Chris Jericho

Wrestling star Chris Jericho went from body slamming to ballroom dancing on season 12 of DWTS! 

Chris joins Cheryl to re-visit their time on the dancefloor, including how DWTS is similar to WWE, conspiracy theories, the dance he felt should have been rated way higher than it was, his thoughts on the judges, why he was discouraged at one point, and what it was really like having Cheryl as his partner! 

Plus, Chris shares his journey to wrestling stardom, how wrestling is all about psychology, not size, which wrestler he gave Cheryl's cell to, and, of course, rapid-fire Q&A! 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is sex Lies and Spray Tans with me Cheryl
Burke and iHeartRadio Podcast. Welcome back to sex Lizes and
Spray Tans. Today we're joined by my next guest, who's
a world renowned professional wrestler, musician, fellow podcaster, best selling author,
and entertainer. From his legendary status in the wrestling ring
to his dynamic performances on stage and screen, he has

(00:23):
captivated audiences worldwide. Please welcome my eleventh my Lucky Number
celebrity partner I dance with on Dancing with the Stars,
my friend Chris Jericho. Before we get into it, who
is Chris Jericho? Behind the wrestling ring and glitter?

Speaker 2 (00:40):
What you see is what you get, Like the best
type of wrestling characters. Persona are your real life personas
turned up to eleven, so to speak. And that's kind
of who I am, you know what I mean. Like
like obviously Chris Jericho on screen, it's almost like it's
almost like like Seinfeld, Like Jerry Seinfeld plays Jerry Seinfeld

(01:04):
on the Show of Seinfeld, but it's not the same guy.
There's elements that are the same, but the rest is
kind of over exaggerated. And that's kind of with Jericho
is like, you know, on screen and comparison to off screen,
I'm still pretty energetic and excited and you know, personable
and that sort of a thing. But in restling it's

(01:26):
more over the top, you know. So that's kind of
the opening salvo to answer that question. I mean, we
can go super deep with it, but I mean that's
kind of the best way to describe it at the beginning.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Is it kind of like when we ballroom dance, Like
everything has to be exaggerated, like from posture to like
our fingers and everything. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
That's why I think I did you know fairly well
on that show, is because I understood the concept of
the live element to it and the bringing the bombastic
being big with your actions, and you know, because you're
translating not just to whatever the two thousand people in
the studio or whatever it was, but also to the
millions of people at home. And that's the same with wrestling.

(02:09):
I mean, you could be wrestling in front of five
thousand people and that's great, but you really are wrestling
to the million people behind the camera. And I think
a lot of people that came onto that show and
you would know better than I would maybe actors and
that sort of a thing probably weren't as used to
the live element as the athletes and musicians and comedians
and that sort of thing. As we make our living

(02:29):
in front of a crowd, whereas you know, an actor
makes us living in front of a camera where you
take two and take ten and take twelve. And I
just think that show is much more beneficial for people
to understand the live entertainment element of it.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Were you raised by an outgoing family, like I know
your dad was part of the NHL, right, Yeah, So
how was that? How did that translate into you know,
your career today?

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah, I mean, you know, hockey's different because it's more
of a team sport and there's not much about not
as much about the individual characters so much. But but
but my family's very you know, outgoing and and jokey
and you know, great senses of humor, and you know,
I was very much raised in a creative element to

(03:20):
where I was always you know, doing movies on my own.
When when VHS camcorders became a thing, and you know,
I remember there's like cassette tapes of me being on
the spot reporter radiocaster, when I was probably about eight
or nine, so I was always kind of in that thing.
I remember I did like a school play when I

(03:40):
was in grade five, which would be about eleven years old,
that I wrote and directed and and I'm not sure
if I started it or not. I probably did, but
you know, so I was always kind of really creative
and really into that side of things, very much. Always
into into music too, very music based household, which of
course makes sense as well. So I remember early on

(04:02):
like being maybe you know, nine years old, eight or
nine years old, super into dungeons and dragons, and super
into the Beatles, like I knew everything about the Beatles,
so you know, I was really really obsessed with music,
and then wrestling too because my grandmother was a big
wrestling fan and I started watching with her, and gosh,

(04:25):
I remember watching wrestling with her and she died when
I was about seven, so that shows how long I've
been into wrestling for. So all of those things were
kind of always in my wheelhouse. So it was a
very outgoing, creative, pop culture based family for sure.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
In school, how did you do in school?

Speaker 2 (04:42):
I mean, not great, but really good at the creative
right subjects, really good at English and you know, drama
and that sort of a thing, you know, the high
school play. And I wasn't good at math. I wasn't
good at chemistry. Like I remember, my aunt was the
was the dean of the University of Manitoba, which is

(05:03):
like the head of the University of Manatoba, and she
used to teach teachers, and she would use me as
an example of what teachers do right and what teachers
do wrong, because I used to get in trouble for
coloring outside of the lines and drawing my own pictures
and kind of not that I wasn't paying attention, but

(05:24):
I was. She thought I was too smart for that
and I was just kind of going beyond. But she'd
be like, you don't, you know, punish kids for coloring
outside the lines. You encourage that, like are you are
you trying to draw something else? Like would you like
to draw something other than this picture or add to it?
And that sort of a thing. So I really enjoyed

(05:48):
the social aspect of school, the creative element of it.
I mean high school band, like not trumpet band, but
like rock and roll band, Like we had a great
high school band and made a lot of movies in
high school because camcorders were a thing and figuring out
how to edit and stop motion and our own special
effects and all that sort of stuff. I just wasn't
really good at the actual, you know, numbers game of things.

(06:10):
But then when I went to college, because it's a
lot of information. But at seventeen, I graduated from high
school because just by the way that my birthday was
and you couldn't go to wrestling school til you're eighteen,
so I had to do something. I went for a
two year degree and it was called creative communications, which
was journalism and PR and advertising and writing and television

(06:35):
class and radio class, and that I ended up on
the Honor Roll. Like I was. I was critically aclaimed
because I was into it, like this is I can
really get into this now because I'm creating, and you know,
an artist is dancing is art too, as you know,
anytime you create something out of nothing, that's artistry. And
I was really into the whole artists side of things,

(06:56):
rather than here's the numbers. You know, A B says
that you have to use this theory to get this
correct answer of three point seven seven seven to two,
And I was like, man, I'm not into that. I'd
rather like create my own path in a different my
language and make a movie about it for you know,
mathematical aliens or something.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
I feel like with numbers, all you need to know
is how to tip. And you're good, like I mean honestly,
because exactly, and you're good and by the way, a
I will do it for you nowadays, so regardless, isn't
it crazy? So you've always been one to step out
of your comfort zone? Sounds like like literally it's like
a motto for life, right, Like You've always colored outside

(07:37):
of the lines, and I think that's probably why you're
so successful to this day. So when you started wrestling,
did you right away know that this is what you
wanted to do and did you realize the impact that
it could make if you were a very successful wrestler.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
Let's say, well, I wanted to do it since I
was a kid, like right, I wanted to be a
wrestler and I wanted to be in a rock and
roll band. Those are the two things I wanted to
do from a very early age. And like I mentioned
the high school rock band that I was in, and
then wrestling always was wrestling Like in the high school gym.
You'd get these big mats, these big thick mats. They
are called porta pits, and we'd have our own you know,

(08:17):
wrestling cards and make up characters and me and one
other guy would play like ten characters each, so we're
like borderline schizophrenic. But I realized, like, I really want
to try this, you know, I really want to do this.
And back then there was no Internet. It was like,
you know, nineteen eighty nine, well probably nineteen eighty six
is when I decided want to do it. But then
you start figuring, well, how do I get into wrestling?

(08:39):
And I was watching this wrestling show from Calgary that said,
you know, if you want to be a wrestler, join
the Hart Brothers Pro Wrestling School. And there was an
address on I wrote an address. I wrote a letter
self address stamp and below.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
That's really old school, yes.

Speaker 2 (08:53):
And they sent me back a pamphlet that said here's
what you gotta do. You got to be eighteen and
all that stuff. And then I just started focusing on that, like, Okay,
I'm going to go to Calgary from Winnipeg, which is
about fourteen hours away by car, and I'm going to
go to wrestling school, and at the time, telling people
that was like saying you wanted to be like a
sword swallow in a circus or something like what a wrestler, Like,

(09:16):
that's impossible. You're too small, Like I always heard that,
like I'll ever do it. You're too small, you're too small.
And I never really cared what other people thought. I thought, like,
why do you care what I want to do so bad?
Like worry about your own shit and let me, you know,
worry about mine. So it's something that I always focused
on and wanted to do it. And then when I
when I finally left home to do it at nineteen,

(09:38):
there was no like backup plan, like this is what
I'm going to do and other people have done it,
so what's to stop me from doing it? And I
think to this day I wrote a book, one of
the books that was called no is a four letter word.
And what I mean by that is like no is
such an easy word to throw out, like a cuss word.
It really means nothing, like people say no to every thing,

(10:00):
and you really don't have to live like that, Like,
don't tell me reasons why it won't work, Tell me
reasons why it will work. Let's chase that knowing too, Yes,
And that was kind of always my mindset of let's
make this work, Like how do I get into wrestling?
How can I do this? I might be too small
for the North America, but in Mexico and Japan, I'm
bigger than everybody there. So why don't I just go

(10:22):
to Mexico and Japan and try and figure that out?
And that's kind of where it all started for me.

Speaker 1 (10:26):
Chris, I think I saw you in Japan when I
was there. I swear from a distance because I did
a show called Love on the Floor. I was a
live stage show. Because I've been obviously doing a lot
of research, especially since we haven't danced in a while,
and you mentioned Japan quite a lot. I was there
this summer of twenty eighteen, I believe, or two. Yeah,
twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen, maybe twenty twenty as well. I

(10:49):
think I saw you from a distance, but I was
at the in Shbu. Yeah, that's where we were at
the we were at the ORB Theater performing live.

Speaker 2 (10:57):
It's interesting, I bet you if we if we compared dates,
because I was definitely there.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
I thought I saw what I was tripping out in.

Speaker 2 (11:05):
The summer of nineteen for sure, eighteen as well before pandemic.
I kind of had a career resurgence in eighteen nineteen
and twenty in Japan, and I went there probably ten
times within that two year period.

Speaker 1 (11:18):
I think you were with John Cena.

Speaker 2 (11:21):
I don't think I was there with him.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
Are you sure you weren't at that hotel, Intercontinental Hotel?

Speaker 2 (11:26):
I mean I could have. It's quite possible. We would
have to compare the dates.

Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, we will later anyway, the dates. Okay, So you
go from from that and then all of a sudden,
you know, I'm sure this is a cliff note version,
but your rise to fame, right, you get to be

(11:52):
one of the stars of WWE. Who was your mentor,
who led you, who helped you through the bad, the good,
the ugly.

Speaker 2 (12:02):
Well, I mean there was quite a few mentors over
the years, you know what I mean, Like, it depends
what level you're at as well, you know.

Speaker 1 (12:11):
So heading that I guess what I'm asking is that transition,
like how what was that transformation from you know, going
to wrestling school.

Speaker 2 (12:18):
To then yeah, from from the indies to w so
from the biggest mentor I had was a guy called
Pat Patterson. He's like well known throughout the wrestling business
as being one of the smartest pro wrestlers of all
time in psychology, which which you might say psychology, but
wrestling is all about psychology. It's not about how big
you are. It's not about the moves. It's about the

(12:40):
stories that you tell. It's about when to do things
at the right time, what to do at the right time,
and how to draw people in and how to make
them interested in what you're doing. And that's basically the
basic element to any show business is you want to
draw people in and make them interested in what you're doing.
And we do that and wrestling with the characters and

(13:01):
with the stories that we tell, both in the ring,
putting together a match with a story behind it, and
then putting together a story to lead to that match beforehand.
So Pat Patterson was probably the best mentor that I
had as far as putting all that stuff together. And
he wasn't actually actively wrestling. He was behind the scenes

(13:22):
guy like a coach on a on a football team
or something along those lines. So he was a psychologist, no, no, no, no,
he was a psychologist for wrestling, got it. He was
an old school pro wrestler from the sixties and seventies
who had transitioned to the backstage, who was who was
really great at the psychology of wrestling, got it? Which
is really good? Yeah yeah, I mean like you were.

(13:47):
You were kind of like that to teach me about
the psychology of dancing. And once like we mentioned like
you know, you have to have your lines right and
all that sort of stuff, but you know, land my
bag on you for the lines, whereas like Bruno and
Carrie would understand more of the show business connection. Like
I'm looking like Bruno right now.

Speaker 1 (14:09):
I love it.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
But I mean, and that's that's why Dancing Stars Judges
panel was so great, is that there was this technician
who also appreciated the show business element. But but but
but Len would talk to you about your lines and lots.
Suff for Bruno was more about the way you look
and the costumes of the flair. And that's kind of
what wrestling is too, is you have to have the
foundation properly of how to do things, and you have

(14:34):
to have the show business element as well, but you
really have to have a mindset of what you need
to do to connect with the audience and and and
to make them to engage them in what it is
you're doing.

Speaker 1 (14:47):
Right, See, I think it's actually the psychology on Dancing
with the Stars is stuff that's not said like it's
it's untold, and so it's about who can really, you know,
get to the other side without having a mental breakdown
because there is that psychology too. It's like, as a
viewer now as I'm watching this, do I like to
see tension packages? No? Does that? You know, there's all

(15:09):
of that in mind you it could be all conspiracy theories,
whatever it is. I know as a viewer what I
like to see and what I don't, what I root for,
who I don't root for, and why. And so it's
interesting when you say that, because I think it's something
to like really think about when any reality program of course,
you know, in any sport really and I figure that out.

Speaker 2 (15:33):
Very early on. Yeah, it's show business and it's reality TV,
and it's like wrestling, and wrestling we have a booker.
The booker will decide, okay, Chris and Cheryl having a match.
Cheryl wins because she gets a better rating on TV,
she gets a better reaction. She's going to win the title.
And when she wins the title, then we're going to
bring in you know, Hines Ward because he's doing really good,

(15:54):
and Cheryl and Hines will have a match, and then
Hines will win because he gets the best ratings and
the best reaction. Heigure that I would dance with the stars. Listen,
it's show business, you know. It's not all about you know,
the technique and who's the best dancer. Obviously you got
to be good, but there's stories to be told. There's
characters that we enjoy, like the chick from Girls next

(16:15):
Door with Candra, like, way better dancer than Kendra was,
but she was kind of a train wreck on the show,
and so she lasted longer than we did because I
think people were interested to see what crazy things she
was going to say next and how she was going
to react. And I'm just surmising here.

Speaker 1 (16:31):
No, I hear you. By the way, I agree, like
we made it what week six, week seven?

Speaker 2 (16:36):
I think, yeah, seven, yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
And I'm just don't believe still to this day that
you didn't get the votes. Yeah, but our scores. I
felt like you were freaking low balled the whole season time,
big time, but not to the point where the scores
I mean the votes should have helped you get through,
do you know what I'm saying?

