Ralph Macchio's beautiful partner Karina Smirnoff fell on Monday's Dancing with the Stars — but did it cost him the competition?
After a scary mishap on Monday's performance show, the Karate Kid actor, 49, and his partner, 33, faced potential elimination on Tuesday's results show, as the fifth dancer of the night was shown the door.
And, the star to go home on the twelfth, unpredictable season of the ABC smash is….Chris Jericho.
Just last week, the WWE champ, 40, earned rave reviews — and the second highest scores of the night — alongside pro partner Cheryl Burke.
But on Monday's "Guilty Pleasures"-themed performance show, the wrestler (and hard rocker singer) fell from that perch with a stiff-looking tango to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'."
"The pressure got to you," judge Carrie Ann Inaba noted. Her peer Len Goodman complained that Jericho's performance "lacked intensity." Accordingly, Jericho nabbed the night's lowest score of 22.
"It wasn't my best dance," Jericho admitted to hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke after getting the bad news on Tuesday's results show. "[But] I'm proud of all the dances we did," he added, noting "how taxing" the show truly is for its celeb contenders.
Gushed Burke: "He exceeded my expectations every week!"
Macchio and Smirnoff were relieved to escape unscathed despite the unexpected blunder during their "Everybody Dance Now" paso doble. (She slipped on Macchio's long coat.)
An emotional Smirnoff was visibly shaken after the mishap, but Macchio was supportive, and took it all in stride. "This is live theater," he said backstage. "You just keep rocking!"
Monday night's other injury belonged to Mark Ballas, Disney star Chelsea Kane's professional partner, who danced a "Walking on Sunshine" jive after painfully twisting his ankle during a dress rehearsal. He danced through the agony — and the couple nabbed one of the first "10s" of the season (from Inaba).
The other 10 was bestowed upon Romeo, who danced a sultry, flawless waltz to "My Heart Will Go On" with partner Chelsie Hightower; Romeo and Kane tied at the top with a score of 28 each.
Also safe for the next round: Kirstie Alley (who reinvented Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time"), footballer Hines Ward (an "End of the Road" waltz) and E! reality star Kendra Wilkinson — who let loose with a smoky "Livin' La Vida Loca" samba that ended with her atop the judges table.
(Judge Bruno Tonioli got so over-heated by her number that he quipped: "Dancing with the Stars: Revenge of the Stripper!" and threw a dollar bill her way.)
Tell Us: Did the right dancer go home?
