The race for the Season 35 Mirrorball Trophy is tightening up, but one former DWTS champion already knows who they’re rooting for.
As the remaining couples navigate the home stretch of the competition, a past winner has officially placed their bet on comedian and podcaster Connor Wood to take home the top prize. Pointing to his rapid improvement on the floor and connection with fans alongside pro partner Rylee Arnold, former “The Bachelor” star Joey Graziadei believes Wood has all the ingredients needed to pull off an epic win.
Connor Wood is the ‘Spirit of What the Show is About’
In a recent interview with TV Insider, former Season 33 Mirrorball winner Joey Graziadei weighed in on Connor Wood’s impressive ballroom run thus far, calling the comedian a true dark horse for Season 35.
“I will put that out here right now. I will almost guarantee that he makes the finale,” Graziadei declared. “I think he can and I think that he’s the perfect blend of his dancing has gotten better and I would be shocked if he doesn’t have the votes. He seems, online, to have a really big army behind him and Rylee Arnold. He’s doing it so well.”
He continued, “I think people can see he’s committed and they can see how much he’s getting better. He is what the show is about, and that’s kind of the route that I fell under. No one expected me to be good and I got better throughout.”
Graziadei’s comments echo judge Derek Hough, who also shared his thoughts on Wood’s ability to make it to the Season 35 finale to TV Insider.
“He could absolutely do it,” Hough shared. “Honestly, I personally think I believe he’ll be in the finale. I believe that.”
Hough concluded that Wood and Arnold have a great partnership. He added, “That’s the thing, you could not have the right things technically. He did samba the other week, and that’s the hardest dance on the show. There’s more requirements in that, technically, than a salsa or jazz, but man, people love him. I love him. He’s such a good dude. We have the same friends, and he’s a good man.”
Who is Joey Graziadei’s ‘Sneaky’ DWTS Frontrunner?
However, despite his rooting for Connor Wood to make it to the finale, Joey Graziadei does have what he calls a “sneaky” frontrunner who could also take home the show’s Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
“You have so many people that I think are living up to the moment and embracing the experience,” the reality star told TV Insider. “And then you have people that have incredible dance experience that I just can’t wait too see what they do. My sneaky frontrunner right now is still Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov.”
The former “Bachelor” star also believes that his former pro Jenna Johnson and her celebrity partner Harry Shum Jr. have a real shot at the Mirrorball tropy as well. He explained, “I think they have a real shot this year, which is exciting.”
He concluded, “This season, I think one of my favorite things is there is a lot of variety. I don’t really know what’s going to happen. I think there are frontrunners. You can tell from the scoring and there’s also really, really talented dancers that have experience that are on the show.”
DWTS airs live on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+. New episodes air the next day on Hulu.
Former DWTS Mirrorball Winner Bets on Connor Wood to Take Home Season 35 Trophy