The first-ever “Super Bowl Night” on Dancing With the Stars resulted in the end of the road for a fan-favorite pair hoping to secure the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. Guillermo Rodriguez and professional partner Witney Carson were eliminated at the end of the Tuesday, Oct. 14 episode, trimming the Season 35 competition field down to 10 couples.
The special themed night saw the remaining 11 contestants perform ballroom and Latin routines set to iconic songs made famous by previous Super Bowl Halftime Show performers. The scoring scale for the evening expanded to a 40-point maximum after ESPN broadcaster Joe Buck joined regular judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli on the panel.
Rodriguez, the beloved parking lot security guard and correspondent from Jimmy Kimmel Live!, performed a high-energy salsa to “Tití Me Preguntó” by Bad Bunny alongside Carson. Despite entertaining the ballroom audience and earning praise for his hard work, the routine received a combined score of 22 out of 40 from the judges, landing the pair at the bottom of the leaderboard.
When host Alfonso Ribeiro and co-host Julianne Hough announced the results combining viewer votes with the judges’ scores, Rodriguez and Carson found themselves in the bottom alongside Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess. Ultimately, the judges’ scores and audience tallies sealed Rodriguez’s exit.
Emotional Goodbyes in the Ballroom
Following his elimination, Rodriguez shared an emotional message of gratitude with the audience, his supporters, and his partner.
“I want to say thank you to all the audience,” Rodriguez said. “Thank you to everyone and Dancing With the Stars. Thank you very much. I had a lot of fun. It was great. Witney, I love you for teaching me how to dance.”
Carson, who guided Rodriguez through the competition while pregnant with her third child, praised the late-night television star for his dedication and care throughout their journey.
“Thank you so much for making the season just so fun, so enjoyable,” Carson shared. “He has taken care of me so much throughout this entire season, and little baby. It felt like an empowering season.”
Week 5 Leaderboard and Performance Breakdowns
While Rodriguez bowed out of the competition, several other couples delivered career-best routines during the sports-themed evening. Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy shared the top spot on the leaderboard alongside Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, with both couples pulling in matching scores of 36/40.
Dewan and Chmerkovskiy performed a powerful paso doble to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” prompting guest judge Joe Buck to remark that he forgot who the professional dancer was. Meanwhile, Paralympic gold medalist Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach closed out the night with a smooth salsa to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” earning high praise from the judges, who called the execution a masterclass.
Other notable performances included Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa, who scored a 33/40 for a jazz routine to Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny from the Block,” featuring a cameo appearance by Stiles’ Save the Last Dance co-star Sean Patrick Thomas. Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov also impressed the panel with a samba to J Balvin and Willy William’s “Mi Gente,” netting a 34/40.
Week 5 Final Standings and Scores
- Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy – 36/40 (Paso Doble)
- Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach – 36/40 (Salsa)
- Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov – 34/40 (Samba)
- Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas – 33/40 (Tango)
- Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa – 33/40 (Jazz)
- Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson – 33/40 (Samba)
- Jackson Olson and Emma Slater – 31/40 (Salsa)
- Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess – 30/40 (Jazz)
- Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik – 29/40 (Salsa)
- Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold – 25/40 (Samba)
- Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson – 22/40 (Salsa) – *Eliminated*
Dancing With the Stars Season 35 continues next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming the following day on Hulu. The upcoming episode will feature Dedication Night, where the remaining celebrities will honor important loved ones in their lives.