Speaker 2 (16:55):
Yeah, And once again, like I remember being in the
thick of it, and I remember week two. I posted
a picture of us last night and you posted and
I reposted with, uh, I've got sunshines and crack a rhythm.
I've got it Greataty Judy Garland was the song and

(17:15):
it was.

Speaker 1 (17:16):
A quick step, good damn dance for you.

Speaker 2 (17:19):
It was week two and I've watched that thing probably
ten times. We crushed it.

Speaker 1 (17:24):
It was really good. We had body contact throughout the
whole freaking routine, Like no, you it was so good,
especially compared to a Week one.

Speaker 2 (17:33):
Right and your like choreography of the steps in and
out like it was. It was like broad rock, like
a rush song.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
There's like, no, you didn't miss one step.

Speaker 2 (17:46):
I remember we got like twenty one or twenty two,
and I was like that, like, how much better could
that have been?

Speaker 1 (17:52):
No, it actually couldn't have been.

Speaker 2 (17:54):
I don't think it could have been. I think it
was too early in the show week wise.

Speaker 1 (17:57):
I don't think.

Speaker 2 (17:57):
And I don't think like you said, Dina casts said,
you can win this thing. I don't think the other
producers felt that way. I think they were kind of
surprised at how good that was, but they get kind
of kept the thumb on it a bit because I
was like, because I remember watching I mentioned Heines Ward
and he got a better score, and I was like, well,
that's bullshit, because listen, Hines is great, but our dance
on that show was as close to a three tens

(18:18):
as you could get. But they don't give out three
tens a week two. That's sure could have given us
a twenty five or twenty six, and I will just
sick to that, and anyone listening to this go back
and watch it because it was bad ass. Man, it
was so good.

Speaker 1 (18:29):
I'm actually doing these rewatches started I started season one right,
and so I'm they did. They did give out perfect
scores like early on in the competition back in the day.
But let me tell you something, Chris, I don't think
that's it because that's BS because they were candying out scores.
I don't know what it is, but all I know
is that there must have been I don't know if

(18:50):
WWE fans translate to Dancing with the Stars, though Stacy
Keebler did great, but so she's one that got a
perfect score week three of the competition. She was like
it was fast, like she didn't get less than a
nine ever, right, Right, So I don't know, I don't know.
I don't want to like get into like what I
really think. Like as far as maybe it's a political thing,

(19:12):
I don't. It's not always been on a dance It's
not a dance competition, you know that. Now I think
that it has nothing to do with almost nothing to
do with what people I believe are voting on because
you can't compare a quick step to a chatcha. You
just can't.

Speaker 2 (19:26):
Working in a system where it's showed business but it's fabricated,
you know, with wrestling. Like I said, when and once
again we talked with this on my show, and I'm
not sure if you agree with me or not, but
I still stick to this. So you you do your
you do your dance, and then you get judged on
the Tuesday, no days off, you go right back, you go.

(19:49):
So Tuesday is the day off that you don't rehearse.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
Because that's no longer happening anymore.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
By the way, Okay, so when I was doing it,
that's yeah, result shows Wednesday, you're right back again. And
then Friday you've got the wides. I stick to this
that they give you two days to learn as much
as you can. Then you film the wives, which I
think is the producer's watching to see who's going great. Yeah, okay, good,

(20:15):
and then and then they'll decide right then and there, Okay,
what's the story that we're gonna tell because this guy
on Friday don't look great, this this girl on Friday
looks amazing. And then you do your rehearsal on Saturday
on Sunday, and I think I'm convinced the judges that
their watching and that's.

Speaker 1 (20:29):
What they have to be. They have to be.

Speaker 2 (20:31):
They have to because the week that that we left rehearsal, yes,
the dress rehearsal, the week that we lost, something went
wrong in dress rehearsal, and I stopped and said let's
start again, and You're like, don't do that. You can't
stop and start again. I'm like, why rehearsal. Yeah, And
they wrote some stuff, they said some stuff on the
show that we did on Sunday, but we didn't do

(20:54):
on Monday. And that's what I just little things and
I was like, I disagree with that. I did it yesterday.
That's why I stopped.

Speaker 1 (21:00):
You know, so you didn't stop during dress russal. You
stopped during camera blocking.

Speaker 2 (21:03):
No, no, I stop during dress rehearsal.

Speaker 1 (21:05):
What dance was it?

Speaker 2 (21:06):
It was the last one, don't stop believing. And I
can't remember what we did? It Was it a jive
because I.

Speaker 1 (21:14):
Didn't really good? Oh tango tango tango?

Speaker 2 (21:16):
Yeah. I did really good on the non Latin dances,
not as good as the Latin dance. It's like I
was good work and not with the moving.

Speaker 1 (21:32):
How the hell did you get approached to doing Dancing
with the Stars? And like, did you had you been
approached prior to doing season twelve?

Speaker 2 (21:39):
You mentioned Stacy and Stacey and I were pretty close
at the time, and she did Dance with the Stars
obviously did really well at it, and I think her
biggest problem was that WW didn't really promote it, and
I think that was the same thing with with with me.
And another thing too is Monday Night Raw is the
big WWE show and that's when Dancing with the Stars is.
So I think it was a conflict of interest for

(22:01):
them to promote it, and they they I know that
because I wasn't even working there at the time, but
the company was behind me doing it. They thought it
was a great idea, but they they're like, you know,
we can't really promote it for it, and I know
they didn't with Stacy. That was a problem that she had,
even when she was like she was the weapons of
mass Destruction or mass.

Speaker 1 (22:18):
Seduction said about her tango or some of her legs.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
Yeah, and they they wouldn't promote it. So I think
she had an issue with that. But so she mentioned
it to me, like listen, I think she was talking
to Dina, like Dina was saying, is there anybody else
that you know in the company that or in wrestling?
She said, I mentioned your name, you got to do this,
And I was like, I don't really know, Like I'm
I'm not really much of a dancer and I'm really
I got other things going on, and so I think

(22:43):
I just I think I was offered it or initially
like someone from Dancing Stars called that, I'll just not
do it, and then I got asked again and I
turned it down again, and then the third time. I
remember I was in Ireland on tour with Fozzy with
my band, and I remember thinking like if I don't
do it this time, I'm I'm an I'm an asshole,

(23:04):
like I gotta you mentioned like pushing boundaries. That's what
have done my whole life. And like what is this show?
Like what is what is the deal with it? You know,
like why is it so popular? And what's the appeal?

Speaker 1 (23:18):
And so you hadn't seen it before, I mean it's
seen a little bit.

Speaker 2 (23:21):
I watched when Stacy was on it. Actually, to be
honest with you, I saw you and I was like,
Cheryl's the best, Like she's the best one, like when
you I don't know who you were with on that scene. Yeah,
but I was I remember watching, Well she's she's.

Speaker 1 (23:32):
The best one with my little haircut.

Speaker 2 (23:34):
Yeah, she's the hottest one. She's the best answer, Like
she's great. So anyways, I finally said okay, like I'll
do it, and and and what do I what does
this mean? You know what I mean? Like I said,
I wasn't wrestling at the time and kind of got
the lowdown of and to me like I wasn't gonna
half asset like if we're doing this, like I'm doing
this to win it, Like because Stacey said, like you
got to practice every day for you know, hours, and

(23:56):
I'm like, fine, I'm in Like.

Speaker 1 (23:57):
So she told you it's intense.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah yeah, yes, yeah yeah, and once again not being
you know, not being stupid about it, Like I understand
how much work you got to put into this together.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
Some people don't.

Speaker 2 (24:08):
Wendy Williams she she was flying back and forth from
New York and was out the.

Speaker 1 (24:13):
First week, like yeah, second week.

