[6.0] "I was a bit disappointed with the overall content of this episode. Despite some very good matches, a lot is missing for it to be trully excellent. In particular, the women's division isn't being treated with te respect it deserves - it suffers from a nearly absent champion, as well as a lack of competitiveness that prevents her reign from really shining. The way Giulia is being handled is absolutely miserable. Despite being outstanding in the ring, she finds herself heavily limited what sh's allowed to do. And don't even get me started on Jordynne Grace - I still think it's ridiculous not to give such a talented wrestler a proper match, instead having her rack up squash matches that add nothing and fail to present her as a genuine threat."

[8.0] "Le fil rouge de ce SmackDown tourne autour des qualifications pour le Fatal Four Way visant à déterminer le prochain challenger de Drew McIntyre. Étrangement, la rivalité entre McIntyre, Cody Rhodes et Jacob Fatu semble également se poursuivre en parallèle. Les matchs de qualification sont solides, et ce sont Randy Orton, Trick Williams, Damian Priest et Sami Zayn qui se qualifient. Les choix sont logiques, même si tout laisse penser que Zayn va remporter le combat qui se déroule au Canada, avant d'affronter McIntyre en Arabie Saoudite. Si le show est globalement de bonne facture, mon moment préféré reste l'open challenge de Carmelo Hayes face à Leon Slater, venu tout droit de la TNA. C'est un match incroyable qui met parfaitement en valeur les talents exceptionnels de Hayes dans le ring. Pour moi, c'est clairement l'homme à suivre sur SmackDown en ce moment."

[8.0] "Damn, Smackdown continues knocking it out of the park in 2026. Seven matches in one show? What kind of sorcery is this.. I honestly can't remember the last time we've had 7 matches on one WWE show (outside of PLEs and even that is rare these days). Giulia/Kiana vs. Charlexa was fun. Look, I know it's slow burn but Giulia is definitely getting more of a reaction (boos) than she used to, mostly because she's vs. actually over opponents. #1 contenders Triple Threat should be fun. I'd love it to be Giulia/Kiana, but it'll probably be Nia/Lash winning this one. Cody Rhodes promo was great. I like that they are leaning into the mixed reactions. Cody without the title is 10 times better than Cody the champion. What a pop for Trick. Decent match. Trick oozes charisma. I love Kit Wilson's gimmick. The music cutting back in was 10/10 timing. Great music too. The theme just gets better and better. Solo vs. Priest was fine. Priest gets a lot of wins for someone so incredibly boring. Carmelo Hayes vs. Leon Slater - 10/10 banger. No notes. They work really well together. Leon is an absolute star and it's always amazing to see him on the main roster. Only a matter of time until he's signed to WWE at this point; and he absolutely deserves the limelight. Chelsea Green vs. Jordynne Grace.. Fine for a squash match. Decent push for Jordynne, and her match against Jade should at least be a step up for that title. That said, Chelsea shouldn't just be a fun jobber to progress other people's stories. Having seen Penta vs. Reklusa, Chelsea could be definitely be doing so much more than just comic relief. Ilya Dragunov vs. Sami Zayn was great. That stiff punch from Sami opening up Ilya was gnarly. Ilya gives literally everything every single match. Sami is fine and he's obviously going all the way to the Royal Rumble to face Drew. But please, Drew should be retaining this."

[7.0] "The show started strong with the McIntyre-Orton interaction, then noticeably slowed down in the middle portion. However, it closed on a high note with two excellent matches. Overall it was a pretty enjoyable show"

[7.0] "An extremely wrestling heavy show with 7 matches and a fast pace making the three hours a lot more palatable than normal. Highlight: A strong last hour with two excellent tv matches. Best Match: Carmelo Hayes v Leon Slater (***3/4). Other Notable moments: Sami Zayn beats Ilja Dragunov in a strong main event (***1/2), Trick Williams beats Matt Cardona (**3/4) and later lays out Sami Zayn to end the show, Jacob Fatu and Cody Rhodes brawl to set up SNME clash, Drew returns to the UK as champion."

[5.0] "I'm not gonna lie, but this episode for me was mid. Too many matches for a weekly show. Because of that we got bunch of not intresting matches and a few really good. Randy vs Miz deserves more time and actually I wanted to see their feud, because this legends can do very good storyline. I liked Drew McIntyre's segment so much, especially his entrance was very cool. Cody Rhodes's promo also was good and title picture now is very intresting. Everething else was just ok. Development of stories wasn't really good, but it is."

