Jimmy Jacobs Says List Of Jericho Idea Stemmed From Steve Corino’s Real Life Shit List

In 2016, Chris Jericho began putting people on “The List of Jericho” for any and every minor annoyance he found with the person, place, or thing. 

The idea started because Jericho felt he was being treated poorly by General Manager Mick Foley. Jimmy Jacobs was the writer who was behind the idea, and Jericho brought it to life on television. 

Speaking on McGuire on Wrestling, Jacobs discussed the origins of The List. 

“We were in Memphis and Jericho was going to come out and air his grievances against Mick Foley. I thought, ‘He should have a list of grievances, like a physical list.’ I thought about, in real life, Steve Corino has the Corino Shit List. The people who, in his life and in his career, they make his list and they are dead to him. I thought, ‘What if Jericho has the same sort of thing, except he’s super petty and puts all sorts of people on it for all different reasons.’ Once I came up with that, I knew it was a good idea because I started having more ideas on top of it. That’s when you know you have a good idea, when you’re in a creative room and someone pitches something and a bunch of people start piling on, you know you have something with some legs. I came up with what I thought was good, I pitched it to Chris, and he was like, ‘So, you’re talking about doing this for more than just tonight?’ ‘Yeah, this could be your thing. You’ve been doing the gift of Jericho, drinking it in. This can be like the List of Jericho.’ He got it right away and added on to it and added the big clipboard and the way he would deliver the click of the pen. He really brought it to life. It was a fun time getting a thing that hit the bullseye. For a while, that would get the biggest reactions on Raw, when Chris Jericho would put your name on the list. That’s what you build to,” said Jacobs. 

When asked when he knew The List was something special, Jacobs said that moment came at house shows. 

“For me, it was when Chris had to turn babyface, because he had to turn babyface, and they would end the house shows with him putting the city on the list. That, to me, was ‘we made it.’ You always send the people home with the biggest pop. It’s not enough to get the one, two, three. After the match, you cut the promo, ‘You know what happens Phoenix? You know what happens when you’re a great crowd? You just made the list.’ That was a big deal for me,” he stated.

The List of Jericho would effectively end during the Festival of Friendship when Kevin Owens turned on Jericho. 

Jacobs currently works backstage at IMPACT Wrestling while Jericho is signed to AEW. He has paid homage to The List during his time in AEW. 

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.