Dancing With the Stars transformed the ballroom into a football stadium for the night with performances worthy of the Lombardi Trophy.
Kicking off Super Bowl Night on Tuesday, October 13, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas dazzled the judges — including guest Joe Buck — with their tango inspired by Rihanna‘s 2023 halftime performance after the reality TV alum navigated a “twinge in [her] neck” during rehearsals.
Higgins and Ballas finished with an impressive 33 out of 40, including a 9 from Buck, who felt “proud to be Irish” while watching the routine. Their number was eventually topped by Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy‘s paso doble, which earned four 9s from the judges panel. (Dewan tied Paralympian Ezra Frech for first place after his salsa with Daniella Karagach.)
“I have no words for what I feel. I’m in shock, I’m so grateful,” Dewan gushed to cohost Julianne Hough. “I am beyond, like, I couldn’t be happier right now.”
Not every dance, however, was worthy of a touchdown celebration. Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson were eliminated after their salsa only scored a 22 out of 40.
“I had a lot of fun, it was great,” Rodriguez said, also thanking Carson for “teaching [him] how to dance.”
Dancing With the Stars season 35 airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll down to see all the scores from Super Bowl Night:
