0:01

This is sex Lies and Spray Tans

0:03

with me Cheryl Burke and iHeartRadio

0:05

Podcast. Welcome back to

0:07

sex Lizes and Spray Tans. Today we're joined by

0:10

my next guest, who's a world renowned professional

0:12

wrestler, musician, fellow podcaster,

0:14

best selling author, and entertainer. From his

0:17

legendary status in the wrestling ring

0:19

to his dynamic performances on stage

0:21

and screen, he has captivated

0:23

audiences worldwide. Please welcome

0:26

my eleventh my Lucky Number celebrity

0:28

partner I dance with on Dancing with

0:30

the Stars, my friend Chris Jericho.

0:34

Before we get into it, who

0:36

is Chris Jericho? Behind the wrestling ring

0:39

and glitter?

0:40

What you see is what you get, Like the best type

0:42

of wrestling

0:45

characters. Persona are your real

0:47

life personas turned up to eleven,

0:50

so to speak. And that's

0:53

kind of who I am, you know what I mean. Like like obviously

0:56

Chris Jericho on screen, it's almost like

0:58

it's almost like like Seinfeld, Like

1:01

Jerry Seinfeld plays

1:03

Jerry Seinfeld on the Show of Seinfeld,

1:06

but it's not the same guy. There's

1:08

elements that are the same, but the rest

1:10

is kind of over exaggerated. And

1:13

that's kind of with Jericho is

1:15

like, you know, on screen and comparison

1:17

to off screen, I'm still pretty energetic

1:20

and excited and you know, personable

1:23

and that sort of a thing. But in

1:25

restling it's more over the top, you know. So

1:29

that's kind of the opening salvo to

1:31

answer that question. I mean, we can go super deep with

1:33

it, but I mean that's kind of the best

1:35

way to describe it at the beginning.

1:37

Is it kind of like when we ballroom dance, Like everything

1:39

has to be exaggerated, like from posture

1:41

to like our fingers and

1:44

everything. Yeah.

1:46

That's why I think I did you

1:49

know fairly well on that show, is because I

1:51

understood the concept of the live element

1:53

to it and the bringing

1:55

the bombastic being

1:58

big with your actions, and you

2:00

know, because you're translating not just to whatever

2:03

the two thousand people in the studio or whatever it was, but

2:05

also to the millions of people at home. And that's

2:08

the same with wrestling. I mean, you could

2:10

be wrestling in front of five thousand people and that's great,

2:12

but you really are wrestling to the million people

2:15

behind the camera. And I think a lot of people

2:17

that came onto that show and you would know better

2:19

than I would maybe actors and that sort of a

2:21

thing probably weren't as used to the live element

2:24

as the athletes and musicians

2:27

and comedians and that sort of thing. As we make our

2:29

living in front of a crowd, whereas

2:32

you know, an actor makes us living in front of a camera

2:34

where you take two and take ten and take twelve.

2:36

And I just think that show

2:38

is much more beneficial

2:41

for people to understand the

2:43

live entertainment element of it.

2:45

Were you raised by an outgoing

2:48

family, like I know your dad was part

2:50

of the NHL, right, Yeah, So

2:53

how was that? How did that translate into you

2:55

know, your career today?

2:58

Yeah, I mean, you know, hockey's

3:00

different because it's more of a team sport and there's not

3:02

much about not as much about the individual characters

3:05

so much. But but but my family's very

3:08

you know, outgoing and and jokey

3:10

and you know, great senses of humor, and

3:15

you know, I was very much raised

3:18

in a creative element to where I was always

3:22

you know, doing movies

3:25

on my own. When when VHS camcorders

3:28

became a thing, and you know, I remember

3:30

there's like cassette tapes of me being on

3:32

the spot reporter radiocaster, when I

3:34

was probably about eight or nine,

3:37

so I was always kind of in that thing. I remember I did like

3:39

a school play when I was in grade five,

3:41

which would be about eleven years old, that I wrote

3:43

and directed and and I'm

3:46

not sure if I started it or not. I probably did, but

3:48

you know, so I was always kind of really creative

3:50

and really into that side of things, very much. Always

3:53

into into music too, very

3:55

music based household,

3:58

which of course makes sense as

4:00

well. So I remember early

4:02

on like being maybe you

4:04

know, nine years old, eight or

4:06

nine years old, super into dungeons

4:08

and dragons, and super into the

4:11

Beatles, like I knew everything about

4:13

the Beatles, so you know, I was

4:15

really really obsessed

4:17

with music, and then wrestling

4:19

too because my grandmother was a big wrestling fan and

4:23

I started watching with her, and gosh, I

4:25

remember watching wrestling with her and she died when I was about

4:27

seven, so that shows how long I've

4:29

been into wrestling for. So all of

4:31

those things were kind of always in my wheelhouse.

4:33

So it was a very outgoing, creative,

4:37

pop culture based family for sure.

4:39

In school, how did you do in school?

4:42

I mean, not great, but

4:44

really good at the creative right

4:48

subjects, really good at English and you

4:51

know, drama and that sort of a thing,

4:53

you know, the high school play. And I wasn't

4:55

good at math. I wasn't good at chemistry.

4:57

Like I remember, my aunt

4:59

was the was the dean of

5:01

the University of Manitoba, which is like the head of

5:03

the University of Manatoba, and she used

5:05

to teach teachers, and

5:08

she would use me as an example of

5:12

what teachers do right and what teachers do wrong,

5:14

because I used to get in trouble for coloring

5:16

outside of the lines and drawing

5:19

my own pictures and kind of not

5:23

that I wasn't paying attention, but I was. She

5:25

thought I was too smart for that and

5:28

I was just kind of going beyond. But

5:30

she'd be like, you don't, you know, punish

5:33

kids for coloring

5:35

outside the lines. You encourage that,

5:38

like are you are you trying to draw something else? Like

5:40

would you like to draw something other than this picture or add

5:42

to it? And that sort of a thing.

5:44

So I

5:48

really enjoyed the social aspect of school, the

5:50

creative element of it. I mean high school

5:52

band, like not trumpet band, but

5:54

like rock and roll band, Like we had a great

5:56

high school band and made a lot of movies

5:59

in high school because camcorders were a thing and

6:01

figuring out how to edit and stop motion and

6:04

our own special effects and all that sort of stuff.

6:06

I just wasn't really good at the actual, you

6:08

know, numbers game of things. But

6:10

then when I went to college, because it's

6:13

a lot of information. But at

6:16

seventeen, I

6:18

graduated from high school because just by the way

6:20

that my birthday was and you couldn't

6:22

go to wrestling school til you're eighteen, so

6:25

I had to do something. I went

6:27

for a two year degree and it was called creative

6:29

communications, which was journalism and

6:31

PR and advertising and writing and

6:34

television class and radio class, and that I

6:36

ended up on the Honor Roll. Like I was. I

6:39

was critically aclaimed because I was into it, like

6:41

this is I can really get into this now

6:43

because I'm creating, and you

6:46

know, an artist is dancing

6:48

is art too, as you know, anytime you create

6:51

something out of nothing, that's

6:53

artistry. And I was really into the whole artists

6:55

side of things, rather than here's

6:57

the numbers. You know,

6:59

A B says that you have to use this

7:02

theory to get this correct answer of

7:04

three point seven seven seven to two, And

7:07

I was like, man, I'm not into that. I'd rather like create

7:09

my own path in a different my language

7:11

and make a movie about it for you know, mathematical

7:14

aliens or something.

7:16

I feel like with numbers, all you need to know is how to tip.

7:18

And you're good, like I mean honestly,

7:23

because exactly, and you're good and by

7:25

the way, a I will do it for you nowadays, so regardless,

7:28

isn't it crazy? So you've always been one

7:30

to step out of your comfort zone? Sounds like like

7:33

literally it's like a motto for life,

7:35

right, Like You've always colored outside of the lines,

7:38

and I think that's probably why

7:40

you're so successful to this day. So

7:43

when you started wrestling, did

7:46

you right away know that this is

7:48

what you wanted to do and did

7:50

you realize the impact

7:52

that it could make if you were a very successful

7:55

wrestler.