Speaker 2 (24:16):
I think the situation from Jersey Shore was the same.

Speaker 1 (24:20):
It's consuming, don't say it's not like it's got to be,
and you knew that kind of going in.

Speaker 2 (24:27):
I knew it from Stacy. But also once again, I'm
not I'm not an idiot, like like I'm watching this
show and seeing these people on here and knowing, like
to get from from from zero to this, you know,
you got to put in some serious time. I don't
care who you are on Friday. Yeah, And you know,
for me, I was looking at it and you know,

(24:49):
it kind of was perfect for me because I'm a musician,
so I understand how to stay on the beat, not
behind it, not ahead of it. And being a wrestler,
I understand choreography, remembering, remembering, intricate you know, uh, footwork,
intricate footwork, and also to.

Speaker 1 (25:09):
Being being a lot of exaggerating.

Speaker 2 (25:11):
Exaggerating and being in front of a crowd and personality
and knowing how far that can take you. You know,
if I can last a week or two, I think
I can go pretty far because people start, you know,
liking me. You know what I mean, I can, Yeah,
I know what to be in front of the camera.
I guess in a lot of situation. So that's what
it was. And then and then I remember we went
to the we went to the unveiling of the cast,

(25:33):
and that was wait.

Speaker 1 (25:34):
Hold on, did you request me?

Speaker 2 (25:36):
No?

Speaker 1 (25:37):
Did they ask you who you wanted to dance with?

Speaker 2 (25:39):
No? They never said a word. I mean they might
have been in the in the original like interviews or
something like who do you like on the show? And
if if they did say that, I would have said you,
because you're the one that I really knew. But I
didn't request you or like say like it has to
be Sheryl Berg or anything like that.

Speaker 1 (25:54):
Okay, okay, So were you genuinely surprised when I walked
in when I was in Florida? Mind you already cussing
you out because I was traveled to Florida. Sorry.

Speaker 2 (26:06):
I offered to go wherever I had go, and they said,
don't know, she can come to Florida.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
I'm like, they wanted me to get away from the
clubs back in the day.

Speaker 2 (26:12):
Yeah, yeah, exactly right. But but but I they brought
us to the castle unveiling, and I remember we had
to wear like like a hood, like a like a
like a blanket overhead like a clock, and they feed
you in because they didn't want anyone to know. And
then you walked into this room and.

Speaker 1 (26:29):
Like, good morning America.

Speaker 2 (26:30):
It wasn't good More America. It was just like the
filming for the show, like for for Dance with the Stars,
and so you go into this room and then you
walk in and then you see everybody and you're like,
I don't know who that is. I don't know who
that is. Oh, there's Ralph Machio. I know who that is.

Speaker 1 (26:47):
Who didn't you know?

Speaker 2 (26:49):
I didn't know Mike Catherwood. I didn't know. I mean,
obviously I knew Christiality, I knew Ralph.

Speaker 1 (26:54):
Maccio, Wendy Williams, Wendy Wendy, I knew.

Speaker 2 (26:59):
Yeah, I didn't know. Maybe I have to see who
the castle was at that season. But I didn't really
know a lot of other sugar Ray Leonard obviously.

Speaker 1 (27:08):
Of course I knew him. Kendra, Did you know Kendra?

Speaker 2 (27:11):
I knew. I knew of her because of she was
really hot at the time, the Disney girl. I didn't
know Romeo. I didn't think I really knew little Romeo.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
Yeah, you know interesting, so were you guys Just I
don't remember any of this, like as far as you
guys having to wear hoodies and.

Speaker 2 (27:28):
Well, you weren't there. Like they had us go do
that and meet everybody, and then you did the big reveal,
like the big you know, photo shoot and here's the
new season. Because I'll say this, like Dancing with the
Stars is, especially at the time, it was so massive.

(27:49):
I've been on national TV at that point for you
know whatever. It was fifteen years, and it was great.
I had some steam and I'd done some stuff, but
a starts instantly. You're in the mix for everything, you know.
So it was a big deal, a big reveal and
like here's all of your people. And then I think

(28:10):
on that same loop, they took us to the studio
that we rehearse in, and you walk in and you
have no idea who you're gonna meet, and you walk
in the room and I'm like, god.

Speaker 1 (28:20):
Cheryl, they did they brief you. They didn't brief you nothing.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
It's a surprise.

Speaker 1 (28:26):
Well no, not for everyone, my love.

Speaker 2 (28:28):
Oh yeah, well for me it was.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
That's good. At least you knew. At least they must
have known that you knew me if if you mentioned
my name, let's say, in your initial meeting, because I mean,
I get briefed, but like, also the celebs get brief
because if you haven't watched the show, and let's say
Karina Smirnov walks in right and I don't know her,
then it's like.

Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yeah, I think maybe because they knew that I knew
who you were, because I'm sure, I'm sure through the
course of it, I mentioned that I saw you or whatever.
So but from what I recall, it was a legit surprise.

Speaker 1 (28:57):
Yeah, to see you there. Did you think it was
going to be harder? And it actually was? And yeah,
to start with that first, I guess I because.

Speaker 2 (29:06):
I remember Stacey said, Uh, it's gonna be one of
the hardest things you've ever done, but one of the
most rewarding and one of the most fun.

Speaker 3 (29:15):
Things you've She had dance experience, she did.

Speaker 2 (29:19):
I did not, but I had musician experience and experience
not the same. But I didn't come in there completely cold. No, no, yeah,
because you know I remember, like even I'm looking at
the cast now, I remember like, like I think, like
I think Rolf Maccio had done some kind of Broadway
dancing stuff, you know, and and like like Romeo's a rapper,

(29:43):
so he's doing live performances with probably a lot of
dancing involved, you know what I mean. So, oh, yeah, Petro,
I forgot about Petro and them come yes.

Speaker 1 (29:53):
So we pretty much was eliminated first, and then it
was Wendy I think gotcha.

Speaker 2 (29:56):
So yeah, we pretty much got the whole crew that
we mentioned. Chelsea came was the Disney girl. She was.

Speaker 1 (30:01):
She was very right right with Marshallas.

Speaker 2 (30:04):
I think she went top four that year. Kirsty should
have won that because she had the best story of
losing weight and all that stuff. But she she was
so so much fun and so awesome, but so so
I knew it was gonna be hard. And here's what
I love, Here's what I loved about you, and I
still love about you. I'm glad we reconnected because it
had been such a long time. Like you know, the

(30:24):
one thing that that and this is not expected or anything,
but like it's a very sensual thing that you're doing.
And that's why you see like you know, like like
Nikki Bella married the guy that she was, Yeah, and
you see this happening and for us, there was none
of that. It was really like a sister and a

(30:45):
brother thing because there was no sexual tension, like not
that that there couldn't be. But I just right, well, yeah,
I know, I'm just saying like I'm not I'm not
saying we would go off and run away, but there's
a sensual thing. But because that we had like a
brother and sister type of relationship.

Speaker 1 (31:04):
The professional aspect of it professional.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
And here's what I love about about you is that
you told me what I needed to hear, not what
I wanted to hear.

Speaker 1 (31:13):
No, we trusted. We had a trust I think we did.

Speaker 2 (31:16):
And the thing is too, like it reminded me of
going to wrestling school and that you're learning something very hard,
but you really got to focus on it and you've
got to have a great trainer that once again tells
you what you need to hear, not what you want
to hear. And because you were like that, not like
a drill sergeant, but you were very direct.

Speaker 1 (31:35):
You know, some people call me drill sergeant.

