Season 12 features six-time WWE champ Chris Jericho, who is jumping from the wrestling ring to the dance floor. And with the help of professional dancer /*Cheryl Burke*/, he's looking to smack down his competitors.
He says he has the skills to get him through this competition.
"Live performing... I've been doing it since I was a teenager and I think that, if anything else, I always know how to perform when the camera is on," said Jericho. "Every performance I do is going to be like a Vegas show. I'm going to make sure that people have a great time. And if my technical abilities aren't great and Len gets mad, it doesn't matter, you have to connect with the people that are watching. And that's what I'm hoping to do with every performance I do in a different way."
Jericho said he is also looking forward to the diverse competition.
"You're seeing people mix that you would never see," said Jericho. "We're all in one room. We really are in a lifeboat, the most random collection of people that aren't random, everyone's been picked for a reason and now here we are pushed out to sea. It's exciting."
Jericho said he turned to a former /*Dancing with the Stars*/ contestant when was offered a spot in this season's cast.
"Stacy Kiebler is a good friend of mine and she did really well in Season 2, she should have won," said Jericho. "I call her my mentor now. She's like 10 years younger than me, but she's my mentor."
Jericho is pretty resilient and said he's not going to let a bruise or a sprain hold him back.
"In the WWE, we don't have a DL, we don't have an injured list, you just continue on," said Jericho. "You wrap up, you tape up and go forward. Once again that could be something to my benefit. I'm not going to cry if something hurts, you'll never hear me complain. And if I am complaining, I'll probably have to go to the hospital."
Other Season 12 partners:
- Actress Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
- Disney star Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas
- Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya
- Karate Kid Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff
- Model Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin
- Rapper and actor Romeo and Chelsie Hightower
- Football star Hines Ward and Kym Johnson
- Reality star Kendra Wilkinson and Louis van Amstel
- Talk show host Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani
- Radio personality Mike Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer
"/*Dancing With the Stars*/" kicks off Season 12 on Monday, March 21 at 8 p.m. on ABC7.