CLEVELAND — The competition is heating up on this season’s “Dancing with the Stars” as two Northeast Ohio natives – Amanda Kloots and Mike “The Miz” Mizanin are vying for the mirrorball trophy.
News 5 got a behind-the-scenes look at the hit show with 'The Miz.'
The WWE champion credits his Cleveland roots for his dedication to the competition.
“I think growing up in Cleveland, you get a mindset that if you work hard, dedicate yourself, you sacrifice, you can get and achieve whatever it is you want to achieve, “ said The Miz.
The Parma native is getting attention for his must-see dance performances from Scar in “The Lion King,” to The Genie in “Aladdin” and Danny Zuko in “Grease.”
But getting to show night takes a lot of hard work.
“We only get four days to do a dance,” said The Miz. “I learn a dance on Tuesday, and I don’t know anything about it. And Monday, I'm doing it in front of millions of people watching and getting judged by professionals.”
The judges have called The Miz’s performances ones that “elevate the mood of the ballroom” and “are firing on all cylinders.”
And as he dances into the homes and hearts of America, The Miz had a special message for Cleveland.
“Thank you very much for always supporting me any time I come home to Cleveland,” said The Miz. “I might live physically in Los Angeles but there is nothing, and I mean nothing, like the home value of Cleveland, Ohio.”
As for the number one place in Northeast Ohio where he could takes his “Dancing” castmates? That was an easy answer
“I would take them to a Cleveland Browns game,” said The Miz. “I would show them my high school because I always like showing people where I grew up. Parma, Ohio is just a great city, and I loved growing up there.”
While he is competing for the title as Mirror Ball champion, he had his own prediction for another championship.
"The Browns are going to the Super Bowl whether anyone likes it or not," he said.
You can watch “Dancing with the Stars” here on News 5 at 8 p.m. Voting opens when the show begins.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