Speaker 2 (31:38):
But I'm okay with that, Like, yeah, I came from
a background where like dude, like you want to be
a wrestler, do five hundred hack squats right now, right
and you're like, well, I can't do five hundred scots,
then go leave, leave right now. And they'd be like, yeah,
fifteen kids in wrestling school and eight of them leave
right away because they can't do five hundred of these
you know, hack squad things. So with you, with you

(31:59):
is like that, And so then I really learned, and
that's why I think, like we mentioned week two with
the quick step, like man, we rocked that.

Speaker 1 (32:07):
I was so pissed off at those scores.

Speaker 2 (32:09):
I agree. And we couldn't have done that if you
weren't who you were and if I wasn't who I was,
because you told me what I needed here and I
accepted it and learned as fast as I could with
as much work as I could. Like I remember, we
didn't even eat.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
Lunch, No, who eats?

Speaker 2 (32:24):
I mean you can't. But people listening like you're there.
I think we started like nine and then went to
like four or five, and you didn't eat during the
day because you really can't.

Speaker 1 (32:33):
You can't unless you want to just let out gas
the whole time.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
And that's yeah, we're like doing some intricate stuff.

Speaker 1 (32:40):
You know, we need body contact for God's sakes, keep
it all in. We don't need to let gas out
all we're quick stepping. They have four hours maximum, Like
they have rules back then. We could be like, we
want the studio from nine am till nine pm, okay,
and then they'd have to stay there for twelve hours.

Speaker 2 (32:56):
Why did they cut it down?

Speaker 1 (32:57):
People started getting injured. Oh and also everyone rehearses under
one roof now and there's only so many rooms, so
they have to divide it equally. However, like Bobby Bone
said on this podcast, you know we would go and
rent studios if we need more time, because again the turnaround,
like like you said earlier, there's no way you can
get a wide in by Friday if you have only

(33:19):
started this on Wednesday, let's say, and you're dancing with
someone no dance experience. Four hours including the OTFS the interview,
like there's no way in hell, like the quality of
the show would go down tremendously. It would be it
would be a bad show, you know.

Speaker 2 (33:34):
And for me, like I have a like a really
great work ethic, you.

Speaker 1 (33:37):
Know, and that's yeah, that's why I loved you.

Speaker 2 (33:39):
Yeah, and vice versa, like you weren't cutting any corners either, Like.

Speaker 1 (33:42):
Well, you told me you wanted to win, Chris. So
when someone says this to me, I'm like, I question it.
So I first say, are you sure? Are you sure
you want to win? Because I know what it takes.
But and it's not fun, Like it's not necessarily fun,
but it is you feel a sense of you've achieved
so much even just making it pass, you know, one week,
and you would always be like I want to win.

Speaker 2 (34:03):
I want to win.

Speaker 1 (34:03):
I'm like, just the focus on one step in front
of the next step, like you got to just it's
one step at a time, quite literally, because when you
think about winning, you're not really present to be it's
about your last dance. You are your last dance unfortunately
on that show you know.

Speaker 2 (34:19):
Well, and that's and that's that's showbase. You're only as
good as your last performance. Well, I mean, unfortunately, that's
kind of the way it goes, right, And that's like
for for you mentioned week one, like I was terrified,
like I have because it's fun. I remember one like.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
I saw I saw that What's up You're Tasha when
I just watched it, Actually you're sleep I saw that.
But it was a huge improvement from week one to
week two. And I was going to ask, like the
feelings that were running through your body from the first
rehearsal right right before the premiere to the premiere night.

Speaker 2 (34:52):
Well, I remember early on you said something like, well,
just dance, like just dance, just dance, And I was like, okay, what.

Speaker 1 (34:59):
Where was it? Just me? You and the music is
what I tend to say.

Speaker 2 (35:02):
That's basically what it was. Yeah, And I remember, like, uh,
I was dancing. And here's the thing you probably experienced
this time and time again is that people equate dancing
with trying to be funny. You know what I mean,
Like dance you like, like when you see people dance,
like at a club or something, like people are trying

(35:22):
to like like be funny, and like maybe they're trying
to be laying from Seinfeld or something. Okay, and and
and like that's the initial reaction because when you can't dance,
you just want to do like rightating, yeah, exactly, and
and right right out of the way, I was like this,
this is not what dancing is. You got to play
this straight And there's a whole element to this physically

(35:45):
with the lines.

Speaker 1 (35:46):
And it's so detailed.

Speaker 2 (35:49):
But I love that because I've really felt like I
was learning the intricacies of the art of dancing. And
that might sound a little bit.

Speaker 1 (35:58):
Too deep, like oh, I love that. That's why we
got along because.

Speaker 2 (36:03):
Like once again, we're work. You're you're creating something out
of nothing, and I'm following you do this, but we are,
we are, But it was it's like it's like a
wrestling match, like we're working together to put on the
best possible performance, you know, and like I like, I
don't want to go down this road too, but like
wrestling could be an Olympic sport because it's a pretermined

(36:25):
display of athleticism. Yes, working together the same way like
figure skating or or or swimming or.

Speaker 1 (36:31):
Dance stould be an Olympics. Break dancing just got into
the Olympics.

Speaker 2 (36:37):
I mean ballroom dancing should be you know and and
man like, so week one, I was terrified because I
didn't know if this was going to work. I didn't
really understand it, Like I knew what we were doing,
but it was kind of going through the motions as
much as you can and just holding on for dear life,
but still trying to be a performer. And I think

(36:58):
I had some sleeves that came off.

Speaker 1 (37:00):
I think, yeah, yeah, nope, but but.

Speaker 2 (37:03):
That's fine because it was And when we got our score,
I think it was like nineteen or something like that.

Speaker 1 (37:09):
It was low. It was just too low.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
It was okay, it was too low, but still for me,
I was like I was expecting to get like a
two and come on. So I don't know, because I
didn't know I was. I was really terrified about being
the first person eliminated.

Speaker 1 (37:23):
Were we the first performance ever?

Speaker 2 (37:25):
Like from the think I think we might have been.
I think we kicked off the show because it was
with the clash and I haven't watched that one back.
Should I stare? Should I go yes? But I remember
like like, oh my gosh, like this is okay, Like
that was the first one and I didn't get flamed
by the judges.

Speaker 1 (37:43):
But what were you feeling like? Were you gonna shit? Like?
What were you feeling like?

Speaker 2 (37:47):
I was really nervous. I was really before or.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
After before like the click click click, like you know,
remember those clicks.

Speaker 2 (37:53):
Yeah, I was really I was really nervous because I
didn't know what to expect from the audience and from
the judges. We had our dance down and I knew
that it was pretty cool, but I didn't know how
the people would take to it, Like, am I just
the dumb wrestler guy that's stumbling over my own feet?
I mean, they can portray it anyway they want.

Speaker 1 (38:14):
Right, but you don't care about what other people think.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
I don't, But in that case, I cared what the
judges thought because idly, the first person kicked off. But
what I felt after was all right, that was the
first one. That's the huge monkey off my back. I
know I belong here, and I know I can do this.
I know I can get better, and I know I
got the right partner. Let's do this, Let's make this happen,

(38:40):
and let's let's go all the way here.

Speaker 1 (38:42):
You know, do you also agree though, that the scoring
was off? Like when did you start to get discouraged
because I remember the time you did, but I want
to hear from you.