[6.0] "Good show, nothing too extraordinary, just a good show here. Started off pretty cool with Drew's first entrance as a world champion in front of a crowd, and his promo was great as well. Randy vs the Miz was just a squash, nothing too much there. The women's tag wasn't great. However, Cody's promo where he brought the crowd from booing him to cheering him was pretty cool to see, (I just hope he doesn't get a third rumble) Trick vs Matt was good, Kit coming out was a surprise but he is getting over which is fun to see, then Jacob & Cody's new feud is starting off pretty well as well. Solo vs Damian was good, mostly focused on the ongoing MFT vs Wyatt Sick6 storyline, which I am enjoying as of now. Leon vs Carmelo was a very fun match, brilliant chemistry between these two. Chelsea vs Jordynne wasn't good at all, honestly just give us the title match between Jordynne & Jade already. Ilja vs Sami was a very fun match though, would love to see these two run it back at some point. Overall, good show."

[7.0] "Good show overall. Match quality varied with Slater and Hayes having the best match with Sami & Ilja being a close second but below because of the clean loss for Ilja. Drew's opening promo was good although both he and Cody got opposite reactions due to being in the UK. Fatu and Cody will be an interesting feud."

[6.0] "The first 2/3 of the show was not incredible. A very normal show with house-shows matches. The new Charlotte is probably the worst caracter I have ever seen. But the last two matches saved the show. Incredible performance by Slater. But Ilja and Sami should have been given more time because their match was far from being as good as the last one. But I have to say something. Who the fuck wants to see a rivalry between Tama "Botch" Tanga and Nakamura"

[7.0] "Yea, I think Smackdown might be back? Third week in a row where I didn't wanna check out. Not as good as last week, but overall, it's been very solid so far in the year."

[7.0] "I loved Drew's special entrance, and that he was able to gt some boos from the crowd. I thought we were going to get the revolving door of challengers, but Jacob Fatu chasing him off was way better. Seeing Drew paranoid backstage with Dragunov is good character work too, an and the potential foreshadowing with Sami was good too. Cody's promo was excellent. He did a great job of turning the boos into cheers by referencing his history in London (and with the WrestleMania London cheap pop). I love that we have the biggest name in the company in the Rumble, and that Cody is gunning for Fatu. This title change has opened up way more story options. Overall, this was a good show that had a purpose. All the qualifiers were decent, even if only the main event was worth watching back. They've done a good job of making SNME interesting considering it is so close to the Rumble."

[1.0] "If it weren't for Leon's impeccable work with Carmelo, and Drew's entrance, I probably would have given this a 0. Why? The Orton and Miz match was totally unnecessary. The Miz is a jobber and thinks he can beat Randy Orton. The women's tag team match could have been good, but I don't know what instructions they give the women. It seems like they're told not to show off, because they're capable of much more. The Trick and Matt match seemed acceptable to me, a good result, but I think it's disrespectful to have brought back Zack Ryder to be a jobber again. Damian Priest fighting to be the number one contender for the WWE Championship... nothing more to say. WWE humiliated Chelsea Green again by using her as a jobber for Jordynne. And the main event... WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO SAY ABOUT THE MAIN EVENT? IT'S A HISTORIC DISRESPECT TO ILJA DRAGUNOV THAT... He's been busting his back every week since he came back, he finally has a shot at a world title and they make him lose to Sami Zayn just because they're going to Canada and Saudi Arabia, AAAAAA but when Drew went to Scotland they make him lose to Damian Priest, simply HHH and his favoritism, it's disgusting."

