[6.0] "finally the go-home episode for Wrestlemania XIX. curious how they endend with the first FU of Cena and not as the face to face between Angle and Lesnar (that had haved that on backstage previously in the show). the wrestler goes quietly and the storyline was hyped. all as it should be"

[7.0] "A solid and enjoyable go-home for Mania, with every match getting some build with some decent in ring action sprinkled in. Hogan went on for a bit too long IMO, could of cut it by 5 minutes and would have been better for it. I didn't appreciate the bait & switch with Nathan Jones' first match, as bad it would be. The Torrie/Playboy video package was very creepy in hindsight with the way they were talking about Torrie. The Angle/Lesnar build was strange considering what happened last week, but a refreshing direction nonetheless. The Cena build I found confusing. One minute, he is challenging rappers to a rap battle at Mania which comes across as a comedy angle, only to pivot into the 1st challenger to Brock after Mania. Strange booking there. On the whole, this show was a breeze and a great way to get me to watch Mania, so mission accomplished."

[6.0] "Super enjoyable show for wrestling but it was weird for a go-home as Cena/Rikishi was the main event for some reason and the only major stuff between angle and lesnar is backstage and pretty lame. They're going hard into the vince/hogan thing which I guess was ok but tbh nothing here made me want to watch the ppv more than I already wanted to. On the other hand, raw did a great job of that. Best match was Eddie vs Haas, which had Haas launching Eddie in the air a few times in ways that really didn't look humanly possible. It really just seemed like a good smackdown and not "the last show before our biggest event of the year". It just didn't have that "it" whatever it is."

[5.0] "For the final Smackdown before Wrestlemania this was pretty mid. In ring the matches were fine. Brian Kendrick looked great in the opener. Team Angle lose every week so them getting beat in separate single matches is nothing new or shocking. They are tag team champions but they're still getting called 'rookies' by the commentators. This is probably John Cena's breakout show. He returns to in-ring action, new music, more aggression. He debuts the F-U as his finish. I think I'm right in saying all of this? I could be wrong but I don't recall the theme or finisher before this episode of Smackdown. It's pretty strange that the big go home angle for Mania is Cena facing Rikishi and calling out Lesnar but I guess they are pushing Cena to the main event scene as Angle needs neck surgery after Mania. Then there's the video packages of random wrestlers/celebrities trying to hype up Hogan vs Vince. They get a bit repetitive and boring after the first couple. I don't even know why these people are debating whether Vince or Hogan will win? What's the difference between this match and the Austin vs Bischoff match at No Way Out. Of course Austin was going to win. In Kayfabe, Hogan is one the greatest ever."

[5.0] "There were some decent matches on this show, but also a ton of backstage skits and pretapes, and a lot of them felt like filler, especially the Schwarzenegger pretape as he wasn't going to be at Wrestlemania. The Torrie/Nidia match and main event were also bad matches."

[5.0] "A forgettable episode of Smackdown that does a good job presenting John Cena as a main event player and Brock Lesnar's next rival after weeks and weeks of great promos as well as a good feat of strength where he debuts his new finisher the 'F-U' to Rikishi. The real go-home show for Wrestlemania was last week as not much is really followed up on with the Wrestlemania feuds. Hogan cuts a good promo with the commentators pointing out it could be his very last appearance on Smackdown. Some decent short matches here and there but much else of note really happens, which is disappointing."

[4.0] "Last week's smackdown felt like more of a go home show with the big Angle/Lesnar segment, and the Vince/Hogan contract signing. There's some fine wrestling like the opening match, but they more so were focused on setting up Cena/Lesnar as a feud for Brock after WrestleMania, and also Angle attacked Lesnar with like 3 seconds left on the air."