Speaker 2 (38:53):
Well, we two discourage me because I was like, I
don't know if I could have done that any better,
and it gets such a low score on that one
really bothered me. And that's when I started thinking between
the lines, like there's something else going on here, and
then I was okay, so there's there's there's there's a
line of a list of people and who they want
to go were and who's getting a push we call
in wrestling, who's getting the push from Dancing with the Stars,

(39:16):
you know. So that was very discouraging for me, and
we talked about it, which that one that's going on.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
We talked about no you and you were got frustrated
because like also my job, because I've played it all
different ways with twenty three partners I've had, right, so
I've gone to where I go to the dark side
with and I follow my partner's lead as far as frustration,
but then that gets us nowhere because then we're both negative.
Nancy or I can try and you know, use psychology
a little bit, and I tried to be like you know,

(39:45):
because I didn't want your spirit to die because if
your spirit, I'm already jaded. Now if your spirit dies,
then we're screwed.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
Right. So so I don't think I was ever discouraged,
but I just remember thinking like that should have been better,
and so I kind of always felt like I was
behind the apel a little bit every week. And also too,
they started doing this trend where I was in the
bottom two like three weeks in a row and that,
and I wonder if they were doing that because they
wanted the fans to vote more if they wanted to, because.

Speaker 1 (40:12):
You got votes. Let's be real here, So I like it.
There's no way that none of your don't come on.

Speaker 2 (40:18):
I don't know, Like once again, I don't really know,
but I was like, if I'm that far behind the
eight be able every week, that I'll just keep doing better.
In the one week I think it was with the
Viennese Wall.

Speaker 1 (40:29):
Yes, that was your best dance, but that was when
you were about to have a mental breakdown during rehearsal.
Oh really you were so uh and it was good,
but then it didn't like the pieces didn't get put
together until like the last minute, like like the day
before blocking. So that's Saturday and I just remember we
were both exiled and we're both discouraged. Because again, in
any workplace, you know, we want to be able to

(40:51):
see like we see I see the dance, and I
see what else can I do with this guy? Like
as far as your potential goes within the turnaround of
just a few days, you're freaking good, like it was
you improved, right, This is not about how you start,
it's how you finish, and like there was an actual
journey and story and then of course it's so hard

(41:12):
not to take it personally like, Okay, great, did I
piss off the executive? Like there it goes through this,
I go through this whole like conspira. Maybe it's good,
but like you know, it's not just you that I
experienced this with, unfortunately, and it's like it starts to
become so like I just want to throw in the
towel sometimes, like why am I working this hard? Right? Like,
no matter what we do, sometimes I feel like we

(41:34):
were always going to get punished for nothing.

Speaker 2 (41:37):
But the most important thing for me is to hear
you say that. And I've known it from before, but
like to know that that that I earned your rest.

Speaker 1 (41:45):
Yes, absolutely, as.

Speaker 2 (41:47):
A dancer, Like that's that's all. That's the most important
thing is getting the respect of your peers, getting the respect.

Speaker 1 (41:53):
Trainer, and it helps to our relationship. We had that respect,
We had a you know, there was a boundary set
and like we didn't cross it. Put it that way,
but we still were great friends. We traveled, we experienced
this you know, amazing show together.

Speaker 2 (42:10):
Yeah, totally. And I remember I was so excited with
that Vienie's walltz. I think we got like twenty seven
or something. I was like jumping up and down, like
this is the this is the best thing ever. Was
so happy with that because once again, like it became
all consuming, it really did. And here is another thing too,
was like every I remember every week, it's like if
if you survive this week, you're doing Ellen tomorrow, right, Yeah,

(42:36):
you're doing Jimmy fallon tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (42:38):
Yeah we did Jimmy Kimmel. But that's because we got eliminated.

Speaker 2 (42:41):
Kim all right, But I mean, but I mean, like
I wanted to do not don Fall. It was it
was Leno was the Tonight show like I wanted to do,
Like if you survived, it was just me. I just
it was just me on my at it. If you
survived this week, you're on the Tonight Show and like this,
we gotta we gotta do it this week. And I
remember it was one of the weeks when we were
the last two and I'm like, they better put me

(43:01):
through because i just want to do the damn Tonight Show,
like come on, and yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah it was great.

Speaker 1 (43:06):
That's great. The show doesn't get this coverage anymore, just
so you.

Speaker 2 (43:09):
Know, yeah, okay, wow, see there you go.

Speaker 1 (43:12):
Yeah that's huge.

Speaker 2 (43:14):
Yeah, and I I got an extra like five minutes.
I did like ten minutes and Tonight's show when the
menagements to that, so you know, those were kind of
the benefits of going further on in the week or
in the weeks, you know, and that kind of raised
the stakes a bit more. It was like, well, now
we're dangling this in front of you and you and
I flew to New York to do Rachel Ray if

(43:35):
you remember that.

Speaker 1 (43:36):
I just saw it. I just saw all of our
interviews together. I look so no wonder people think I
got it. My whole face redone. I look so different
he did. I did. Yeah, But also I grew up
on TV, like I swear to God, I've done a
couple of boat talk shots in my face, but I
didn't get my whole I haven't gotten it, Like, but
I understand, like you know, people evolve anyway. Yeah, when

(43:57):
you say the show is consuming quickly before we do
some rapid fire, you got a lot of fan questions
as well. But what do you mean by the show
was consuming?

Speaker 2 (44:05):
Like?

Speaker 1 (44:05):
Can you just talk through our week? Just seven days?

Speaker 2 (44:09):
So you would? Well, let's just okay, so Tuesday you
get I'm going to start kind of backwards here, but
there's a resupport Tuesday, you get voted off or you
stay on the results show. The results show. If you
stay on, they give you your dance and music. I'll actually

(44:32):
give it to you beforehand before the mtimes. Yeah, which
is another reasonhy I knew we were losing.

Speaker 1 (44:38):
Wee can no, Chris, No, that has nothing to do
with it.

Speaker 2 (44:41):
Okay, Well they didn't give us a song that week.

Speaker 1 (44:43):
That's true. I mean if they were that freaking obvious,
thank god they don't do that. I mean there's no
results show, but like, how obvious can you be? Okay?

Speaker 2 (44:49):
Yeah, so from my memory, on Tuesday or Monday whatever,
if you make it through here's your next dance, here's
your next song. Tuesday results show. Yeah, we made it through. Wednesday,
you're right back in the rehearsal space. And now the
amount of work that you have to do. Got the
choreography for this dance, there's costuming that you have to do.

(45:10):
So you're rehearsing for one on Wednesday. Then you got
to go get fitted at the guy's place. What's his name.

Speaker 1 (45:20):
Misters, he's the best mister.

Speaker 2 (45:23):
So you go, there's what she got in mind this week. Well,
she wants to do this, and here's the idea. Thursday
you're training again, training, rehearsing again. Friday you're rehearsing, and
then you got to do your wives that we discussed,
which is film it to see what's to music with
the camera? To music with the camera? Blocking is going
to be a ka how far down the road of
these guys. Saturday you're filming and you're doing uh, there's

(45:48):
a lot of Sorry, you're rehearsing and there's a lot
of filming. You got to do your interviews about the
week prior to coming week. That takes a long time.
Sunday Day, you've got your dress rehearsal, where you got
to get in your full costume, which.

Speaker 3 (46:03):
By the way, we started making on Wednesday. No camera
blocking when's camera walking on Saturday Sundays. So Saturdays is
like travel days for anyone that's out of town. We
would travel to La because Sunday mornings would be camera blocking,
which is just us doing our dance with that without
our costumes. And then Monday, the hour prior or two
hours prior to the live show, we do dress rehearsal.

Speaker 2 (46:23):
Okay restaurants of the same day as the live show.

Speaker 1 (46:25):
Yeah, because our costumes aren't ready, right they also.

Speaker 2 (46:28):
So it was the it was the Saturday sorry Sunday
Sunday routine that I stopped, so it wasn't dress rehearsal anyways.

Speaker 1 (46:36):
So yeah, so they weren't watching then maybe.