7:55

Let's say, well, I wanted

7:57

to do it since I was a kid, like right,

8:00

I wanted to be a wrestler and I wanted to be in

8:02

a rock and roll band. Those are the two things I wanted

8:04

to do from a very early age. And like I mentioned the high

8:06

school rock band that I was in, and then

8:08

wrestling always was wrestling Like

8:11

in the high school gym. You'd get these big mats,

8:13

these big thick mats. They are called porta pits, and

8:16

we'd have our own you know, wrestling cards and make

8:18

up characters and me and one other

8:20

guy would play like ten characters each, so we're

8:22

like borderline schizophrenic. But

8:24

I realized, like, I really want to try this, you

8:27

know, I really want to do this. And

8:29

back then there was no Internet. It was like,

8:31

you know, nineteen eighty nine, well probably nineteen eighty

8:33

six is when I decided want to do it. But

8:36

then you start figuring, well, how do I get into

8:38

wrestling? And I was watching this wrestling show from

8:41

Calgary that said, you know,

8:43

if you want to be a wrestler, join

8:45

the Hart Brothers Pro Wrestling School. And there

8:47

was an address on I wrote an address. I

8:49

wrote a letter self address stamp and below.

8:52

That's really old school, yes.

8:53

And they sent me back a pamphlet that said

8:55

here's what you gotta do. You got to be eighteen and all

8:58

that stuff. And then I just started focusing

9:00

on that, like, Okay, I'm going to go to Calgary from Winnipeg,

9:02

which is about fourteen hours away by car,

9:05

and I'm going to go to wrestling school, and at

9:07

the time, telling people that

9:10

was like saying you wanted to be like a sword swallow

9:13

in a circus or something like

9:15

what a wrestler, Like, that's impossible.

9:17

You're too small, Like I always

9:19

heard that, like I'll ever do it. You're too small, you're too

9:21

small. And I never really cared what other people thought.

9:23

I thought, like, why do you care what I

9:25

want to do so bad? Like worry about your own

9:28

shit and let me, you

9:30

know, worry about mine. So it's

9:32

something that I always focused on and wanted to

9:34

do it. And then when I when I finally left home

9:36

to do it at nineteen, there was no

9:38

like backup plan, like this is what I'm going to do

9:41

and other people have done it, so what's

9:44

to stop me from doing it? And I think to this day

9:48

I wrote a book, one of the books that was called

9:50

no is a four letter word. And what I mean by that

9:52

is like no is such an easy word

9:54

to throw out, like a cuss word. It really

9:57

means nothing, like people say

9:59

no to every thing, and you

10:01

really don't have to live like that, Like, don't

10:03

tell me reasons why it won't work, Tell me reasons

10:06

why it will work. Let's chase that knowing

10:08

too, Yes, And that was kind of always my mindset

10:11

of let's make this work, Like how do I get into

10:13

wrestling? How can I do this? I

10:15

might be too small for the North America,

10:18

but in Mexico and Japan, I'm bigger

10:20

than everybody there. So why don't I just go to Mexico

10:22

and Japan and try and figure that out? And that's kind

10:24

of where it all started for me.

10:26

Chris, I think I saw you in Japan when

10:28

I was there. I swear from a distance

10:30

because I did a show called Love on the Floor. I was

10:32

a live stage show. Because I've been obviously doing

10:34

a lot of research, especially since we haven't

10:37

danced in a while, and you mentioned Japan

10:39

quite a lot. I was there this summer

10:42

of twenty eighteen, I

10:44

believe, or two. Yeah, twenty eighteen, twenty

10:47

nineteen, maybe twenty twenty as well. I

10:49

think I saw you from a distance, but I was at the

10:51

in Shbu. Yeah, that's where we were at the we

10:55

were at the ORB Theater performing live.

10:57

It's interesting, I bet you if we if we compared

11:00

dates, because I was definitely there.

11:02

I thought I saw what I was tripping out

11:05

in.

11:05

The summer of nineteen for sure, eighteen

11:08

as well before pandemic. I

11:10

kind of had a career resurgence in eighteen nineteen

11:12

and twenty in Japan, and I went

11:15

there probably ten times within

11:17

that two year period.

11:18

I think you were with John Cena.

11:21

I don't think I was there with him.

11:23

Are you sure you weren't at that hotel, Intercontinental

11:25

Hotel?

11:26

I mean I could have. It's

11:28

quite possible. We would have to compare the

11:31

dates.

11:31

Yeah, we will later anyway, the dates.

11:42

Okay, So you go from from that

11:44

and then all of a sudden, you know, I'm

11:47

sure this is a cliff note version, but your rise to fame,

11:49

right, you get to be

11:52

one of the stars of WWE. Who

11:54

was your mentor, who led you, who helped you

11:56

through the bad, the

11:58

good, the ugly.

12:02

Well, I mean there was quite a few mentors

12:04

over the years, you know what I mean, Like, it

12:08

depends what level you're at as well, you

12:10

know.

12:11

So heading that I guess what I'm asking

12:13

is that transition, like how what was that transformation

12:16

from you know, going to wrestling school.

12:18

To then yeah, from from the indies

12:20

to w so from the biggest mentor

12:22

I had was a guy called Pat Patterson. He's

12:26

like well known throughout the wrestling business

12:28

as being one of the smartest pro

12:30

wrestlers of all time in psychology, which

12:32

which you might say psychology, but wrestling is

12:34

all about psychology. It's not

12:37

about how big you are. It's not about the moves.

12:39

It's about the stories that you tell. It's

12:42

about when to do things at the right time,

12:44

what to do at the right time, and

12:47

how to draw people in and how to make

12:49

them interested in what you're doing. And

12:51

that's basically the basic

12:53

element to any show business is you want

12:56

to draw people in and make them interested

12:58

in what you're doing. And we do that and

13:00

wrestling with the characters and with the stories that

13:02

we tell, both in

13:04

the ring, putting

13:06

together a match with a story behind it, and

13:08

then putting together a story to lead

13:11

to that match beforehand. So Pat

13:13

Patterson was probably the best

13:15

mentor that I had as far as

13:17

putting all that stuff together. And he wasn't

13:20

actually actively wrestling. He was behind

13:22

the scenes guy like a coach on a on

13:24

a football team or something along those lines. So he

13:26

was a psychologist, no,

13:28

no, no, no, he was a psychologist for wrestling,

13:31

got it. He was an old school pro

13:33

wrestler from the sixties and seventies who

13:36

had transitioned to the backstage, who

13:38

was who was really great at the psychology

13:41

of wrestling, got it? Which is really

13:43

good? Yeah yeah,

13:46

I mean like you were. You were kind

13:48

of like that to teach me about the psychology of

13:50

dancing. And once like we mentioned

13:52

like you know, you have to have your lines right and all

13:54

that sort of stuff, but you

13:57

know, land my bag on you for the

13:59

lines, whereas like Bruno

14:01

and Carrie would understand more of the

14:03

show business connection. Like

14:06

I'm looking like Bruno right now.

14:09

I love it.

14:10

But I mean, and that's that's why Dancing

14:12

Stars Judges panel was so great,

14:14

is that there was this technician who

14:17

also appreciated the show business

14:19

element. But but but but Len would talk to you about

14:21

your lines and lots. Suff for Bruno was more about

14:24

the way you look and the costumes of the flair. And

14:26

that's kind of what wrestling is too, is

14:28

you have to have the foundation properly

14:32

of how to do things, and

14:34

you have to have the show business element as well, but

14:36

you really have to have a mindset of

14:38

what you need to do to

14:40

connect with the audience and and and

14:43

to make them to engage

14:45

them in what it is you're doing.

14:47

Right, See, I think it's actually the

14:50

psychology on Dancing with the Stars is stuff

14:52

that's not said like it's it's untold,

14:55

and so it's about who can really,

14:59

you know, get to the other side without having a

15:01

mental breakdown because there is that psychology

15:03

too. It's like, as a viewer now as I'm

15:05

watching this, do I like to see tension packages?

15:07

No? Does that? You know, there's all

15:09

of that in mind you it could be all conspiracy

15:13

theories, whatever it is. I

15:15

know as a viewer what I like to

15:17

see and what I don't, what I root for, who I don't

15:19

root for, and why. And so

15:22

it's interesting when you say that, because I think

15:24

it's something to like really think about

15:26

when any reality program of course,

15:28

you know, in any sport really

15:31

and I figure that out.

15:33

Very early on. Yeah, it's show business

15:35

and it's reality TV, and it's like wrestling,

15:37

and wrestling we have a booker. The booker will decide,

15:39

okay, Chris and Cheryl having a match.

15:42

Cheryl wins because she gets a better rating

15:44

on TV, she gets a better reaction. She's

15:46

going to win the title. And when she wins the title,

15:49

then we're going to bring in you know, Hines

15:51

Ward because he's doing really good, and

15:54

Cheryl and Hines will have a match, and then Hines

15:56

will win because he gets the best ratings

15:58

and the best reaction. Heigure that I would dance

16:00

with the stars. Listen, it's show business,

16:03

you know. It's not all about you

16:05

know, the technique and who's the best dancer.

