"Dancing with the Stars" 2011 as Season 12

It was a big night for fans of "Dancing with the Stars" 2011 as Season 12 opened with some surprising performances (Kirstie Alley, Ralph Macchio) and not so surprising performances (Wendy Williams, Mike Catherwood).

Overall, it was a great opening night with a lot of familiar faces, including our judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli. Here is our recap.

Top of the class

Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy: They rocked. The 60-year-old actor was adorable, hilarious and not a bad dancer. Why did we expect that? She has a real chance to win this thing.

Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff: The biggest surprise of the night, hands down. (Or is it hands up? Or is it wax on? Wax off?) I know, we're already tired of the "Karate Kid" references. But don't expect that to stop anytime soon. Daniel-son is a contender.

Hines Ward and Kym Johnson: He can shake it, and his partner Kym Johnson makes him look good. Maybe a sleeper.

Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas: Another surprise. The Disney Channel star looked more like Kellie Pickler of "American Idol" than herself. But she has the most talent as a dancer of the entire cast. Will she connect with the audience?

Middle of the road

Romeo and Chelsie Hightower: Too much bravado. Stop the Master P references.

Kendra Wilkinson and Louis Van Asmtel: It's creepy to watch her dance partner try to be as slinky as this former Playboy bunny.

Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke: Great chemistry. Cheryl knows what she's doing, and poor Chris Jericho has no clue. It will be fun to watch.

Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya: Ballroom dancing is not as tough as facing Tommy "Hitman" Hearns. Sugar Ray has a way to go.

Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin: I expected the former model to deliver a better performance, but she had a tough time emotionally during rehearsals, reliving the painful memories of the devastating 2004 Tsunami in Thailand, which she survived.

Bottom of the list

Wendy Williams and Tony Dovolani: Poor Tony. Did he do something to make producers of the show mad at him?

Mike Catherwood and Lacey Schwimmer: The radio DJ doesn't have a prayer. It's likely he will be kicked off right after Wendy Williams.