Rocco DiSpirito will live to dance another day.

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One day after Misty May-Treanor's withdrawal due to injury, the former The Restaurant star and dancing partner Karina Smirnoff were revealed to be the couple who would have been sent home under normal circumstances during Tuesday's live Dancing with the Stars results show broadcast on ABC.

However, due to May-Treanor's departure, Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron revealed that no couple would be sent home on Tuesday. Instead, Tom explained all the judges scores and home viewer votes for this week's performances will be combined with next week's scores and votes to determine which couple would be sent home next.

There was no mention of a potential return of Keeping up with the Kardashians star Kim Kardashian and Mark Ballas, the couple that had been eliminated during last week's results show broadcast. Kardashian had recently gone public with her willingness to return to Dancing with the Stars if asked.

Surviving next week's elimination may be a tough road for Rocco and Karina.  The pair's jive had received the second lowest judges' score during Monday night's performances -- a 20 -- and given their final standing in the combined rankings, they apparently didn't fare much better in the viewer voting.

"Well I think they've all got what it takes," Dancing with the Stars judge Bruno Tonioli told Tom about both Rocco and Karina and singer Lance Bass and professional partner Lacey Schwimmer, the other couple still left on stage at the end of the results show.  "You've got to raise the game, come back, and deliver a great performance to impress the judges and the public, it's up to you."

"[Whichever couple] it is, they know they're at the bottom and they're going to have to work really hard to raise their scores with the judges -- as well as get those audience votes. So whoever it is good luck to all of you," added judge Carrie Ann Inaba.

Judge Len Goodman added how unfortunate May-Treanor's departure from the show was, and said he was sure that, had she danced on Monday, she would not have been sent home this week.

"I think Misty had the potential to get all the way through to the final. I thought her legging was fantastic," Len said. "Great formal dancing. She'd have made it [through].

In addition to wishing May-Treanor -- who underwent successful surgery to repair her Achilles tendon on Tuesday -- the best of luck in her recovery, dance professional Edyta Sliwinska also filled in for her and performed the jive routine she had been practicing with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Brooke Burke and professional partner Derek Hough had led Monday night's judges' leaderboard for the fourth consecutive performance round.  The pair had received a score of 28 -- which included the season's first perfect 10 score -- for their jive performance.

They were followed by former NFL star Warren Sapp and partner Kym Johnson, who had scored a 25 and finished in second place on the judges' leaderboard.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist track star Maurice Greene and partner Cheryl Burke had finished in third place with a score of 24.
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Lance and Lacey and singer Toni Braxton and partner Alec Mazo had tied for fourth place with scores of 22.

All My Children actress Susan Lucci and partner Tony Dovolani and Hannah Montana actor Cody Linley and partner Julianne Hough had finished tied for sixth place with scores of 21.

Rocco and Karina's score of 20 had left them in eighth place, while former The Mary Tyler Moore Show star Cloris Leachman and Corky Ballas had finished in last place -- their third consecutive finish in the bottom spot -- with a score of 16.

Dancing with the Stars' next seventh-season performance episode will air Monday, October 13 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
About The Author: Steven Rogers
Steven Rogers is a senior entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and been covering the reality TV genre for two decades.