16:07

Obviously you got to be good, but there's

16:09

stories to be told. There's

16:11

characters that we enjoy, like the

16:14

chick from Girls next Door with Candra, like,

16:17

way better dancer than Kendra was, but she

16:19

was kind of a train wreck on the show, and so

16:22

she lasted longer than we did because I think

16:24

people were interested to see what crazy

16:26

things she was going to say next and how

16:28

she was going to react. And I'm just surmising

16:31

here.

16:31

No, I hear you. By the way, I agree, like

16:33

we made it what week six, week seven?

16:36

I think, yeah, seven, yeah.

16:38

And I'm just don't believe still to

16:40

this day that you didn't get the votes. Yeah,

16:44

but our scores. I felt like you were freaking

16:46

low balled the whole season time, big

16:49

time, but not to the point where the scores

16:51

I mean the votes should have helped you get through,

16:53

do you know what I'm saying?

16:55

Yeah, And once again,

16:57

like I remember being

17:00

in the thick of it, and I

17:02

remember week two. I posted a

17:04

picture of us last night and you posted and I reposted

17:08

with, uh, I've

17:10

got sunshines and crack a rhythm. I've got

17:13

it Greataty Judy Garland was the song and

17:15

it was.

17:16

A quick step, good damn dance for you.

17:19

It was week two and I've

17:21

watched that thing probably ten

17:23

times. We crushed it.

17:24

It was really good. We had

17:26

body contact throughout the whole freaking

17:29

routine, Like no, you it was so good,

17:31

especially compared to a Week one.

17:33

Right and your like choreography

17:36

of the steps in and out like it was. It

17:39

was like broad rock, like a rush song.

17:40

There's like, no,

17:44

you didn't miss one step.

17:46

I remember we got like twenty one or

17:48

twenty two, and I was like that, like, how much better

17:50

could that have been?

17:52

No, it actually couldn't have been.

17:54

I don't think it could have been. I think it was too early in

17:56

the show week wise.

17:57

I don't think.

17:57

And I don't think like you said, Dina casts said, you can

18:00

win this thing. I don't think the other producers felt

18:02

that way. I think they were kind of surprised

18:04

at how good that was, but they get kind

18:06

of kept the thumb on it a bit because I was like, because

18:08

I remember watching I mentioned Heines Ward and he got a

18:10

better score, and I was like, well, that's bullshit,

18:13

because listen, Hines is great, but our dance

18:15

on that show was as close to

18:17

a three tens as you could get. But they don't give

18:19

out three tens a week two. That's sure could

18:21

have given us a twenty five or twenty six, and I

18:23

will just sick to that, and anyone listening to this go

18:25

back and watch it because it was bad ass.

18:28

Man, it was so good.

18:29

I'm actually doing these rewatches started I started

18:32

season one right, and so I'm they

18:34

did. They did give out perfect scores

18:36

like early on in the competition back in the day.

18:38

But let me tell you something, Chris, I don't

18:40

think that's it because that's BS because they

18:42

were candying out scores. I

18:45

don't know what it is, but all I know is

18:47

that there must have been

18:49

I don't know if WWE fans translate

18:51

to Dancing with the Stars, though Stacy Keebler did

18:54

great, but so she's one that

18:56

got a perfect score week three of the competition. She

18:59

was like it was fast, like she

19:01

didn't get less than a nine ever, right,

19:03

Right, So I don't

19:06

know, I don't know. I don't want to like

19:08

get into like what I really think. Like

19:10

as far as maybe it's a political

19:12

thing, I don't. It's not always been on a dance It's

19:14

not a dance competition, you know that. Now I

19:16

think that it has nothing to do with almost

19:19

nothing to do with what people I believe

19:21

are voting on because you can't compare

19:23

a quick step to a chatcha. You just can't.

19:26

Working in a system where it's showed business

19:28

but it's fabricated, you know, with

19:31

wrestling. Like I said, when

19:34

and once again we talked with

19:36

this on my show, and I'm not sure if you agree with

19:38

me or not, but I still stick to this. So

19:41

you you do your you do your dance,

19:43

and then you get judged on

19:46

the Tuesday, no days off, you go right

19:48

back, you go. So Tuesday

19:51

is the day off that you don't rehearse.

19:52

Because that's no longer happening

19:54

anymore.

19:55

By the way, Okay, so when I was doing it, that's

19:57

yeah, result shows Wednesday, you're right back

19:59

again. And then Friday you've

20:01

got the wides. I

20:05

stick to this that they give you two days

20:07

to learn as much as you can. Then

20:10

you film the wives, which I think is the producer's

20:12

watching to see who's going great. Yeah,

20:14

okay, good, and then and then they'll decide right then

20:16

and there, Okay, what's the story that we're gonna tell because

20:18

this guy on Friday don't look great, this

20:21

this girl on Friday looks amazing. And

20:23

then you do your rehearsal on Saturday on Sunday,

20:26

and I think I'm convinced the judges

20:28

that their watching and that's.

20:29

What they have to be. They have to be.

20:31

They have to because the week that that we left

20:34

rehearsal, yes, the dress rehearsal, the week

20:36

that we lost, something went wrong in

20:38

dress rehearsal, and I stopped and

20:40

said let's start again, and You're like, don't do that.

20:42

You can't stop and start again. I'm like, why rehearsal.

20:45

Yeah, And they wrote

20:47

some stuff, they said

20:49

some stuff on the show that

20:52

we did on Sunday, but we didn't do on Monday.

20:54

And that's what I just little things and I was like, I

20:57

disagree with that. I did it yesterday. That's why I

20:59

stopped.

21:00

You know, so you didn't stop during dress russal. You

21:02

stopped during camera blocking.

21:03

No, no, I stop during dress rehearsal.

21:05

What dance was it?

21:06

It was the last one, don't

21:09

stop believing. And I can't remember what we did? It

21:13

Was it a jive because I.

21:14

Didn't really good? Oh tango tango tango?

21:16

Yeah. I did really good on the non Latin

21:19

dances, not as good as the Latin

21:21

dance. It's like I was good work and not with the

21:23

moving.

21:32

How the hell did you get approached to doing Dancing

21:35

with the Stars? And like, did you had you

21:37

been approached prior to doing season twelve?

21:39

You mentioned Stacy and Stacey and

21:42

I were pretty close at

21:44

the time, and she did Dance with the Stars obviously

21:46

did really well at it, and I think her

21:48

biggest problem was that WW didn't really promote

21:50

it, and I think that was the same thing with with

21:53

with me. And another thing too is

21:55

Monday Night Raw is the big WWE

21:57

show and that's when Dancing with the Stars

21:59

is. So I think it was a conflict of interest

22:01

for them to promote it, and

22:04

they they I know that because

22:06

I wasn't even working there at the time, but

22:08

the company was behind me doing it. They thought it was a

22:10

great idea, but they they're like, you know, we can't really promote

22:13

it for it, and I know they didn't with Stacy. That was a problem that she

22:15

had, even when she was like she was the

22:17

weapons of mass Destruction or mass.

22:18

Seduction said about her tango

22:21

or some of her legs.

22:22

Yeah, and they they wouldn't promote it. So

22:24

I think she had an issue with that. But so

22:27

she mentioned it to me, like listen, I think she was talking

22:29

to Dina, like Dina was saying, is there anybody else that you

22:31

know in the company that or in wrestling? She

22:33

said, I mentioned your name, you got to do

22:36

this, And I was like, I don't really know, Like

22:38

I'm I'm not really much of a dancer

22:40

and I'm really I got other things going on,

22:42

and so I think I just I think

22:44

I was offered it or initially

22:47

like someone from Dancing Stars

22:49

called that, I'll just not do it, and

22:51

then I got asked again and

22:54

I turned it down again, and then the third time. I

22:56

remember I was in Ireland on tour with Fozzy

22:58

with my band, and I remember thinking

23:00

like if I don't do it this time, I'm

23:03

I'm an I'm an asshole, like I gotta you

23:05

mentioned like pushing boundaries. That's what have done my whole

23:07

life. And like what is

23:10

this show? Like what is what is

23:12

the deal with it? You know, like why

23:14

is it so popular? And

23:17

what's the appeal?

23:18

And so you hadn't seen it before, I

23:20

mean it's seen a little bit.

23:21

I watched when Stacy was on it. Actually, to be honest with you,

23:23

I saw you and I was like, Cheryl's the best, Like she's

23:25

the best one, like when you I

23:27

don't know who you were with on that scene. Yeah,

23:30

but I was I remember watching, Well she's she's.

23:32

The best one with my little haircut.

