Exclusive: Pro wrestler Chris Jericho guest blogs about how a song saved 'Dancing With the Stars' classical-music night for him.

For the first time ever on 'Dancing With the Stars,' it was Classical Week, which meant that all the dances were performed in front of a 46-piece symphony orchestra.

When I first heard about the concept, I have to admit that I wasn't overly excited. I mean, I appreciate the Beethovens and Tchaikovskys of the world, but I didn't know how I was supposed to dance the passionate paso doble to a song that had no words or drums!

It was with great hesitation that I asked partner Cheryl Burke to play me the song to which we would be performing. But as the music unfolded, it was with great joy that I realized I knew the song and had heard it 100 times before: It was 'Hall of the Mountain King' by Savatage.

Now you might be as familiar with Savatage as I am with Celine Dion, so let me explain who they are. Savatage is a heavy metal band from Florida who in 1987 released an album called -- you guessed it -- 'Hall of the Mountain King.' (I bought it on vinyl. Look it up, kids!) Included in those grooves was a version of the classical tune. It was one of my favorite songs that year, and little did I know that 23 years later I'd be dancing a paso doble to it.

My familiarity with the song helped me find the beat instantly, and I noticed the violins, or maybe the bassoons (fun word), were taking the place of the snare drum. Then Cheryl constructed a wicked dance filled with passion and fire that matched the frantic pace of the song, and suddenly Classical Week seemed like a pretty killer idea after all!

Finally, it was showtime, and the power of the orchestra was crushing. I mean, it was heavier than a Metallica -- or Savatage -- concert. I felt the music transform me into a whirling dervish of intensity, climaxing in a totally front knee walk across the ballroom floor as Cheryl followed, working her flowing skirt like a magic wand that had cast a Faustian spell upon me.

Team Chericho rode the frantic tempo to a rousing crescendo and, after "running her through" at the conclusion, I felt so exhilarated that I grabbed one of the hanging vines (it was a forest motif, you see) and attempted to swing across the ballroom floor like a crack-addled Errol Flynn. Then discretion took the better part of valor and I decided I didn't want to suffer a self-induced fall on my tuchus in front of 24 million people.

The judges seemed to be impressed (well, two of them did), and Bruno Tonioli upgraded me from a "dancing gazelle" to the "God of Thunder." (If KISS's Gene Simmons is reading this, don't sue me over the name. I'm just the messenger.) Carrie Ann Inaba then followed by saying I'm "one to watch."

With my ego riding higher than Cheech, Chong and Snoop Dogg combined, Len Goodman brought me crashing back down to terra firma by telling me that the music "conquered" me. The fact that he was subsequently booed out of the building mid-comment was sweet revenge.

But, at the end of the night, I finished with a nice, fat 23 score, which was two points higher than last week. So, all in all, Classical Week was a success for me, thanks to Cheryl's choreography ... and an assist from Savatage!


'Dancing With the Stars' airs Mondays at 8PM ET and Tuesdays at 9PM ET on ABC.