[7.0] "Seven matches on a modern WWE TV show... WOW. Most of them were obviously on the shorter side except the main event and the US title match, but that was a lot of wrestling for a WWE show in 2026. I liked this show, a bit (much) less than the previous SmackDown I must say... but it was definitely good for a 3 hour show. The show started with Drew getting a great homecoming entrance with amidst a massive pop. He cuts his anti-hero promo and Randy Orton comes in, starts his usual shtick as FATU runs in and beats up Drew leading to a collision outside the ring as the Miz scrawls from behind and hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Randy to start a somewhat mediocre gimmick Randy match leading to his obvious victory. Good start. It progressed with an abysmal match which I don't want to get into, then a mid filler between Trick and Cardona, another mid filler between Priest and Solo, and a great match between Slater and Hayes leading to another horrible squash between Chelsea Green and Jordynne Grace (nobody cares about the women's WWE champion or Jade Cargill anymore). The main event was great with an unfortunate result. But the creme de la creme of the show was Cody's presence throughout and a surprisingly anti-hero type? promo announcing himself as the first entry to the upcoming Royal Rumble and a call out to Fatu which was later followed by a brawl segment between the two. This is actually looking good, the WWE title scene is indeed very unpredictable after the long predictable, white meat baby face run from "Kodeyh" as Drew quoted."

[8.0] "A little bit below last weeks episode from Berlin with this weeks episode from London, the opening segment with Drew McIntyre celebrating his title win was fairly decent but got interesting when Randy Orton and Jacob Fatu came out to interrupt, Jacob Fatu and Cody Rhodes brawling later on in the show was crazy. Two great matches with the others being either okay or good. Randy Orton vs The Miz: Short match that did not out stay its welcome and the outcome was never in doubt, Miz however did get a decent near fall that could have made people believe he could have won [**]. Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs Giulia & Kiana James: Charlotte and Giulia had some decent exchanges and hope they get a singles match down the road, Alexa was decent, Kiana was fine, solid as could have been tag team match [***]. Trick Williams vs Matt Cardona: Williams getting the win was interesting and surprising, Cardona was decent in this one, wish it went longer and did enjoy watching this [***]. Damian Priest vs Solo Sikoa: MFT members causing the distractions was not needed but led to Wyatt Sicks interrupting that distracted Sikoa to led Priest getting the win was interesting continuation of their storyline, decent match overall [***1/4]. Carmelo Hayes vs Leon Slater: Awesome match that had high flying showcases from both, the ending was insane with the cutter from the top rope, Slater proved to be a worthy wrestler to answer the open challenge [****]. Jordynne Grace vs Chelsea Green: A short match that got Grace her second win as a SD superstar [*1/4] Sami Zayn vs Ilja Dragunov: These two know how to put on a great match and this was no exception, some memorable moments like the Torpedo Moscow on the apron, Zayn winning was nice to see, my favourite match of the Undisputed WWE Title #1 contenders four way qualifying matches [****1/4]"

"7/10. Biggest pro tonight was the match quantity surpassing most modern PLEs, mainly thanks to all the WWE title contender matches, even if they weren't the most top notch or memorable. Poor women's division doe, only getting a forgettable tag match and squash from Grace, though at least we might finally be seeing Jade coming out from her hidey hole and defending the title on TV."

[8.0] "They definitely could've shaved off 30 mins of in between shit during matches but this was still a great show. Melo and Leon and Sami and Ilja were both fantastic, storylines were progressed, and they did a great job of building intrigue in SNME and the Rumble. I am not a fan of Cardona losing to Trick and then immediately getting attacked by Kit Wilson with absolutely no repercussions though. But that and some very small things are just that. Small. This was a good show and a step in the right direction for Mania build."

[6.0] "not bad but way too long for me. Wouldve been better if it was only 2 hours, i wouldve give it a 7 probably, but this way, only 6"

[8.0] "Excellent episode of Smackdown. Drew's opening segment was cathartic after all those years of him getting robbed of his moment and it's a real testament to how good Drew is that he managed to turn a home crowd that was cheering him like a face, into booing him like a heel and cheering Cody like they should by the end of the segment. I also enjoyed Jacob's involvement here and the transition into the Randy-Miz match which was short and sweet. The Tag match that followed was a bit mediocre. I REALLY liked Cody's segment and similar to Drew earlier, it's a real testament to how good he is that not only did he turn a crowd that started off booing him to cheer him by the end of the promo, but it's also not even the 1st time he achieved that feat. Cardona vs Williams was decent enough and I liked Kit Wilson doing his entrance and getting beat up. Really looking forward to Jacob vs Cody at SNME and I really hope Jacob is involved in the WWE title picture at Mania and it's not just Drew vs Cody 1v1 for the 10th time as Jacob has lit a fire in the WWE title picture we haven't seen since Cody vs KO almost a year ago. Priest vs Solo was a good match and a lite-version of the match Solo had with Gunther. Wish it went longer and had minimal interference but I still enjoyed the match and the progression of the Wyatts vs MFT story. Carmelo had yet another excellent US title match against Leon Slater. Go out of your way to watch this one. Grace continues to be booked strong as this was another squash match and stare down with the champ. Simple but effective. The main event between Ilja and Sami was my Match of Night. Another excellent bout between these 2, albeit not as good as their barn burner for the US title. The right person won here and the direction seems to be Sami vs Drew at the Rumble which I am ALL IN for."