23:34

Yeah, she's the hottest one. She's the best answer,

23:36

Like she's great. So anyways,

23:38

I finally said okay, like I'll do it, and

23:40

and and what do I what does this mean?

23:42

You know what I mean? Like I said, I wasn't wrestling at the time and

23:44

kind of got the lowdown of and

23:47

to me like I wasn't gonna half asset like

23:49

if we're doing this, like I'm doing this

23:51

to win it, Like because Stacey said,

23:53

like you got to practice every day for you know,

23:55

hours, and I'm like, fine, I'm in Like.

23:57

So she told you it's intense.

23:58

Yeah yeah, yes, yeah yeah, and once again

24:01

not being you know, not being

24:04

stupid about it, Like I understand how much work

24:06

you got to put into this together.

24:07

Some people don't.

24:08

Wendy Williams she she was

24:11

flying back and forth from New York and

24:13

was out the.

24:13

First week, like yeah, second

24:16

week.

24:16

I think the situation from

24:19

Jersey Shore was the same.

24:20

It's consuming, don't say it's not like

24:23

it's got to be, and

24:25

you knew that kind of going in.

24:27

I knew it from Stacy. But also once again, I'm not

24:29

I'm not an idiot, like like I'm watching this

24:31

show and seeing these people on here and knowing,

24:33

like to get from from

24:35

from zero to this, you know,

24:37

you got to put in some serious time. I don't care who

24:40

you are on Friday. Yeah,

24:43

And you know, for me, I

24:45

was looking at it and you

24:48

know, it kind of was perfect

24:50

for me because I'm a musician, so

24:52

I understand how to stay on the beat, not behind

24:54

it, not ahead of it. And being a wrestler,

24:57

I understand choreography, remembering,

25:00

remembering, intricate you know, uh,

25:03

footwork, intricate footwork, and

25:05

also to.

25:09

Being being a lot of exaggerating.

25:11

Exaggerating and being in front of a crowd and personality

25:14

and knowing how far that can take you. You know, if

25:16

I can last a week or two, I think I can go

25:18

pretty far because people start, you know, liking

25:21

me. You know what I mean, I can, Yeah, I

25:23

know what to be in front of the camera. I guess in a lot of

25:25

situation. So that's what it was. And then

25:27

and then I remember we went to the

25:30

we went to the unveiling

25:32

of the cast, and that was wait.

25:34

Hold on, did you request me?

25:36

No?

25:37

Did they ask you who you wanted to dance with?

25:39

No? They never said a word. I mean they might

25:41

have been in the in the original like

25:44

interviews or something like who do you like on the show?

25:46

And if if they did say that, I would have said you,

25:48

because you're the one that I really knew. But I

25:50

didn't request you or like say like it has

25:52

to be Sheryl Berg or anything like that.

25:54

Okay, okay, So were you genuinely

25:57

surprised when I walked in when I was in Florida?

25:59

Mind you already cussing

26:01

you out because I was traveled to Florida.

26:04

Sorry.

26:06

I offered to go wherever I had go, and they

26:08

said, don't know, she can come to Florida.

26:09

I'm like, they wanted me to get away from the clubs

26:11

back in the day.

26:12

Yeah, yeah, exactly right. But

26:15

but but I they

26:17

brought us to the castle unveiling, and I remember

26:20

we had to wear like like a hood, like

26:22

a like a like a blanket overhead like a

26:24

clock, and they feed you in

26:26

because they didn't want anyone to know. And then you walked into

26:28

this room and.

26:29

Like, good morning America.

26:30

It wasn't good More America. It was just like the filming

26:33

for the show, like for for Dance

26:35

with the Stars, and so you go into this

26:37

room and then you walk in and

26:40

then you see everybody and you're

26:42

like, I don't know who that is. I don't know who

26:44

that is. Oh, there's Ralph Machio. I know who that is.

26:47

Who didn't you know?

26:49

I didn't know Mike Catherwood. I didn't know.

26:52

I mean, obviously I knew Christiality, I knew Ralph.

26:54

Maccio, Wendy Williams,

26:57

Wendy Wendy, I knew.

26:59

Yeah, I didn't know. Maybe

27:02

I have to see who the castle was at that season.

27:04

But I didn't really know a lot

27:06

of other sugar Ray Leonard obviously.

27:08

Of course I knew him. Kendra,

27:10

Did you know Kendra?

27:11

I knew. I knew of her because of she was

27:14

really hot at the time, the

27:16

Disney girl. I didn't know Romeo.

27:19

I didn't think I really knew little Romeo.

27:21

Yeah, you know interesting, so

27:23

were you guys Just I don't remember any of this, like

27:26

as far as you guys having to wear hoodies and.

27:28

Well, you weren't there. Like they

27:32

had us go do

27:34

that and meet everybody, and

27:36

then you did

27:39

the big reveal, like the big you know, photo shoot

27:41

and here's the new season. Because I'll say this, like Dancing

27:43

with the Stars is, especially

27:46

at the time, it was so massive. I've

27:49

been on national TV at that point

27:51

for you know whatever. It was fifteen

27:55

years, and it was great.

27:57

I had some steam and I'd done some stuff,

27:59

but a starts instantly. You're

28:02

in the mix for everything, you know.

28:04

So it was a big deal, a big reveal

28:07

and like here's all of your people. And

28:09

then I think on that same loop,

28:12

they took us to the studio that we rehearse in,

28:15

and you walk in and you have no idea who

28:17

you're gonna meet, and you walk in the room

28:19

and I'm like, god.

28:20

Cheryl, they did they

28:23

brief you. They didn't brief you nothing.

28:24

It's a surprise.

28:26

Well no, not for everyone, my love.

28:28

Oh yeah, well for me it was.

28:29

That's good. At least you knew. At least they must have

28:31

known that you knew me if if you mentioned my

28:33

name, let's say, in your initial meeting, because

28:36

I mean, I get briefed, but like,

28:38

also the celebs get brief

28:40

because if you haven't watched the show, and

28:42

let's say Karina Smirnov walks in right

28:44

and I don't know her, then it's like.

28:46

Yeah, I think maybe because they knew that I knew who you were,

28:48

because I'm sure, I'm sure through the course

28:50

of it, I mentioned that I saw you

28:53

or whatever. So but from what I recall,

28:55

it was a legit surprise.

28:57

Yeah, to see you there. Did you think it

28:59

was going to be harder? And it actually was? And

29:02

yeah, to start with that first, I guess

29:04

I because.

29:06

I remember Stacey said, Uh, it's

29:09

gonna be one of the hardest

29:11

things you've ever done, but one

29:13

of the most rewarding and one of the most

29:15

fun.

29:15

Things you've She had dance experience,

29:18

she did.

29:19

I did not, but I had

29:22

musician experience and experience

29:24

not the same. But I didn't come

29:26

in there completely cold. No,

29:29

no, yeah, because you know I

29:31

remember, like even I'm looking at the cast now,

29:34

I remember like, like I think, like I think Rolf Maccio

29:36

had done some kind of Broadway dancing

29:39

stuff, you know, and and like

29:42

like Romeo's a rapper, so he's

29:44

doing live performances with probably a

29:46

lot of dancing involved, you know what I mean.

29:49

So, oh, yeah, Petro, I forgot about Petro

29:51

and them come yes.

29:53

So we pretty much was eliminated first, and then

29:55

it was Wendy I think gotcha.

29:56

So yeah, we pretty much got the whole crew

29:58

that we mentioned. Chelsea came was the Disney girl. She was.

30:01

She was very right right with

30:03

Marshallas.

30:04

I think she went top four that year. Kirsty

30:07

should have won that because she had the best story of losing weight

30:09

and all that stuff. But she she was so

30:11

so much fun and so awesome, but so

30:14

so I

30:17

knew it was gonna be hard. And here's what I love, Here's what I

30:19

loved about you, and I still love about you. I'm glad we reconnected

30:21

because it had been such a long time. Like

30:23

you know, the one thing that

30:25

that and this is not expected

30:28

or anything, but like it's a very

30:31

sensual thing that you're doing.

30:34

And that's why you see like you know, like like Nikki

30:37

Bella married the guy that she was,

30:40

Yeah, and you see this happening and for us,

30:42

there was none of that. It was really like a

30:45

sister and a brother thing because there was no

30:47

sexual tension, like not that

30:49

that there couldn't be. But I

30:51

just right, well,

30:54

yeah, I know, I'm just saying like I'm not I'm not

30:56

saying we would go off and run away, but

30:58

there's a sensual thing. But because

31:00

that we had like a brother and sister

31:03

type of relationship.

31:04

The professional aspect of it professional.

