Chris Jericho has had many iterations of his character during his stay in professional wrestling, reinventing himself perhaps more successfully than anyone in wrestling history. His strong connection to the has allowed him to get anything and everything over with the fans, including scarves, bubbly, and a list of holds. Speaking of lists, The List of Jericho was something wildly popular with the fans and ended up producing one of the most memorable segments of all time in WWE.
Chris Jericho's 2016 Run Was Meant To Be Short, But List Kept Him Around
When Y2J returned to the WWE in 2016, it wasn’t intended to be a long stay. Like other stints at the time, Jericho was simply coming and going to mix it up with new stars and help people out. He initially came back as a corny face before quickly transitioning into a heel.
He has always thrived in a heel role, but this time it was different to the narcissistic, suit-wearing, ‘best in the world at what I do’ gimmick. He now donned silly scarves, would get irritated quickly, and was unbelievably childish with his insults, but with a swift comedic timing that hit home run after home run, despite being a bad guy.
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Jericho entered a partnership with Kevin Owens. Their chemistry was through the roof, being able bounce off each other with ease, matching like a dream. When Owens won the Universal Championship, Jericho was the perfect partner to make his reign mean more.
On the September 19th, 2016 edition of Raw, Jericho debuted and christened The List of Jericho, a clipboard and paper with a list of grievances against then general manager, Mick Foley. One thing to keep in mind is that one of the additions to the initial list was that Mick Foley was ‘trying to drive a wedge’ between him and Owens, something ‘which will never happen’. The segment was a huge success, with Jericho interacting with fans and other talent, putting them ‘on the list’. People wanted to see more.
Chris Jericho's List Was Over With Fans
And more they got. Jericho brought the List back each week and it gained an unreal amount of traction. Every time Jericho was on screen, fans eagerly awaited and were desperate for him to say, ‘You know what happens?’ followed by a click of a pen and a ‘You just made the list!’ It was ridiculous, but that sometimes thrives in WWE. Anyone and anything made the list, including AJ Styles’ haircut and Santa Claus.
The List, the gimmick and the team with Owens gave Jericho so much enjoyment that he stuck around longer than expected, remaining a full-time talent for the first time in years. This, coupled with WWE uncharacteristically refraining on pulling the trigger on a breakup, gave us a long-term partnership and story that ended up being one of the best stories in WWE.
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It got to the point though, that despite Owens being the world champion of the brand, the fans were more into Jericho, and he gradually morphed into a face. This would be the genesis of the end.
The List Was Key To The Festival Of Friendship
Dissension had been brewing, especially after Jericho had accepted a challenge from Goldberg on behalf of KO. Jericho put on a ‘Festival of Friendship’ on Raw, in a segment that would ultimately become a masterpiece. The segment was littered with tension, comedy, dancers, gifts, returns, nostalgia, callbacks, and bits that added elements to the storyline, and it all worked perfectly.
What capped the segment off though, was the turn from Owens. It was masterfully done via visual storytelling, which isn’t seen too often in WWE, and it was all done using the list. KO, after receiving all his gifts, said he was gifting Jericho a brand-new list. Jericho was, of course, over the moon and began to look at it. He noticed that his name was written on it, and then held it up to reveal the back of the list, which said ‘List of KO’.
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Throughout the year, anything that was added to Jericho’s list was bad, something he didn’t like, something which was awful. The crowd in attendance and fans at home knew what this meant, and it was followed up by Owens turning on Jericho and viciously attacking him.
The cries of horror from the crowd, the beat down of Jericho, the destruction of the set which was especially for their friendship, were all marvelous visuals and sounds, which added to the segment and made it a stunning piece of TV, perhaps the best put together segment in recent memory. Since not many stories have captivated fans like the Jericho-Owens tale, and even less have had a segment quite like that. And it was all down to a random object which Jericho turned to gold.
