Story highlights Jay Leno announced Wednesday that he's leaving 'Tonight'

Jimmy Fallon will replace him in spring 2014

Leno first left the show in 2009 but returned after his new show failed

The new "Tonight Show" will also return to New York

Outgoing "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno congratulated his replacement Jimmy Fallon at the start of his opening monologue on Wednesday night, while taking another swipe at the NBC executives that are showing him the door.

"I just have one request of Jimmy. We've all fought, kicked and scratched to get this network up to fifth place, okay? Now we have to keep it there." he deadpanned. "Jimmy don't let it slip into sixth. We're counting on you."

Leno will wrap up his 22-year run as host in spring 2014, with Jimmy Fallon officially signing on as his replacement

According to a statement from NBC, "As part of the transition, 'The Tonight Show' will be returning to its original home in 30 Rock in New York" from Leno's base of Los Angeles.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised the move, saying in a statement "on behalf of all New Yorkers" that he's "pleased to welcome 'The Tonight Show' back to its first home."

Photos: Photos: 'Tonight Show' hosts Photos: Photos: 'Tonight Show' hosts 'Tonight Show' hosts – Jimmy Fallon's takeover of "The Tonight Show" has been inevitable, show producer Lorne Michaels told GQ . "He's the closest to (Johnny) Carson that I've seen of this generation," Michaels said. Stephen Colbert joins him to take a selfie on his debut Monday night. Fallon is the latest in a six-decade line of "Tonight" hosts. Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: Photos: 'Tonight Show' hosts 'Tonight Show' hosts – Johnny Carson's 30 years as a host of "The Tonight Show" made him a talk show icon. Carson, who hosted from 1962 to 1992, set the standard for late night show formats and style. Here, Carson speaks to a guest in 1964. Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: Photos: 'Tonight Show' hosts 'Tonight Show' hosts – Comedian and songwriter Steve Allen was the show's first host, from 1954 to 1957. His prolific career earned him two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Here, Allen poses for a promotional portrait in 1955. Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: Photos: 'Tonight Show' hosts 'Tonight Show' hosts – Jack Paar's unpredictable and dramatic presence drew more than 7 million viewers every night between 1957 and 1962. The show was renamed "The Jack Paar Show" while he was host. Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: Photos: 'Tonight Show' hosts 'Tonight Show' hosts – Jay Leno starred in "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" from 1992 to 2009 and then moved to his own prime-time show, "The Jay Leno Show," on NBC. After a public controversy over scheduling changes while Conan O'Brien hosted the show in 2009, Leno returned to host "The Tonight Show" in 2010. Here, Leno jokes with Jerry Seinfeld in 1998. Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: Photos: 'Tonight Show' hosts 'Tonight Show' hosts – Conan O'Brien hosted the show for seven months and left after NBC announced that it would be moving his show to after midnight and Leno's prime-time show to "The Tonight Show's" time slot. Here, O'Brien on his final show on January 22, 2010. Hide Caption 6 of 8 Photos: Photos: 'Tonight Show' hosts 'Tonight Show' hosts – Leno returned in March 2010. Here, Leno chats with President Barack Obama in October 2012. Hide Caption 7 of 8 Photos: Photos: 'Tonight Show' hosts 'Tonight Show' hosts – Leno hosted "The Tonight Show" for 22 years -- minus seven months in 2009-10 when Conan O'Brien had the chair. He had his final episode on February 6. Hide Caption 8 of 8

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When it began in 1954, the "original 'Tonight Show' ushered in the modern era of television," Cuomo continued. "It is only fitting that as 'The Tonight Show' returns to our state, it will be headlined by New York's own native son and resident, Jimmy Fallon."

The expectation that Leno would leave NBC's legendary late-night program has been building recently, and Fallon's appointment isn't surprising in the least. He's had a swift rise to "Tonight's" chair, having hosted "Late Night" for just four years, but Fallon's transition was treated as such a near certainty that both hosts worked the headlines into their nightly routines.

While Fallon initially downplayed the rumors, Leno went after his employer on a regular basis. He's compared NBC executives to snakes, joked about the network's sagging ratings and kidded that the rumored late-night shuffle was like NBC's version of March Madness.

Just two days before the big announcement, Fallon and Leno again made light of the reports with a parody of the song "Tonight" from the musical "West Side Story."

With Leno's contract set to expire in fall 2014, industry observers said the move was only a matter of time.

Leno first exited "Tonight" in 2009 after 17 years as host, passing the torch to Conan O'Brien, who was then the host of "Late Night."

Leno was moved to prime time with his own program, "The Jay Leno Show," in the fall of 2009. But when that brought dismal ratings, NBC decided to put Leno back in charge of "Tonight" at the start of 2010, leaving O'Brien without a job.

The flame-haired comedian eventually moved to TBS to host his own show, "Conan," in the 11 p.m. hour, but the entire scenario generated ill will toward Leno and NBC. (TBS shares a parent company with CNN.)

Yet as the years went on, Leno has proved to be resilient. As NBC's prime-time ratings suffered, Leno's "Tonight Show" was still able to rise above the rest in its time slot. At the end of March, "The Tonight Show" hit a seven-week high in total viewers, with 3.52 million watching.

However, NBC was said to be concerned about losing younger viewers to ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, whose "Jimmy Kimmel Live" was moved up to compete with Leno and David Letterman's "Late Show" at the beginning of 2013.

"The more time Jimmy Kimmel is in that slot, the more the young audience goes that way, the harder it is for (Fallon) to keep that audience," one source familiar with the network's thought process told The Hollywood Reporter in March.

At 62 years old, Leno represents a more traditional form of hosting, as he's known for his "Las Vegas-style comedy," said the New York Times. Fallon, 38, regularly incorporates the Web and social media into his act, offering "a more contemporary and varied brand of entertainment," the Times said.

This changing of the guard is one of the most closely watched exercises in pop culture, especially as it takes place at one of TV's mainstay productions. Even with its decline in ratings over the years, it remains a solid profit center for NBC, making between $25 million and $40 million for the network, according to The New York Times.

Although it's been on the air for almost 60 years, "The Tonight Show" has had just a handful of regular hosts: Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Leno and O'Brien.

"The Tonight Show" isn't what it was during the long tenure of Carson, who hosted the show from 1962 until 1992. In those three-network times, Carson dominated late-night TV like nobody before or since. He dominated the ratings and routinely sat down challengers like so many duck targets at a carnival shooting gallery. Joey Bishop, Dick Cavett, Joan Rivers, Pat Sajak -- they all tried to dethrone the king, and they all came up short.

Carson sat behind "Tonight's" desk for 30 years before passing the torch to Leno, and "Johnny" is still the model against whom all are measured.

Interestingly enough, "Late Night" producer Lorne Michaels, who's now executive producer of "The Tonight Show," has called Fallon "the closest thing" this generation has to Carson. It appears it's now time for Fallon to show and prove.