31:06

And here's what I love about about you

31:09

is that you told me what I needed

31:11

to hear, not what I wanted to

31:13

hear.

31:13

No, we trusted. We had a trust I think we did.

31:16

And the thing is too, like it

31:19

reminded me of going to wrestling school and

31:21

that you're learning something very hard, but

31:23

you really got to focus on it and you've got to have a

31:25

great trainer that once again tells

31:28

you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. And

31:30

because you were like that, not like

31:32

a drill sergeant, but you were very direct.

31:35

You know, some people call me drill sergeant.

31:38

But I'm okay with that, Like, yeah,

31:40

I came from a background where like dude,

31:42

like you want to be a wrestler,

31:44

do five hundred hack squats right now, right

31:47

and you're like, well, I can't do five hundred scots, then go leave,

31:49

leave right now. And they'd be like, yeah, fifteen

31:52

kids in wrestling school and eight

31:54

of them leave right away because they can't do five hundred

31:56

of these you know, hack squad things. So

31:59

with you, with you is like that, And so then I really

32:01

learned, and that's why I think, like we mentioned week two with

32:04

the quick step, like man, we rocked

32:06

that.

32:07

I was so pissed off at those scores.

32:09

I agree. And we couldn't have done that if you weren't

32:11

who you were and if I wasn't who I was, because you

32:14

told me what I needed here and I accepted

32:16

it and learned as

32:18

fast as I could with as much work

32:20

as I could. Like I remember, we didn't even eat.

32:22

Lunch, No, who eats?

32:24

I mean you can't. But people listening

32:26

like you're there. I think we started like nine and

32:29

then went to like four or five, and you didn't eat

32:31

during the day because you really can't.

32:33

You can't unless you want to just let

32:35

out gas the whole time.

32:36

And that's yeah,

32:38

we're like doing some intricate stuff.

32:40

You know, we need body

32:42

contact for God's sakes, keep it all in. We

32:44

don't need to let gas out all we're quick stepping.

32:47

They have four hours maximum,

32:49

Like they have rules back then. We could be like,

32:51

we want the studio from nine am till nine pm,

32:53

okay, and then they'd have to stay there for

32:55

twelve hours.

32:56

Why did they cut it down?

32:57

People started getting injured. Oh

32:59

and also everyone rehearses under one

33:01

roof now and there's only so many rooms, so they have

33:04

to divide it equally. However, like

33:06

Bobby Bone said on this podcast, you

33:08

know we would go and rent studios

33:10

if we need more time, because again the turnaround,

33:13

like like you said earlier, there's no

33:15

way you can get a wide in by Friday

33:17

if you have only started this on Wednesday,

33:20

let's say, and you're dancing with someone no

33:22

dance experience. Four hours including the

33:24

OTFS the interview, like there's

33:27

no way in hell, like the quality

33:29

of the show would go down tremendously.

33:31

It would be it would be a bad show, you

33:33

know.

33:34

And for me, like I have a like a really

33:36

great work ethic, you.

33:37

Know, and that's yeah, that's why I loved you.

33:39

Yeah, and vice versa, like you weren't cutting any

33:41

corners either, Like.

33:42

Well, you told me you wanted to win, Chris. So when

33:44

someone says this to me, I'm like, I question

33:47

it. So I first say, are you sure? Are

33:49

you sure you want to win? Because I know what it takes. But

33:51

and it's not fun, Like it's not necessarily

33:53

fun, but it is you feel

33:56

a sense of you've achieved

33:58

so much even just making it pass,

34:00

you know, one week, and you would always be like I want

34:02

to win.

34:03

I want to win.

34:03

I'm like, just the focus on one step

34:05

in front of the next step, like you

34:07

got to just it's one step at a time, quite

34:10

literally, because when you think about winning,

34:12

you're not really present to be it's

34:15

about your last dance. You are your last dance

34:17

unfortunately on that show you know.

34:19

Well, and that's and that's that's showbase. You're only as good

34:21

as your last performance. Well,

34:25

I mean, unfortunately, that's kind of the way it goes,

34:27

right, And that's like for for you

34:29

mentioned week one, like I was terrified, like I

34:31

have because it's fun. I remember one like.

34:34

I saw I saw that What's

34:36

up You're Tasha when I just watched

34:38

it, Actually you're sleep I saw that. But

34:41

it was a huge improvement from week one

34:43

to week two. And I was going to ask, like the feelings

34:45

that were running through your body from the first

34:48

rehearsal right right before the

34:50

premiere to the premiere night.

34:52

Well, I remember early on you said something

34:54

like, well, just dance, like just dance, just

34:57

dance, And I was like, okay, what.

34:59

Where was it? Just me? You and the music is what I tend

35:01

to say.

35:02

That's basically what it was. Yeah, And I

35:05

remember, like, uh, I

35:08

was dancing. And here's the thing you probably experienced

35:11

this time and time again is that

35:13

people equate dancing with trying

35:15

to be funny. You know what I mean,

35:18

Like dance you like, like when you see people

35:20

dance, like at a club or something, like people

35:22

are trying to like like be funny, and like maybe

35:24

they're trying to be laying from Seinfeld or something.

35:27

Okay, and and and like that's the initial

35:29

reaction because when you can't dance, you just want to do

35:31

like rightating, yeah,

35:34

exactly, and and right

35:36

right out of the way, I was like this, this is

35:38

not what dancing is. You got to play

35:40

this straight And there's a whole element

35:43

to this physically with the lines.

35:46

And it's so detailed.

35:49

But I love that because I've really felt like

35:51

I was learning the

35:53

intricacies of the

35:55

art of dancing. And that

35:57

might sound a little bit.

35:58

Too deep, like oh, I love that. That's why we got

36:00

along because.

36:03

Like once again, we're work. You're

36:07

you're creating something out of nothing, and I'm following

36:09

you do this, but we are, we are, But

36:12

it was it's like it's like a wrestling match, like we're working

36:14

together to put on the best possible

36:16

performance, you know, and like I

36:18

like, I don't want to go down this road too, but like wrestling

36:21

could be an Olympic sport because

36:23

it's a pretermined display

36:25

of athleticism. Yes, working

36:27

together the same way like figure skating or

36:30

or or swimming or.

36:31

Dance stould be an Olympics.

36:34

Break dancing just got into the Olympics.

36:37

I mean ballroom dancing should be you know and

36:39

and man like, so week one,

36:41

I was terrified because I didn't know

36:44

if this was going to work. I didn't

36:46

really understand it, Like I knew

36:48

what we were doing, but it was kind of going

36:51

through the motions as much

36:53

as you can and just holding

36:55

on for dear life, but still trying to be a

36:57

performer. And I think I had some sleeves

36:59

that came off.

37:00

I think, yeah, yeah, nope, but

37:03

but.

37:03

That's fine because it was And when we got our

37:06

score, I think it was like nineteen or something like that.

37:09

It was low. It was just too low.

37:11

It was okay, it was too low, but still for me, I

37:13

was like I was expecting to get like a two

37:16

and come on. So I don't know,

37:18

because I didn't know I was. I was really

37:20

terrified about being the first person

37:22

eliminated.

37:23

Were we the first performance ever?

37:25

Like from the think I think we might have been.

37:28

I think we kicked off the show because it was with the clash

37:30

and I haven't watched that one back. Should I stare? Should

37:32

I go yes? But I remember

37:34

like like, oh my gosh, like this is okay,

37:38

Like that was the first one and

37:40

I didn't get flamed by the judges.

37:43

But what were you feeling like? Were you gonna shit?

37:46

Like? What were you feeling like?

37:47

I was really nervous. I was really before

37:49

or.

37:49

After before like the click click

37:51

click, like you know, remember those clicks.

37:53

Yeah, I was really I was really nervous

37:55

because I didn't know

37:58

what to expect from the audience

38:00

and from the judges. We

38:03

had our dance down and I knew that it

38:05

was pretty cool, but I didn't

38:07

know how the people would take to it, Like, am I just the dumb

38:10

wrestler guy that's stumbling over my own feet?

38:12

I mean, they can portray it anyway they want.

38:14

Right, but you don't care about what other people think.

38:16

I don't, But in that case, I cared

38:19

what the judges thought because idly, the first

38:21

person kicked off. But what

38:23

I felt after was all right, that

38:26

was the first one. That's the huge monkey

38:28

off my back. I know I

38:30

belong here, and I know I can do this.

38:33

I know I can get better, and I know

38:35

I got the right partner. Let's

38:38

do this, Let's make this happen, and let's

38:41

let's go all the way here.

38:42

You know, do you also agree though, that

38:44

the scoring was off? Like when did

38:46

you start to get discouraged

38:48

because I remember the time you did, but I

38:51

want to hear from you.

