Chris Jericho On Vince McMahon's Reaction To "Stupid Idiot" Catchphrase, Who Came Up With The List

Rock 100.5 ATL's Bailey and Southside recently welcomed WWE Superstar Chris Jericho to the show. Among many other things, Jericho talked about a couple of hallmarks from his latest WWE run, namely The List and his 'stupid idiot' catchphrase.

When asked how he got the idea for The List, Jericho said it was WWE writer Jimmy Jacobs' idea. 'The Man Of 1,004 Holds' said The List is more over than 85% of the locker room, including himself.  

"Working with this guys who's a writer in the WWE named Jimmy Jacobs. He used to be a [pro] wrestler. He came up to me one day and said, 'what if we do something where you put somebody on this list?' I'm like, 'I knew this guy once who had a list of people he didn't like.' I'm like, 'oh, that sounds funny.' So I said it and it kind of got a reaction." Jericho said, "the whole concept of The List went through the roof. The List is more popular than 85% of the guys on the show. The List is more popular than I am! And you just never know what's going to make an impression with fans."

Although Jericho has been screeching out the phrase 'stupid idiot' for years, the comically redundant term only seemed to really catch on during the tail-end of the greatest Intercontinental Champion's most recent WWE stint. According to Jericho, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon said that only Jericho could get "stupid idiot" over.  

"They're chanting it now, 'stupid idiot' and I remember when I started saying that, Vince was like, 'nobody could say this, nobody can get away with this, but you can. You're the only guy in the world who could do this' because when I started using 'stupid idiot,' it got heat. I would call the fans, 'you're a stupid idiots' and they'd be like, 'boo!' and then, like everything else, suddenly people loved it."

Click here to check out the show. If you use any of the quotes that appear in this article, please credit Bailey And Southside with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Source: Bailey And Southside