Chris Jericho

With his athletic prowess and ladies' man swagger, Chris Jericho proved he was a true king of the ring. The professional wrestling champion was born Christopher Keith Irvine on Nov. 9, 1970 in Manhasset, NY and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Jericho - who took his stage name from German power metal band Helloween's album Walls of Jericho (1985) - began wrestling on independent matches when he was 19. He made his mainstream debut in 1996 with a pay-per-view match against Chris Benoit for World Championship Wrestling. Using his trademark moves such as the "Swinging Choke Drop" and "Liontamer," and wooing female viewers with his golden boy stature, Jericho quickly won the hearts of wrestling fans.

He became a staple part of the WCW organization after he appeared on numerous televised series and specials, including "WCW Monday Nitro" (TNT, 1995-2001) and "Clash of the Champions XXXV" (1997). Jericho signed a contract with World Wrestling Federation in 1999, where he went head-to-head against marquee players such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Triple H. Jericho was crowned the WWF's Undisputed Champion in 2001, following his wins at that year's "Royal Rumble" and "WWF Rebellion." Jericho remained an active competitor in World Wrestling Entertainment until 2010 when he put his wrestling career on hiatus.

Jericho made a crossover to acting outside the wrestling arena with appearances on the sketch comedy show "MadTV" (Fox, 1995-2009) and the sci-fi series "Aaron Stone" (Disney XD, 2009). He was also a frequent guest commentator on various VH1 specials such as "I Love the '80s 3-D" (2005) and "Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins" (2004-09). Jericho's mainstream appeal allowed him to succeed in other media ventures, including writing a best-selling memoir, A Lion's Tale : Around the World in Spandex (2007), hosting the show "Rock of Jericho" on XM Satellite Radio, and singing for the metal band Fozzy.

Jericho made his mainstream feature debut with a supporting role in the 2010 comedy "MacGruber" opposite Will Forte and Ryan Phillippe. That same year, Jericho hosted the short-lived game show "Downfall" (ABC), where players attempt to correctly answer trivia questions on top of a skyscraper and prevent their prize winnings from being dropped several stories down. Jericho released his second book, Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps on February 2011, the same month it was announced that he joined the cast of the 12th season of "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 2005- ).