38:53

Well, we two discourage me because I was

38:55

like, I don't know if I could have done that any better,

38:57

and it gets such a low score on that one

38:59

really bothered me. And that's when I started

39:01

thinking between the lines, like there's something else going

39:03

on here, and then I was okay, so there's there's

39:06

there's there's a line of a

39:08

list of people and

39:10

who they want to go were and who's getting a push

39:12

we call in wrestling, who's getting the push from

39:14

Dancing with the Stars, you know. So

39:17

that was very discouraging for me, and we

39:19

talked about it, which

39:22

that one that's going on.

39:23

We talked about no you and you were got frustrated

39:25

because like also my job, because

39:27

I've played it all different ways with twenty

39:29

three partners I've had, right, so I've gone

39:32

to where I go to the dark side with and

39:34

I follow my partner's lead as far as

39:36

frustration, but then that gets us nowhere

39:38

because then we're both negative. Nancy or

39:41

I can try and you know, use psychology a little

39:43

bit, and I tried to be like you know, because I didn't

39:45

want your spirit to die because if your spirit,

39:47

I'm already jaded. Now if your spirit dies,

39:50

then we're screwed.

39:51

Right. So so I don't

39:53

think I was ever discouraged, but I just remember thinking

39:55

like that should have been better, and so I kind

39:57

of always felt like I was behind the

40:00

apel a little bit every week. And

40:02

also too, they started doing this trend where I was

40:04

in the bottom two like three weeks in a row

40:07

and that, and I wonder if they

40:09

were doing that because they wanted the fans to vote

40:11

more if they wanted to, because.

40:12

You got votes. Let's be real here, So

40:14

I like it. There's no way that none

40:17

of your don't come on.

40:18

I don't know, Like once again, I don't really know, but

40:21

I was like, if I'm that far behind the eight be

40:23

able every week, that I'll just keep doing better. In the one

40:25

week I think it was with the

40:27

Viennese Wall.

40:29

Yes, that was your best dance, but that was when you were

40:31

about to have a mental breakdown during rehearsal.

40:34

Oh really you were so uh and it

40:36

was good, but then it didn't like the

40:38

pieces didn't get put together until like the

40:40

last minute, like like the day before

40:42

blocking. So that's Saturday and

40:45

I just remember we were both exiled and we're

40:47

both discouraged. Because again, in any workplace,

40:50

you know, we want to be able to see

40:52

like we see I see the dance,

40:54

and I see what else can I do with this guy?

40:56

Like as far as your potential goes within the

40:58

turnaround of just a few days, you're

41:01

freaking good, like it was you improved,

41:04

right, This is not about how you start, it's how you

41:06

finish, and like there

41:08

was an actual journey and story and

41:10

then of course it's so hard not to take it personally

41:13

like, Okay, great, did I piss off the executive?

41:15

Like there it goes through this, I go through this whole

41:18

like conspira. Maybe it's good, but like you

41:21

know, it's not just you that I experienced

41:23

this with, unfortunately, and it's

41:25

like it starts to become so like I

41:27

just want to throw in the towel sometimes, like why

41:29

am I working this hard? Right? Like, no

41:32

matter what we do, sometimes I feel like we

41:34

were always going to get punished

41:36

for nothing.

41:37

But the most important thing for

41:39

me is to hear you say that.

41:41

And I've known it from before, but like to know that

41:43

that that I earned your rest.

41:45

Yes, absolutely, as.

41:47

A dancer, Like that's that's all. That's the most

41:49

important thing is getting the respect of your peers,

41:52

getting the respect.

41:53

Trainer, and it helps to

41:55

our relationship. We had that respect, We

41:57

had a you know, there was a boundary set

42:00

and like we didn't cross

42:02

it. Put it that way, but we still were great

42:05

friends. We traveled, we experienced

42:07

this you know, amazing show

42:09

together.

42:10

Yeah, totally. And I remember I was so excited

42:13

with that Vienie's walltz. I think we got like twenty seven

42:15

or something. I was like jumping up and down, like this is

42:17

the this is the best thing ever. Was so happy

42:19

with that because once again, like it

42:21

became all consuming, it really

42:23

did. And here is another thing too, was

42:26

like every I remember every week,

42:28

it's like if if you survive this

42:31

week, you're doing Ellen tomorrow, right,

42:36

Yeah, you're doing Jimmy fallon tomorrow.

42:38

Yeah we did Jimmy Kimmel. But that's because we got eliminated.

42:41

Kim all right, But I mean, but I mean, like I wanted

42:43

to do not don Fall. It was it

42:45

was Leno was the Tonight show like

42:47

I wanted to do, Like if you survived,

42:50

it was just me. I just it was just me on my at it. If

42:52

you survived this week, you're on the Tonight Show and like

42:55

this, we gotta we gotta do it this week.

42:57

And I remember it was one of the weeks when we were the last two and I'm

42:59

like, they better put me

43:01

through because i just want to do the damn Tonight Show,

43:03

like come on, and yeah, yeah, yeah,

43:05

yeah it was great.

43:06

That's great. The show doesn't get this

43:08

coverage anymore, just so you.

43:09

Know, yeah, okay, wow, see there you go.

43:12

Yeah that's huge.

43:14

Yeah, and I I got

43:16

an extra like five minutes. I did like ten minutes

43:18

and Tonight's show when the menagements to

43:20

that, so you know, those were kind of the benefits

43:24

of going further on in the week

43:26

or in the weeks, you know, and that kind of raised

43:28

the stakes a bit more. It was like, well,

43:30

now we're dangling this in front of you and you and

43:32

I flew to New York to do Rachel

43:35

Ray if you remember that.

43:36

I just saw it. I just saw all of our interviews

43:38

together. I look so no wonder people think

43:40

I got it. My whole face redone. I look so

43:42

different he did. I

43:44

did. Yeah, But also I grew up

43:46

on TV, like I swear to God,

43:49

I've done a couple of boat talk shots in my face,

43:51

but I didn't get my whole I haven't gotten it,

43:53

Like, but I understand, like you know, people evolve

43:56

anyway. Yeah, when you say the

43:58

show is consuming quickly before we do some rapid

44:00

fire, you got a lot of fan questions as well. But what

44:03

do you mean by the show was consuming?

44:05

Like?

44:05

Can you just talk through our week? Just

44:08

seven days?

44:09

So you would?

44:12

Well, let's just okay,

44:15

so Tuesday you

44:18

get I'm going to start kind of backwards here, but there's

44:20

a resupport Tuesday, you get

44:23

voted off or you stay on the results show.

44:25

The results show. If you stay

44:28

on, they give you your

44:30

dance and music. I'll

44:32

actually give it to you beforehand before

44:34

the mtimes. Yeah, which is another reasonhy

44:36

I knew we were losing.

44:38

Wee can no, Chris, No, that has

44:40

nothing to do with it.

44:41

Okay, Well they didn't give us a song that week.

44:43

That's true. I mean if they were that freaking obvious, thank god they

44:45

don't do that. I mean there's no results show, but like, how

44:47

obvious can you be? Okay?

44:49

Yeah, so from my memory,

44:51

on Tuesday or Monday

44:53

whatever, if you make it through here's your next

44:55

dance, here's your next song. Tuesday results

44:57

show. Yeah, we made it through. Wednesday, you're

44:59

right back in the rehearsal space. And

45:02

now the amount of work

45:04

that you have to do. Got

45:06

the choreography for this dance,

45:08

there's costuming that you have to do. So

45:11

you're rehearsing for one on

45:13

Wednesday. Then you got to go get

45:15

fitted at the guy's place.

45:19

What's his name.

45:20

Misters, he's the best mister.

45:23

So you go, there's what she got in mind this week. Well,

45:25

she wants to do this, and here's the idea. Thursday

45:28

you're training again, training, rehearsing

45:30

again. Friday

45:32

you're rehearsing, and then you got to do your wives that we

45:34

discussed, which is film it to see what's

45:36

to music with the camera? To music

45:39

with the camera? Blocking is going to be a ka how

45:41

far down the road of these guys.

45:43

Saturday you're filming

45:46

and you're doing uh, there's a lot

45:48

of Sorry, you're rehearsing and there's a

45:50

lot of filming. You got to do your interviews

45:53

about the week prior to coming

45:55

week. That

45:58

takes a long time. Sunday Day,

46:00

you've got your dress rehearsal, where you got to get in your

46:02

full costume, which.

46:03

By the way, we started making on Wednesday.

