[5.0] "The whole show outside of the MCMG vs. #DIY match was pretty bad. That being said, that match and the crowing moment of MCGM as tag champs in WWE dragged this show out of the gutter and into mediocrity for me. [MOTN: Motor City Machine Guns vs. #DIY]"

[7.0] "Really sad that we had a boring and lame Candice vs Naomi match, because everything else in this show really rocked! If WWE was like this every week it would be awesome. Top to bottom, this show was just pure amazing. Triple H and Randy Orton promo, personal jabs between each other, treating Kevin Owens as a real danger and elevating the stakes in the feud with Orton and Cody. Cody and Gunther's promo, classic World Champions throwing beef at each other, criticizing how the other one behaves as World Champion and top star of the company, trying everything to elevate a shitty concept. Cody attacking Gunther is BS, a face hitting a cheap shot on the heel without an actual reason to do it. Andrade and Melo delivering another pretty good performance, yes, ruined by LA Knight, but I don't find anything bad in it as it serves to heat the 3 way match at Crown Jewel. The MCMG and DIY elevating the tag team division with a great TV match and the former being recognized as tag team champions in their 3rd match in the company after a 20+ year career in a roller coaster of an ending with the Usos reuniting. Could've been better? For sure, but this is as close as WWE has been to actually being great with a TV show after the RAW in Chicago, and the one after Backlash. Best SmackDown of the year for sure."

[10.0] "Great episode of SmackDown. Some great segments to build up Crown Jewel in form of Randy & Triple H interaction and Cody VS Gunther promo battle. There's thing like Naomi VS Candice but I forgive it. Motor City Machine Guns' win came unexpectedly and they did a really great job there by having 2 matches in a row."

[6.0] "First half of the show was very mid with 2 bad matches and two good promos, but the second half was very good so overall it was a good episode. I would have like the main event to be longer tho, the MCMG barely did anything in the match"

[8.0] "Very good episode of SmackDown. The opening promo was solid, Melo and Andrade 7 felt way too focused on LA Knight then the actual match, Naomi and Candice was forgettable and the GUNTHER-Cody promo was kinda generic to me but the highlight is easily the entire last half hour of the show, absolutely amazing. A very good match bewteen MCMG and DIY then to have them win the titles from The Bloodline in only their 3rd ever match with the company, right after they became Number 1 Contenders was an awesome, very rarely seen kind of push in wrestling and the ending with The Usos reuniting was perfect. A show that is very beginning and ending sided with not very much in the middle for you to enjoy, but still super solid."

[10.0] "The final block of TV for Smackdown was some of the most stucturally interesting TV Paul Levesque has booked. Format breaking, and effective get-an-act-over- in one night stuff. They gave MCMG the workrate showcase win, talked up their history and importance to wrestling as it happened, had the heel champs come out and challenge them after, knowing theyd be tired, the authority wont sanction it because its unfair, but the babyfaces take on the challenge because theyre babyfaces. From then on, everything is done to generate big pops. HHH TV is patterned and you rarely get bold booking decisions so the move to get the belts on the Guns was a real shock, and the way it tied in with the Jimmy and Roman run ins, the Jey Uso save, and the Usos reunion was pretty deft. They took clear inspiration from Austin helping Mankind on the 1/4/99 RAW. Very strong close to Smackdown, next weeks show looks good too, and theyre not allowing themselves to be hamstrung by the 5 match rule for this upcoming Crown Jewel, to the massive benefit of the card."

[5.0] "It was an episode of SmackOwn. They had matches and segments. Some of them good, some boring. Nothing has convinced me to change from watching the clips on YouTube to watching live."

[7.0] "Really good episode, probably the best since mania. MCMG getting the belts is awesome. A few minor complaints, but enjoyed this for the most part. Good show."

[9.0] "Best smackdown of the year by surpassing the one in Chicago by just a hair. Theres been a lot of complaints with smackdowns since mania but Ill continue to iterate that its been much better since moving to USA network. They knew they were leaving fox so things got stagnant a bit until we got closer to them officially leaving. Now imo, its better than raw atm. Smackdown good!"

"One of the best Smackdowns of the year, of course the storytelling was the main focus, I still think putting the tiles on MCMG was too early"

[8.0] "Great show. But I don't think they should've put the title's on the MCMG's this early. Half of the crowd didn't even know who they were. Otherwise a very solid episode with some killer promos and an awesome closing segment."

