'DWTS': Ralph Macchio nails the fox trot. We are in love.

Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that the kid who managed to make Karate look effortless in 1984 (1984?!?!) could work the same magic on the fox trot in 2011. The kid we're talking about is, of course, the now 49-year-old Ralph Macchio,  who totally surfaced as a "Dancing with the Stars" contender on Monday (March 21) evening.

We hope that cocky Billy Zabka was watching.

As our own Mikey O'Connell texted from his seat at the live show, Macchio's performance was nothing short of "magical." He totally held his own with partner Karina Smirnoff despite his warning in the intro montage that he was worried the fox trot would throw his back out.

Instead, he triumphed (without having to resort to any "wax on, wax off" style training exercises). Judge Carrie Ann Inaba was "shocked that [Macchio] had so much elegance in your hold." We weren't. We knew that, against all odds, Macchio would triumph. That he would stay gold.



Agree? Was Ralph Macchio's opening performance surprisingly awesome?