MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'DWTS' Season 31: Joseph Baena proves he's more than just muscles, surprised fans call him 'dark-horse'

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Joseph Baena surprises fans with his muscular performance, fans now want to see him do 'ballroom with those arms and hand'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Dancing with the Stars' returned for Season 31, including Arnold Schwarzenegger's son Joseph Baena, who got the opportunity to prove he can do more than pump iron. Fans who were not expecting much from the lesser-known dancer were blown away by his moves and desire to see more of him in the future.

With "little to no" dance experience, Joseph Baena took the stage. He blazed through a jive dance performance to 'Pump It' by the Black Eyed Peas, backed by dancing pro and Season 30 champion Daniella Karagach. For the first few minutes of the competition, Baena relied on his strength, striking a few stances that would have pleased his father before breaking into dancing. The performance was warmly received by the crowd, although the judges stated that there is clearly room for improvement.

RELATED ARTICLES

'DWTS' Season 31: Fans slam host Tyra Banks for throwing production team under the bus for her gaffes

'Dancing with the Stars' Season 31: Fans vouch for votes for Cheryl Ladd and Louis Van Amstel, say '71 and still killing it'

Judges Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Derek Hough, each scored Joseph Baena a six, while Len Goodman gave him a five, for a total score of 23. Len pointed out that Joseph's footwork was a little soft and floppy, which no one would ever say about the actor's arms. In terms of further criticism, the judges generally stated that Joseph needs to polish and improve his technique in order to receive a higher score the next week. Carrie Ann Inaba gave Joseph Baena the highest praise, saying that she was reminded of Season 30 winner Iman Shumpert by the way he performed. Iman also had a weaker performance to start the competition, but he used his athleticism to become better each week and ended up pulling off a massive upset by beating seasoned dancer JoJo Siwa.

It's too early to tell if Joseph Baena will live up to the expectations. His first dance score now places him eighth among 'Dancing with the Stars' Season 31 participants. He made it through the first round of the competition, shocking people all across the world. While appreciating his pro dance partner, Daniella, fans wrote, "Daniela gave Joseph a lot of content even though he clearly has no dance training. I loved his dance even with all the mess ups he was fun to watch #dwts." Calling Joseph the 'dark-horse' of the competition, a fan wrote, "Joseph was my dark-horse pick, a potential diamond-in-the-rough. Daniella's inventive choreography combined with his personal discipline should hopefully result in an interesting growth story over the season. #DWTS." A few fans feel Joseph needs to work on his moves to make it further into the competition saying, "Joseph Baena did what he could. He perhaps could be chiseled into a dancer though. He's needs to learn how to flow better. Be like the wind. #DWTS." One fan wrote how they felt the score Joseph received was too low given his performance, "Those scores for Joseph & Daniella are too low! That was good technique (minus the feet) #DWTS."

Next, fans are hoping to see some ballroom from the Muscle Man, "I wanna see Joseph do some ballroom with those arms and hands. Great potential! #DWTS." Even though Joseph did goof up in his performances, some fans see potential in him, "Joseph...huh. He hit the moves quite well, but was almost going in the opposite way of Daniella at some points. There were some nice moments in that and he played to the audience nicely, too! Interesting to see what else he has to offer. #dwts #DWTS31 #DancingWiththeStars." Fans are now expecting him to improve under pro dancer Daniella's guidance, "Joseph wasn’t awful but he wasn’t great, if he stays dani will have him improving every single week just like she always does #dwts." Calling Joseph 'charismatic,' another 'DWTS' viewer tweeted, "No denying Joseph is very charismatic. Lots of good things to work on if he sticks around. #DWTS."

Tune in to Disney+ to watch ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 31.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.