DWTS Season 35 Super Bowl Night sends home a beloved crowd favorite
A guest judge expanded the scoring pool to 40 points, leaving the ballroom floor divided as the combined tally decided who stayed and who went home.
Guillermo Rodriguez and professional partner Witney Carson were eliminated from Dancing with the Stars Season 35 on Tuesday night, concluding their ballroom journey on Week 5’s themed Super Bowl Night.
The talk show sidekick and Carson landed at the bottom of the standings following the combined tally of judges’ scores and viewer votes on the ABC and Disney+ broadcast. In the final moments of the live show, co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough revealed that Rodriguez and Carson were in jeopardy alongside television personality Tyler Cameron and pro partner Sharna Burgess before confirming Rodriguez’s departure.
How the Super Bowl Night leaderboard shook out
Week 5 introduced the ballroom to guest judge Joe Buck, the ESPN and ABC Monday Night Football commentator, who sat alongside regular judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli. Buck’s presence expanded the maximum possible judges’ score to 40 points.
Rodriguez and Carson danced a salsa to “Tití Me Preguntó” by Bad Bunny, which placed them in last place on the judges’ board with 22 out of 40 points. Inaba and Buck each awarded a 6, while Hough and Tonioli handed out scores of 5. Derek Hough praised the fun energy of the routine, noting, “That was so entertaining, so much fun.”
At the top of the leaderboard, actress and dancer Jenna Dewan and partner Val Chmerkovskiy surged into a first-place tie with Paralympian Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, as reported by TV Insider and TheWrap. Both couples posted night-high totals of 36 out of 40 points. Derek Hough gave high praise to the evening’s sharpest work, declaring, “That paso had more power than a linebacker, it had more precision than a star quarterback, that was a Super Bowl champion performance!” Carrie Ann Inaba also commended the technical adjustments on the floor, telling one couple, “You took the note, and you made it work!”
The football-themed broadcast also welcomed visits from past celebrity champions and NFL veterans, including Season 3 winner Emmitt Smith, Season 14 champion Donald Driver, DeMarcus Ware, and Danny Amendola.
Tributes on the ballroom floor
Despite consistently landing near the lower tier of the judges’ paddle scores in earlier weeks (10 in Week 1, 12 in Week 2, 15 in Week 3, and 13 in Week 4), Rodriguez had remained in the competition thanks to steadfast viewer voting. In Week 4, Summer House star Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong were eliminated with a score of 21 out of 30, while Rodriguez stayed safe.
When his run came to an end on Tuesday, fellow competitors and pro dancers immediately swarmed Rodriguez on the dance floor. The cast chanted his name and hoisted him into the air to celebrate his time on the series, as reported by Reality Files. In post-elimination coverage reported by Dancing with the Stars on Facebook, Rodriguez shared a warm parting message to his partner, Carson, who won the Mirrorball Trophy last season with Robert Irwin: “I love you for teaching me how to dance.”
In post-show press interviews with On The Red Carpet and Extra, Dewan and Chmerkovskiy spoke warmly about sharing the season with Rodriguez, calling him “beloved” among the cast. Online viewers shared split reactions on social media, as noted by Country Rebel, with many fans voicing sadness at losing a crowd favorite while others acknowledged the result lined up with the technical leaderboard.
What we know and what comes next
The network does not disclose exact viewer vote counts or percentages, leaving the precise margin separating Rodriguez and Cameron unknown.
The remaining couples now advance to Week 6, where the competition tightens as frontrunners Dewan and Frech look to protect their spot at the top of the table.
