After Dancing With The Stars' Latest Elimination, Fans Are Feeling Extra Sad For One Pro

Teresa and Pasha in Week 1 of Dancing With The Stars
(Image credit: ABC/Eric McCandless)

Spoilers below for the second episodes of Dancing with the Stars' 31st season, so be warned!

Dancing With The Stars Season 31 is underway, and it wouldn't be a proper season without some disappointment about an early exit in the competition. While there were surely some tears shed for Real Housewives star Teresa Giudice getting the boot in Week 2 — or maybe it was just her sparkling wine that spilled — there were likely more DWTS viewers bummed out to see pro Pasha Pashkov leaving with her. This certainly isn't the dancer's first time facing an early elimination, and some fans took to social media wondering when Pashkov will finally get his chance to shine for a longer stretch. 

Pasha and Teresa immediately found themselves in trouble as Season 31 kicked off. They landed in the bottom two in Week 1, but managed to survive thanks to a unanimous vote to save them from the judges. Week 2 didn't go the same way, however. While Pashkov and Giudice managed to get votes from Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, their fellow tablemates Carrie Ann Inaba and Len Goodman picked meteorologist Sam Champion and Cheryl Burke. As Goodman's vote counts for two votes when a tie is on the line, it was curtains for Pashkov and Giudice. 

Almost immediately, Twitter was ablaze with dismay that Pasha Pashkov was being sent home in Week 2 of Dancing With The Stars, with some sharing the opinion that it seems unfair for him to face an elimination so soon, especially after his last few stints during the ABC years. 

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Paskov joined Dancing With The Stars in Season 28, which ultimately was his highest-performing season to date. Pasha finished in a respectable 7th place with The Office vet Kate Flannery, who ended up getting eliminated in a situation that even made Len Goodman regretful. With that being the peak of his run, every season since has obviously ended in much quicker exits, as noted by the fan below.

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Dancing With The Stars Season 31 indeed marks the third consecutive season in which Pasha Pashkov left in Week 2. This streak started back in Season 29 when he was paired with animal activist Carol Baskin, who was good for incorporating tigers into a performance but didn't quite have what it took to go the long haul.

In Season 30, Pashkov was paired with Bling Empire star Christine Chiu and actually had an awesome week. Unfortunately, they were sent home despite vastly outperforming Cheryl Burke and fitness trainer Cody Rigsby, who suffered a big penalty after COVID impacted their performance. With bad luck like that, one had to hope Season 31 would turn out better for Pashkov for the show's debut for those with Disney+ subscriptions. But that wasn't meant to be, and after this latest elimination, fans are begging to see more of him next season, perhaps opposite a more athletic partner. 

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To that end, the real question comes down to what Pasha Paskov needs to succeed, which is something fans will presumably continue asking throughout the rest of the season while watching Joseph Baena flex and strut, and no doubt judging everyone else's performances that much more strictly in comparison. Perhaps next year, he'll be partnered up with someone a little more capable of keeping up with his moves, as was noted by this fan after the first week's results. 

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Who knows what the answer is here, but there's no denying Pasha Pashkov got the short end of the stick for some time now. Maybe next year the producers will throw him a bone — though not an actual skeleton — and he'll land a celeb who already knows how to wow others on the dance floor. That's assuming he doesn't leave before next season, which is something that happened with two pros ahead of the current season.

Dancing With The Stars airs on Disney+ on Mondays. Pasha Pashkov might be gone, but the season is still going strong, so be sure to check out the live stream or replay week to week. 

Mick Joest
Content Producer

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.