46:05

No camera blocking when's

46:08

camera walking on Saturday Sundays. So

46:10

Saturdays is like travel days for anyone that's out of

46:12

town. We would travel to La because Sunday mornings

46:14

would be camera blocking, which is just us doing our

46:16

dance with that without our costumes.

46:18

And then Monday, the hour prior or

46:20

two hours prior to the live show, we do dress rehearsal.

46:23

Okay restaurants of the same day as the live show.

46:25

Yeah, because our costumes aren't ready, right they also.

46:28

So it was the it was the Saturday

46:31

sorry Sunday Sunday routine that I

46:33

stopped, so it wasn't dress rehearsal anyways.

46:36

So yeah, so they weren't watching then maybe.

46:39

I think they were, But anyways, I think they're

46:41

watching. They're always watching.

46:42

They're always watching it.

46:43

Yeah, point being, so you're costume rehearsing,

46:46

there's costuming, there's video, there's and

46:48

then there's the tonight show, and then there's press that you

46:50

got to do, yes, and then you know, when

46:52

you go away from this, you're still

46:54

thinking about it because you can't really do much because

46:56

there's so much at stake. You

46:58

know, we went out and drank and

47:01

then something that. But just now you're doing it every night and

47:03

you can't do it till oh speak for yourself.

47:07

Well maybe I did a few times back then.

47:09

I mean I'm sober now, but still don't. I mean

47:11

I drink every day. Shit.

47:13

But my point was like you're

47:16

always thinking about it, yeah, you know, and

47:18

you're always either physically

47:21

doing it mentally doing it. And

47:23

there's so much mental

47:25

stress involved doing

47:29

the show live and that Tuesday of all

47:31

day just waiting and you're in your trailer

47:33

all day and then you got to stand there

47:35

while they you made it through, and you

47:38

made it through, and you made it through and they find the last two and like

47:40

I said, I was last two for so many weeks in a row.

47:42

Is they're doing this to me again. You're almost giving me an

47:44

ulcer.

47:45

And it's

47:47

just it does.

47:48

And then when I when we got eliminated a I

47:50

was a little bit relieved, but

47:53

I was also like really pissed

47:55

off. And then the next day I was like, what

47:58

am I going to do with my life? Time?

48:00

Is dancing practice? Like there's no rehearsal. They

48:02

like I got nothing like this big

48:04

empty hole because I've been doing it

48:06

for the seven weeks we were on, plus the three or four

48:08

weeks that we trained prior to two weeks whatever

48:11

it was, it'd been like, you know, an

48:13

eight week, ten week experience at

48:15

that point of dancing every single day.

48:18

Wow, So do you feel similar?

48:20

Like, Okay, well, first of all, this just yeah,

48:22

when you say mentally stressful,

48:25

is that because all you're thinking

48:27

about is routines and choreography. This is

48:29

why I love athletes. I love you guys because like you

48:31

do, some people don't think about it, which is

48:33

so shocking to me. Then you're like, wonder why

48:35

you keep messing up? Like of course, like

48:37

you have to eat shit and freaking breathe this

48:40

like this is the only way because

48:42

if you don't know your steps, we can't work

48:44

on anything else. My friend.

48:46

No, you're right. And once again what I'm saying, like

48:48

there was no travel day for me. I lived in La

48:50

Yes, relocated, you know, I moved

48:53

there and I had three young kids at the time.

48:55

Yeah, you know.

48:56

But once again, we were in People magazine, like any

48:58

magazine that was round at the time. They're doing

49:00

the so my family came out a couple of times,

49:03

but most of the times you're just

49:05

there by yourself and you have to be I'm

49:07

not, I'm not. Wasn't complaining about that, Like if I

49:09

was away from home for ten weeks and one or

49:12

twelve weeks. I mean, that's just the price you pay because

49:14

you cannot phone

49:16

it in or call it in or slough

49:18

off on your rehearsals or or

49:21

your mental state at

49:23

all, because if you do, you're done. That's

49:25

it.

49:25

And that's that's what's so beautiful about you

49:27

know, Jessica and your family is that they gave you that

49:29

space, because think about it, what if

49:32

what if she gave you hard time? You know,

49:34

And there's that, you know.

49:36

But the point was if it was like you know, you

49:39

know, Joe Schwartz's dance show on freaking

49:42

you know, the CW, PBS,

49:44

whatever, but this Dance at the Stars you mentioned it was the

49:47

hottest show at the time.

49:48

My gosh, yeah, once again, and then.

49:50

One week gets tell the one week it's the night show, one week it's

49:53

Fallin, one week it's Rachel Ray. Like it never

49:55

ended. There was there's all of that attached

49:57

to it as well, So you knew

49:59

that what you were doing. I mean, I remember

50:03

I went to Rod

50:05

Stewart and Stevie Nicks because I

50:07

was hanging out with Hollyl

50:09

because I was hanging out with James Durbin who was on American

50:11

Idol at the time, and we met and we

50:14

were he was going through the same shit I

50:16

was going through, but with Idol, and we

50:18

were dancing, and so we kind

50:21

of were like kindred spirits. And we went

50:23

to that show, and you know it's Rod

50:25

and Stevie, so there's probably i

50:27

would say a lot of middle

50:29

aged housewives.

50:31

We got model Dancing with the Stars audience.

50:33

Durban, and I've got mobbed at this place,

50:35

like worse than Rod Stewart would have. I

50:37

couldn't believe it, Like there was so many people

50:40

if it wasn't American Idol guy who

50:42

was Dancing to the Stars guy, it wasn't Dancing to the Star guys America.

50:44

Between the two of us, like everybody knew

50:46

who we were. And I was like, this is the demographic you

50:48

mentioned. Maybe wrestling fans weren't watching.

50:51

They might not have been, but I'll tell you that a lot

50:53

of middle aged housewives

50:55

were watching, which I'm assuming is probably a big demographic

50:57

of dancing. They were super into

50:59

it and it was huge everywhere you went.

51:02

And how many TVs in a household more than

51:04

one? I can guarantee it, Like, yes, absolutely

51:06

they were watching. Yeah, yes, I totally anyway,

51:09

But okay, wait one more thing before we do Rabid Fire

51:12

the Rock. Do you remember you gave it

51:14

the Rock my phone number? I

51:17

think when you he asked

51:20

had asked you, and then you had asked me. This was like

51:22

back in season twelve, got nineteen sixty two.

51:24

Anyway, did he ever give you any pointers?

51:27

Did he watched He must have watched you.

51:31

I totally forgot that you mentioned that until

51:33

you just brought it up. I remember, and then it was pretty

51:35

much you were texting buddies. What's Yeah.

51:37

It was pretty much the overall consensus from anybody

51:40

in the WW that that was

51:42

kind of higher up. They thought it was. They were really

51:44

like, I thought it was a pretty cool thing

51:46

that I was doing it, very brave,

51:49

you know, like you had a lot of courage. I

51:51

had a lot of conviction to do it and just

51:54

thought like like, we couldn't do that, And if you look

51:56

at it, I think one other guy the Miz is

51:59

the only of the wrestler that's ever done it, you know. And

52:01

once again, this is not Stacy Keebler, who is

52:03

a cheerleader and a you know, a

52:05

chi arena. It's yeah, it's it's Jericho,

52:08

you know, at two hundred and twenty pounds pro wrestler

52:10

guy. So I was pretty

52:13

pretty proud of that. And I remember because once again it was

52:15

so mainstream that anybody

52:17

in the mainstream, you know, and the Rock was was as

52:20

he is now, was totally in that world, would

52:22

be like, man, that's a big deal for you to be on that

52:25

show and be doing so good. So I remember he

52:27

was. He was. He was very complimentary

52:29

and behind it, as as

52:31

most of the guys and girls in the w

52:33

W were.

52:43

Okay, rapid fire. Who falls in love first,

52:45

the dancer or celebrity.

52:47

I mean, I would probably say the celebrity

52:49

because you guys are used to it.

52:51

Big bit, you used to try humping

52:53

each other. Biggest misconception about

52:56

you.

52:59

That I'm mean, because my wrestling persona

53:01

can be mean sometimes. So that's pretty

53:04

much not the case. I'm just playing a character.

53:06

First impression of me.

53:09

Watching on TV great Dancer and and super

53:12

hot and when I met you, when I mention you no

53:14

nonsense and the perfect teacher.

53:17

Oh thanks, Chris. One thing you would

53:19

have done differently during your time on the show.

53:22

Gosh, I

53:24

don't know, Eryl, because like you said, I think

53:26

we did everything textbook on

53:28

what you have to do to really go far.

53:30

In that how your mental state? Would

53:32

you have not let it? Would you have not let

53:35

it consume? I don't think.

