Super Bowl Night Ends with Guillermo Rodriguez's Elimination
Dancing With the Stars season 35 celebrated its first-ever Super Bowl Night, with couples dancing to songs from past Super Bowl halftime shows. At the end of the episode, Guillermo Rodriguez and his partner Witney Carson were eliminated. The Jimmy Kimmel Live! star and Carson had performed a salsa to Bad Bunny's Tití Me Preguntó, earning 22/40 and finishing at the bottom of the leaderboard. After his exit, Rodriguez said he had a lot of fun and thanked Carson for teaching him to dance.[S1][S2][S3]
Joe Buck, host of ABC's Monday Night Football, was the first guest judge of the season. He was joined by former NFL stars and past DWTS contestants: Emmitt Smith, Donald Driver, DeMarcus Ware, and Danny Amendola. Buck's presence gave couples a chance to earn an extra point. Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas opened the night with a tango to Only Girl (In the World), scoring 33/40 after three eights from the main judges and a nine from Buck.[S1]
High Scores and a Contentious Moment
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov quickly took the lead with a samba to J Balvin and Willy William's Mi Gente, earning 34/40. The score included Amber's first nine, and she received two nines on the night. Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa matched Maura and Mark with 33/40 for a jazz routine to Jennifer Lopez's Jenny From the Block. Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson also scored 33/40 for their samba to Usher's Yeah!, but their performance drew criticism from judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who said their numbers needed more content. Inaba also alleged a lift in the dance, which left Jenna Johnson confused and created a tense on-air moment. Johnson later said in the skybox that she believed the lift rule applied only when dancing in hold with a partner.[S1]
Understand this article deeper
Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy received a perfect set of nines from the judges for their Paso Doble set to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," making them the first pair in season 35 to hit 36 out of 40. Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach matched that score later with a salsa performed to Nelly's "Hot in Herre." Nelly had partnered with Daniella back in season 29 as her inaugural celebrity. Near the episode's close, Alfonso Ribeiro revealed that Kym Johnson, a former pro on the show, would sit on the judges' panel for the upcoming Dedication Night.[S1]
Full Scores and How Voting Works
The full list of scores for Super Bowl Night: Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas 33/40; Jackson Olson and Emma Slater 31/40; Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov 34/40; Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess 30/40; Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold 25/40; Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa 33/40; Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik 29/40; Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson 22/40 (eliminated); Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy 36/40; Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson 33/40; Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach 36/40.[S1]
At the conclusion of every episode, the duo whose combined judges' points and audience votes are lowest gets sent home. Through ABC's website and by text message, each viewer may submit as many as 10 votes per couple for each method. Voting happens live while the East Coast broadcast airs and closes soon after the last dance, so those on the West Coast have to cast ballots between 5 p.m. and about 6:45 p.m. PT. Season 35 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m., shown simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ and available to stream the following day on Hulu.[S1]