Speaker 2 (46:39):
I think they were, But anyways, I think they're watching.
They're always watching.

Speaker 1 (46:42):
They're always watching it.

Speaker 2 (46:43):
Yeah, point being, so you're costume rehearsing, there's costuming, there's video,
there's and then there's the tonight show, and then there's
press that you got to do, yes, and then you know,
when you go away from this, you're still thinking about
it because you can't really do much because there's so
much at stake. You know, we went out and drank
and then something that. But just now you're doing it
every night and you can't do it till oh speak

(47:05):
for yourself. Well maybe I did a few times back then.

Speaker 1 (47:09):
I mean I'm sober now, but still don't. I mean
I drink every day. Shit.

Speaker 2 (47:13):
But my point was like you're always thinking about it, yeah,
you know, and you're always either physically doing it mentally
doing it. And there's so much mental stress involved doing
the show live and that Tuesday of all day just
waiting and you're in your trailer all day and then

(47:34):
you got to stand there while they you made it through,
and you made it through, and you made it through
and they find the last two and like I said,
I was last two for so many weeks in a row.
Is they're doing this to me again. You're almost giving
me an ulcer.

Speaker 1 (47:45):
And it's just it does.

Speaker 2 (47:48):
And then when I when we got eliminated a I
was a little bit relieved, but I was also like
really pissed off. And then the next day I was like,
what am I going to do with my life? Time?
Is dancing practice? Like there's no rehearsal. They like I
got nothing like this big empty hole because I've been
doing it for the seven weeks we were on, plus
the three or four weeks that we trained prior to

(48:10):
two weeks whatever it was, it'd been like, you know,
an eight week, ten week experience at that point of
dancing every single day.

Speaker 1 (48:18):
Wow, So do you feel similar? Like, Okay, well, first
of all, this just yeah, when you say mentally stressful,
is that because all you're thinking about is routines and choreography.
This is why I love athletes. I love you guys
because like you do, some people don't think about it,
which is so shocking to me. Then you're like, wonder
why you keep messing up? Like of course, like you
have to eat shit and freaking breathe this like this

(48:41):
is the only way because if you don't know your steps,
we can't work on anything else. My friend.

Speaker 2 (48:46):
No, you're right. And once again what I'm saying, like
there was no travel day for me. I lived in
La Yes, relocated, you know, I moved there and I
had three young kids at the time.

Speaker 1 (48:55):
Yeah, you know.

Speaker 2 (48:56):
But once again, we were in People magazine, like any
magazine that was round at the time. They're doing the
so my family came out a couple of times, but
most of the times you're just there by yourself and
you have to be I'm not, I'm not. Wasn't complaining
about that, Like if I was away from home for
ten weeks and one or twelve weeks. I mean, that's
just the price you pay because you cannot phone it

(49:16):
in or call it in or slough off on your
rehearsals or or your mental state at all, because if
you do, you're done. That's it.

Speaker 1 (49:25):
And that's that's what's so beautiful about you know, Jessica
and your family is that they gave you that space,
because think about it, what if what if she gave
you hard time? You know, And there's that, you know.

Speaker 2 (49:36):
But the point was if it was like you know,
you know, Joe Schwartz's dance show on freaking you know,
the CW, PBS, whatever, but this Dance at the Stars
you mentioned it was the hottest show at the time.

Speaker 1 (49:48):
My gosh, yeah, once again, and then.

Speaker 2 (49:50):
One week gets tell the one week it's the night show,
one week it's Fallin, one week it's Rachel Ray. Like
it never ended. There was there's all of that attached
to it as well, So you knew that what you
were doing. I mean, I remember I went to Rod
Stewart and Stevie Nicks because I was hanging out with
Hollyl because I was hanging out with James Durbin who

(50:11):
was on American Idol at the time, and we met
and we were he was going through the same shit
I was going through, but with Idol, and we were dancing,
and so we kind of were like kindred spirits. And
we went to that show, and you know it's Rod
and Stevie, so there's probably i would say a lot
of middle aged housewives.

Speaker 1 (50:31):
We got model Dancing with the Stars audience.

Speaker 2 (50:33):
Durban, and I've got mobbed at this place, like worse
than Rod Stewart would have. I couldn't believe it, Like
there was so many people if it wasn't American Idol
guy who was Dancing to the Stars guy, it wasn't
Dancing to the Star guys America. Between the two of us,
like everybody knew who we were. And I was like,
this is the demographic you mentioned. Maybe wrestling fans weren't watching.
They might not have been, but I'll tell you that
a lot of middle aged housewives were watching, which I'm

(50:56):
assuming is probably a big demographic of dancing. They were
super into it and it was huge everywhere you went.

Speaker 1 (51:02):
And how many TVs in a household more than one?
I can guarantee it, Like, yes, absolutely they were watching. Yeah, yes,
I totally anyway, But okay, wait one more thing before
we do Rabid Fire the Rock. Do you remember you
gave it the Rock my phone number? I think when
you he asked had asked you, and then you had
asked me. This was like back in season twelve, got

(51:23):
nineteen sixty two. Anyway, did he ever give you any pointers?
Did he watched He must have watched you.

Speaker 2 (51:31):
I totally forgot that you mentioned that until you just
brought it up. I remember, and then it was pretty
much you were texting buddies. What's Yeah. It was pretty
much the overall consensus from anybody in the WW that
that was kind of higher up. They thought it was.
They were really like, I thought it was a pretty
cool thing that I was doing it, very brave, you know,
like you had a lot of courage. I had a

(51:52):
lot of conviction to do it and just thought like like,
we couldn't do that, And if you look at it,
I think one other guy the Miz is the only
of the wrestler that's ever done it, you know. And
once again, this is not Stacy Keebler, who is a
cheerleader and a you know, a chi arena. It's yeah,
it's it's Jericho, you know, at two hundred and twenty
pounds pro wrestler guy. So I was pretty pretty proud

(52:13):
of that. And I remember because once again it was
so mainstream that anybody in the mainstream, you know, and
the Rock was was as he is now, was totally
in that world, would be like, man, that's a big
deal for you to be on that show and be
doing so good. So I remember he was. He was.
He was very complimentary and behind it, as as most
of the guys and girls in the w W were.

Speaker 1 (52:43):
Okay, rapid fire. Who falls in love first, the dancer
or celebrity.

Speaker 2 (52:47):
I mean, I would probably say the celebrity because you
guys are used to it.

Speaker 1 (52:51):
Big bit, you used to try humping each other. Biggest
misconception about you.

Speaker 2 (52:59):
That I'm mean, because my wrestling persona can be mean sometimes.
So that's pretty much not the case. I'm just playing
a character.

Speaker 1 (53:06):
First impression of me.

Speaker 2 (53:09):
Watching on TV great Dancer and and super hot and
when I met you, when I mention you no nonsense
and the perfect teacher.

Speaker 1 (53:17):
Oh thanks, Chris. One thing you would have done differently
during your time on the show.

Speaker 2 (53:22):
Gosh, I don't know, Eryl, because like you said, I
think we did everything textbook on what you have to
do to really go far.

Speaker 1 (53:30):
In that how your mental state? Would you have not
let it? Would you have not let it consume? I
don't think.

Speaker 2 (53:36):
I don't think it would have done as good if
I didn't let it consun Yeah, I would say, I
mean maybe because I got eliminated on that last week
rehearsed more.

Speaker 1 (53:44):
I don't know. Maybe, no bullshit, I'm not gonna even
though this.

Speaker 2 (53:48):
Is honestly, I don't think there's anything I regret as
far as what we did, because I think everything we did,
like I mentioned, was solid, solid, and and and and
the way you should do it To move forward the next.