[9.0] "Smackdown has been must watch tv this year and to get 7 matches on the card, 2 of which were great is a good sign of things to come! Also bonus points for presenting Trick like a star and having him stand tall to end the show so early into his main roster run"

[7.0] "[7.5/10]. A cool SD. The promo between Drew and Orton is cool. It's weird to see Drew with the WWE title. Drew was logical once again because, despite the crowd's encouragement, he took the opportunity to remind everyone that no one was there when Drew got screwed. He took the opportunity to take a jab at Cody by saying that his era is over. Orton was fine with the little he said. Fatu's arrival is nice. Miz/Orton was random. Randy's victory makes sense, of course. The women's tag team was okay. Kiana James doesn't look bad in the ring. If they rematch in a few months, it will be much better. Cody's promo was decent. Since Cody can't have a rematch, he logically declares his participation in the Rumble. I hope he doesn't win. Williams/Cardona was cool. Once again, Williams is really cool in the ring. Cardona reminded us that he's still in shape. Trick's victory was logical and clean. Finally, an interesting segment from Kit Wilson. What a shitty idea to cut his promo. Fatu destroying Kit was very good. And then we finally got the moment I was waiting for: the Cody/Fatu encounter. Great fight, but then we got that bloody advert that ruined everything. The Wyatts and MFT had some pretty nice clips that once again highlighted the personal side of this feud. Priest/Sikoa was okay, but nothing more. There was a very nice exchange towards the second half of the match. The Wyatts' intervention makes sense. I didn't expect to see Melo wrestle tonight. What a match. Leon Slater, who had already impressed me at SNME, put in an excellent performance against Melo, who was as good as ever. The crowd was behind their compatriot, which is good. I hope that one day we'll see Slater in WWE because this guy is exceptional. Grace/Green, well, it's Grace/Green, not much to say. Chelsea Green hasn't offered anything of note in a long time. Grace doesn't look bad, but the matches are too short to form a real opinion. The ME. Great match between Zayn and Ilja. Obviously not as good as their classic performance last year, but both delivered excellent spots. Zayn wins, which is consistent. I hope Ilja gets a chance at the title because he deserves it. Like previous editions, SNME is hyped. It was good to have the fatal 4-way and Cody/Fatu in this show. There were an unusual number of adverts in this show. Can't wait for the next one."

[7.0] "This show was heavily carried by the Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu Drama, the WWE US Title Match, and the main event. One thing I'll say coming out of this episode is the young talent has been shinign and that's something I'm very glad of because SmackDown was like the worst show in wrestling last year, and now they're booking the right people and showcasing the right talent on both sides of the show. The four participants in the WWE Saturday Main Event Number One Contender Match were set in stone, and we see the seeds for a future WWE Women's Title Match between Jade Cargill and Jordynne Grace in the near future. I'm enjoying tyhis and I'm glad the young talent is shining. Keep this going, another decent episode of SmackDown."

[8.0] "Last two matches were out of this world insane and made up for the slowish sluggish start to the show"

[6.0] "A Smackdown episode from london with a mixed bag. Some good stuff and some not some good stuff. The first four matches wasn't that good. Hayes against Slater was the best match from this Smackdown show."

[6.0] "The opening promo until Randy came out was great. Drew worked the crowd perfectly but I don't need to see these two have another 'bland off' again where Drew does all the leg work. Everything that followed from this point until Leon slater entered was unstoppable tedium at best and unwatchable garbage at worst. The middle of this show was of excruciatingly poor quality for the excellent crowd. Luckily Leon and Melo saved the day and the show before the Main Event which was also excellent. The Jade Cargill nonsense may have taken years off of my life and seeing Chelsea continually used in disinteresting ways for boring wrestlers makes me disproportionately angry. Cody's segment and promo was boring, as was Trick ve Cardona. Kit Wilson saved that nightmare segment. Basically, a Top heavy card of mediocrity."