53:36

I don't think it would have done as good if I didn't let it

53:38

consun Yeah, I would say, I mean

53:40

maybe because I got eliminated on

53:42

that last week rehearsed

53:44

more.

53:44

I don't know. Maybe, no bullshit, I'm

53:47

not gonna even though this.

53:48

Is honestly,

53:51

I don't think there's anything I regret as far

53:53

as what we did, because I think everything we did,

53:55

like I mentioned, was solid, solid,

53:57

and and and and the way

53:59

you should do it To move forward

54:02

the next.

54:02

Week, Yeah, you'd

54:04

have to just replace all the judges, I guess I'm kidding.

54:06

Yeah, exactly which which female

54:09

or male wrestler should do dancing next?

54:12

So in aw there's

54:15

doctor Britt Baker. She's one of our biggest female

54:17

stars. She's a legit dentist that she still practices.

54:20

She's wrestling, she's obsessed with dancing with

54:23

the stars, and she wants to

54:25

do it so bad. Male wrestler

54:28

wise, Male, I'm just going from

54:33

a personality standpoint. There's a guy called mjf

54:35

and our company who's a singer and a dancer. He's a lot

54:37

like me. He'd probably be perfect for the show as well.

54:39

Interesting. What's the legacy you hope to leave

54:41

both in and outside of the entertainment

54:43

world.

54:45

I mean, just knowing that people got their money's

54:47

worth whenever they tuned in to see me, whether that's

54:49

buying a ticket, whether it's watching me on TV. Like,

54:51

I don't half ass anything. I don't

54:53

do anything that I don't want to do. I

54:55

do everything because I feel I can. I can make

54:58

something cool for the people well

55:00

that enjoy my work. I take

55:02

great responsibility in that because a

55:04

lot of people have been following me for a lot of years.

55:07

So I always want to do stuff that reflects

55:11

that reflects that that that like

55:13

I said that, that that that enthusiasm

55:15

that I have to entertain and to constantly

55:18

do new things.

55:19

If I were to do the mass singer, what character would

55:22

you dress me up as.

55:23

Yeah, I did the drill sergeant, a big like

55:25

big plastic army head

55:28

guy with a with a with a.

55:30

With a whistle whistle and

55:34

a Vodka Sota. No kidding. Okay,

55:38

one more. What was the toughest judges

55:41

critique you received?

55:43

I think it was the last week when and that's the one I disagree

55:45

with. Bruno said that my hips were like a rock.

55:48

Hips like a rock.

55:50

Are you sure they didn't want to just get the Rocks name in

55:52

there?

55:52

Yeah, yeah they might. They might have set a stone or

55:54

something like that. I'm not sure it was, but to

55:57

to to get my revenge. When

55:59

we came back for the last

56:02

thing, I told what was the host named Tom?

56:04

Tom? Yeah, I said, Tom

56:07

asked me this one question. He asked me what have you been

56:09

doing? And I said, I've been working on my Bruno imitation.

56:11

So I jumped on the desk and did that invitation.

56:13

I never told anyone was going to do that because

56:16

I was like, I'm getting this guy back, and I'm going to do it. Yeah,

56:19

because I would have told

56:21

you, But I know it's fine to know because I know they're

56:23

like they'll they frown upon mocking

56:26

the judges. I was like, I'm going forward

56:28

exactly.

56:29

I'm sure they appreciate it. Actually probably made

56:31

the show spike in the ratings.

56:32

It's crazy you look like at that's a fool out

56:35

there whatever you just said.

56:36

Sometimes I wonder, Okay, fan questions,

56:39

when are you going to be inducted into the Hall

56:41

of Fame? This is from a cash Omar

56:44

on Instagram.

56:45

I'm not sure. Like to me, hall of Fame is

56:47

is a is like a label?

56:50

Like to me, I think my career has already

56:52

kind of shown that Hall of Fame,

56:54

So I don't need the accolades

56:57

of it. I mean, it's nice to know.

56:58

But you don't need the awe.

57:00

Yeah, asked like the sex Pistols

57:02

when they're inducted to the Rocker Hall of Fame and refuse to

57:05

show up. I kind of like that rib as well.

57:07

Is that what you would do?

57:09

I don't know, or Axel Rose Race. So I'm not showing

57:11

up and you're not even allowed to mention my

57:13

name.

57:14

That's crazy. At Samira Khali,

57:16

what's your workout routine like? And is it

57:18

true that you're a yogi? Are you a yogi?

57:20

Now? I'm not a yogi I did yoga.

57:22

Actually Dancing with the Stars

57:25

the very last thing we did where I spun you

57:27

around with Sugar Ray Leonard. It's

57:29

something in my.

57:30

Back clicked still.

57:32

Yeah, I got some herniated discs. I did yoga

57:34

to heal that, and obviously it

57:36

was years of wrestling that probably present.

57:38

I'm sorry, that's not you for test me.

57:40

So I did do yoga for about ten years.

57:42

Now, I most mostly exclusively

57:44

kickbox and ride

57:47

my bike. There's about a twelve mile run

57:49

that I do around my house, so those

57:51

are two. Kickboxing is my main way of working out

57:53

now.

57:54

At Monal Rezwan twenty

57:57

eight. I always want to ask Chris,

57:59

who is your female

58:01

best friend right now? I mean, this

58:03

is random.

58:06

Is it like a wrestling thing or no?

58:09

Besides my wife Cheryl Burn.

58:10

Yeah, that's right. At the

58:13

James Bennett Any plans to retire from wrestling

58:15

and focus on your band full time. I hear

58:17

them on the radio a lot. That's awesome, thank

58:19

you.

58:19

Yeah, we actually have a song that's number one right now in the charts,

58:21

which is I mean, I've been

58:24

the band has been full time for the last

58:26

six or seven years. The good

58:28

thing about aw the company wrestled for now is we

58:30

basically just wrestle on Wednesday nights, So even

58:33

when we tour in the States, we always leave Wednesdays

58:35

off so I can still pop in if I have to. I

58:38

feel great. I'm still working at a high

58:40

level, so there's no real reason

58:42

to think about retiring right now. I

58:44

could blow up into a puff of dust tomorrow,

58:47

but until that happens, I'm happy

58:50

doing what I'm doing right now.

58:51

I mean, we all are, aren't we just a ticking time

58:53

bomb at Xavier

58:55

Last one Grounds? Will you ever go back to the WWE

58:58

for one last run or more?

59:00

I mean, you know, you never say never? Right now? Once

59:02

again, I'm really happy working for AW and

59:04

for Tony Kahan, my boss. But

59:06

but you know, once again, it's always there.

59:08

Wait, why did you leave?

59:09

Yeah, I mean it's a long story. I just felt

59:11

hit stagnant, and yeah, I hear you.

59:14

And then AW started and I was one of the first

59:16

guys to start there and it hit really big,

59:18

so it kind of was

59:20

was starting. Starting a new company basically changed

59:23

the course of restling history. So I'm

59:25

proud of the fact that I was involved in that.

59:27

So that's why it's awesome.

59:28

I had no reason to leave at this point as well.

59:30

That's awesome. Okay, any current projects you want to promote

59:32

Chris before we say goodbye here?

59:34

I mean, you know, Instagram

59:36

is always there. I'm always doing stuff. Yes,

59:39

between Pozzy and between.

59:40

Where can people see you Live?

59:42

Every Wednesday, we're on TBS

59:46

at eight o'clock.

59:47

Wow, that's awesome. It's like prime Time.

59:50

Yeah, prime time, prime time.

59:51

Amazing. Yes, thank

59:53

you Chris. It's so always good to catch

59:55

up with you.

59:56

It's amazing talking to you. Great job, you're a good

59:58

host. You need a good job, trust man.

1:00:00

Thanks Thanks

1:00:02

Chris. Safe travels my friend, and let's catch

1:00:04

up soon.

1:00:05

Sounds good.

1:00:05

Thank you, thank you bye.

1:00:08

Thank you guys so much for listening. And since you guys

1:00:10

have been loving the podcast so much, especially

1:00:12

when I do recaps of past seasons, we decided

1:00:15

to make it a series. So make sure to not only listen

1:00:17

every Mondays for the interview portion, but now

1:00:19

you can look forward to listening to an all new

1:00:22

rewatch recap series here on sex,

1:00:24

slizes and spray tanks every Wednesdays, along

1:00:26

with another weekly episode of headlines and

1:00:28

hot topics. That's three full episodes

1:00:30

of sex lies and spraytnds that drop every

1:00:33

single week, so make sure to listen so you can

1:00:35

get your fix of all things DWTS

1:00:37

related. Love you guys so much and until

1:00:39

next time,