Speaker 1 (54:02):
Week, Yeah, you'd have to just replace all the judges,
I guess I'm kidding. Yeah, exactly which which female or
male wrestler should do dancing next?

Speaker 2 (54:12):
So in aw there's doctor Britt Baker. She's one of
our biggest female stars. She's a legit dentist that she
still practices. She's wrestling, she's obsessed with dancing with the stars,
and she wants to do it so bad. Male wrestler wise, Male,
I'm just going from a personality standpoint. There's a guy

(54:34):
called mjf and our company who's a singer and a dancer.
He's a lot like me. He'd probably be perfect for
the show as well.

Speaker 1 (54:39):
Interesting. What's the legacy you hope to leave both in
and outside of the entertainment world.

Speaker 2 (54:45):
I mean, just knowing that people got their money's worth
whenever they tuned in to see me, whether that's buying
a ticket, whether it's watching me on TV. Like, I
don't half ass anything. I don't do anything that I
don't want to do. I do everything because I feel
I can. I can make something cool for the people
well that enjoy my work. I take great responsibility in
that because a lot of people have been following me

(55:05):
for a lot of years. So I always want to
do stuff that reflects that reflects that that that like
I said that, that that that enthusiasm that I have
to entertain and to constantly do new things.

Speaker 1 (55:19):
If I were to do the mass singer, what character
would you dress me up as.

Speaker 2 (55:23):
Yeah, I did the drill sergeant, a big like big
plastic army head guy with a with a with a.

Speaker 1 (55:30):
With a whistle whistle and a Vodka Sota. No kidding. Okay,
one more. What was the toughest judges critique you received?

Speaker 2 (55:43):
I think it was the last week when and that's
the one I disagree with. Bruno said that my hips
were like a rock. Hips like a rock.

Speaker 1 (55:50):
Are you sure they didn't want to just get the
Rocks name in there?

Speaker 2 (55:52):
Yeah, yeah they might. They might have set a stone
or something like that. I'm not sure it was, but
to to to get my revenge. When we came back
for the last thing, I told what was the host
named Tom? Tom? Yeah, I said, Tom asked me this
one question. He asked me what have you been doing?
And I said, I've been working on my Bruno imitation.
So I jumped on the desk and did that invitation.

(56:13):
I never told anyone was going to do that because
I was like, I'm getting this guy back, and I'm
going to do it. Yeah, because I would have told you,
But I know it's fine to know because I know
they're like they'll they frown upon mocking the judges. I
was like, I'm going forward exactly.

Speaker 1 (56:29):
I'm sure they appreciate it. Actually probably made the show
spike in the ratings.

Speaker 2 (56:32):
It's crazy you look like at that's a fool out
there whatever you just said.

Speaker 1 (56:36):
Sometimes I wonder, Okay, fan questions, when are you going
to be inducted into the Hall of Fame? This is
from a cash Omar on Instagram.

Speaker 2 (56:45):
I'm not sure. Like to me, hall of Fame is
is a is like a label? Like to me, I
think my career has already kind of shown that Hall
of Fame, So I don't need the accolades of it.
I mean, it's nice to know.

Speaker 1 (56:58):
But you don't need the awe.

Speaker 2 (57:00):
Yeah, asked like the sex Pistols when they're inducted to
the Rocker Hall of Fame and refuse to show up.
I kind of like that rib as well.

Speaker 1 (57:07):
Is that what you would do?

Speaker 2 (57:09):
I don't know, or Axel Rose Race. So I'm not
showing up and you're not even allowed to mention my name.

Speaker 1 (57:14):
That's crazy. At Samira Khali, what's your workout routine like?
And is it true that you're a yogi? Are you
a yogi?

Speaker 2 (57:20):
Now? I'm not a yogi I did yoga. Actually Dancing
with the Stars the very last thing we did where
I spun you around with Sugar Ray Leonard. It's something
in my.

Speaker 1 (57:30):
Back clicked still.

Speaker 2 (57:32):
Yeah, I got some herniated discs. I did yoga to
heal that, and obviously it was years of wrestling that
probably present.

Speaker 1 (57:38):
I'm sorry, that's not you for test me.

Speaker 2 (57:40):
So I did do yoga for about ten years. Now,
I most mostly exclusively kickbox and ride my bike. There's
about a twelve mile run that I do around my house,
so those are two. Kickboxing is my main way of
working out now.

Speaker 1 (57:54):
At Monal Rezwan twenty eight. I always want to ask Chris,
who is your female best friend right now? I mean,
this is random. Is it like a wrestling thing or no?

Speaker 2 (58:09):
Besides my wife Cheryl Burn.

Speaker 1 (58:10):
Yeah, that's right. At the James Bennett Any plans to
retire from wrestling and focus on your band full time.
I hear them on the radio a lot. That's awesome,
thank you.

Speaker 2 (58:19):
Yeah, we actually have a song that's number one right
now in the charts, which is I mean, I've been
the band has been full time for the last six
or seven years. The good thing about aw the company
wrestled for now is we basically just wrestle on Wednesday nights,
So even when we tour in the States, we always
leave Wednesdays off so I can still pop in if
I have to. I feel great. I'm still working at

(58:39):
a high level, so there's no real reason to think
about retiring right now. I could blow up into a
puff of dust tomorrow, but until that happens, I'm happy
doing what I'm doing right now.

Speaker 1 (58:51):
I mean, we all are, aren't we just a ticking
time bomb at Xavier Last one Grounds? Will you ever
go back to the WWE for one last run or more?

Speaker 2 (59:00):
I mean, you know, you never say never? Right now?
Once again, I'm really happy working for AW and for
Tony Kahan, my boss. But but you know, once again,
it's always there.

Speaker 1 (59:08):
Wait, why did you leave?

Speaker 2 (59:09):
Yeah, I mean it's a long story. I just felt
hit stagnant, and yeah, I hear you. And then AW
started and I was one of the first guys to
start there and it hit really big, so it kind
of was was starting. Starting a new company basically changed
the course of restling history. So I'm proud of the
fact that I was involved in that.

Speaker 3 (59:27):
So that's why it's awesome.

Speaker 2 (59:28):
I had no reason to leave at this point as well.

Speaker 1 (59:30):
That's awesome. Okay, any current projects you want to promote
Chris before we say goodbye here?

Speaker 2 (59:34):
I mean, you know, Instagram is always there. I'm always
doing stuff. Yes, between Pozzy and between.

Speaker 1 (59:40):
Where can people see you Live?

Speaker 2 (59:42):
Every Wednesday, we're on TBS at eight o'clock.

Speaker 1 (59:47):
Wow, that's awesome. It's like prime Time.

Speaker 2 (59:50):
Yeah, prime time, prime time.

Speaker 1 (59:51):
Amazing. Yes, thank you Chris. It's so always good to
catch up with you.

Speaker 2 (59:56):
It's amazing talking to you. Great job, you're a good host.
You need a good job, trust man.

Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
Thanks Thanks Chris. Safe travels my friend, and let's catch
up soon.

Speaker 2 (01:00:05):
Sounds good.

Speaker 1 (01:00:05):
Thank you, thank you bye. Thank you guys so much
for listening. And since you guys have been loving the
podcast so much, especially when I do recaps of past seasons,
we decided to make it a series. So make sure
to not only listen every Mondays for the interview portion,
but now you can look forward to listening to an
all new rewatch recap series here on sex, slizes and
spray tanks every Wednesdays, along with another weekly episode of

(01:00:28):
headlines and hot topics. That's three full episodes of sex
lies and spraytnds that drop every single week, so make
sure to listen so you can get your fix of
all things DWTS related. Love you guys so much and
until next time,