We've known for quite some time but that doesn't make it any less hard to accept.

On last night's (Aug. 20, 2012) episode of Monday Night Raw, Chris Jericho was booked to take on Dolph Ziggler in a rematch of their SummerSlam showdown that saw "Y2J" pick up a clean submission victory.

This time, though, the stakes were raised.

Raw General Manager AJ Lee decided to make it a contract match. If Jericho lost, his WWE contract would be torn up. If Ziggler lost, he would have to hand his Money in the Bank contract over to Jericho. Later on in the evening, they had a match and Ziggler won clean.

This was all a set up, of course, to write Jericho off television. The Fozzy frontman will be going on tour with his band and taking another extended break from pro wrestling to do so. After last night's match, he could be seen in the ring telling fans "I'm going to miss you guys." On his Twitter, he continued that message while assuring fans he'll be back again.

"Thanks to all of my Jerichoholics for an amazing 9 months! I have the BEST fans and I promise u haven't seen the last of Y2J! See u on tour."

It's too bad Jericho will be leaving, really, considering he's been nothing but the consummate professional since his return back in January. He stepped aside for Sheamus to win the Royal Rumble, put CM Punk over at WrestleMania 28, never caused any issues in the back, and gave Dolph Ziggler the rub on his way out.

Being a part-timer, that's exactly how it should be.

Interestingly enough, a few folks on Twitter have pointed out that Jericho was beaten and leaves WWE on episode number 1,004 of Monday Night Raw, as fitting as could be. So this one's for you, "Y2J," at least until you come back.

ARMBAR.