[7.0] "Some really good storytelling in this episode. I continue to care nothing about the champ vs champ stuff, and the US title situation wasn't handled well IMO. But, the Orton/HHH stuff was great, some lady tag teams are going to get a chance to shine overseas, Candice LaRae being a Tiffy replacement is an interesting wrinkle, and the Bloodline/tag title moves were fantastic. Pretty good SmackDown, overall, despite the hiccups."

[8.0] "One of the better SmackDowns of the year with some major moments, including the reunion of the Usos, back-to-back SmackDown appearances by Roman Reigns, a rare Triple H promo with Randy Orton, Gunther and Cody Rhodes making the ignorance of the title v. title Saudi match feel important, and of course the Motor City Machine Guns winning WWE tag team gold in only their second show by defeating the Bloodline. SmackDown has been largely entertaining, if not a little redundant recently and lacking on truly cant miss matches, and despite this show still lacking somewhat delivering on match quality, there were so many great moments that it made it level out. And none of the action was outright bad or offensive, just nothing given longer 10 minutes or so. Some big matches announced for Crown Jewel including Andrade, Carmelo Hayes, and LA Knight for the US Title after Andrade and Hayes final match in their series went to a no contest, a four way for the womens tag team titles, and Kevin Owens v. Randy Orton in what should be an intense and personal affair. The main event segment following the tag title change and the opening promo really carried this show into something special and a cant miss episode of SmackDown."

[7.0] "Gunther/Cody Rhodes face to face was an interesting watch, a couple of good segments. Andrade vs Carmelo Hayes: This started off strong, had a couple of bumps involving special guest ref LA Knight, the ending did disappoint though when Knight walked off after attacking both Hayes and Andrade, a disappointing way to end the 7 match series, weakest match out of the series [**]. Naomi vs Candice LaRae: It was a fine TV match, nothing of note happened here, Naomi getting the win was not surprising [**]. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa: MOTN, these two teams had a solid competitive match that showcased great team work [***3/4]. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa: A 7 minute match that got took over with the OG Bloodline and new bloodline, MCMG winning the titles was good to see [**1/2]"

"What a great episode. Loved the structure of MCMG first fighting a great match against DIY and then fighting a classic bloodline match, filled with a bunch of interferences. I know it's not for everyone but it was more of an angle than a match and I quite liked it, it's surreal seeing MCMG in this context, and it's great to see them with the belts. I imagine (and hope) the tag division will become much better now. Been liking the Gunther vs Cody build, Gunther continues to do great promo work on top of being one of the best wrestlers. Andrade vs Melo Game 7 didn't really happen, I hope this one is simply scrapped and they do an actual game 7. LA Knight's character work always great, wrestling with that jacket and the belt around his waist - the interference was quite expected when he was announced as the special guest referee. Solo has become more interesting lately as he's been allowed to be sillier, great promo with MCMG and good crowd work (although my main problem with Solo is his quite boring in-ring work). Usos hug, very nice."

[6.0] "A lot happened but only one good match, Andrade against Carmelo was as disappointing as predictable, the title change was a huge surprise which is good."

[9.0] "This was an amazing SmackDown probably one of the best SmackDowns of this year alone. From start to finish it was a super entertaining show from Randy Orton & Triple H to MCGM dominating and winning two matches and becoming the NEW WWE Tag Team Champions. Then we saw Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso embraced each other to reform The Usos. Amazing Show all - around."

[8.0] "This episode was a hoot, very strong television, super enjoyable, one of the best SmackDown's of the year for sure. The game 7 match could've been better, but they chose to run an angle, and the promos were also great, loved the segments between Orton/Hunter and Cody/Gunther, some really strong developments were seeing in the rivalries. The last hour was specially really good, with a highly-anticipated bout between MCMG vs DIY, that was followed by the impromptu title match... love the choice of belting MCMG with very few time with the company, absolute right decision."

[9.0] "Well structured episode. Engaging throughout, this is exactly what a 2 hour show should be, in my mind one of the best booked smackdowns this year."

"I personally really enjoyed this episode, I think smackdown has been on a good run lately and gets a lot of forced hate, its an easy watch with no bad matches or segments Also love MCGM getting the belts, big fan of the boys"