming network similar to WWE and a U.S. cable television platform on AXS TV, NJPW is slowly making progress. Should Jericho face Naito on U.S. soil and potentially return for future feuds, in which his name can be used to draw exposure for other NJPW stars, the landscape could slowly change. 

While it's difficult to tell what's next for the ever-surprising Jericho, it's important to remember how much he enjoys making a big splash. In fact, one day before he attacked Naito, he closed the Wrestle Kingdom post-match press conference by cursing out the Japanese media and fans, throwing a chair and announcing he would never return to the country. 

Anyone banking instead on a surprise Jericho return to WWE at Royal Rumble or WrestleMania must also remember he is funding a wrestling cruise in October which, after he reported WWE declined to make NXT stars available, will instead include top ROH talent and others who helped make up the Wrestle Kingdom card. 

This could very well be just the beginning of a fruitful run for Jericho in NJPW, or yet another masterful swerve from the great legend, just when it seems we are on to his next move.