7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (28 Feb - Results & Review)

Well, at least WWE didn't take a century to get to the point between The Rock and Cody Rhodes this week. The same couldn't be said for last week's rambling promo between both men. Now for the bad news: It's still unclear whether or not this story is going to satisfy fans heading into WrestleMania 41, or if it'll even have an impact on the main event across either night in Las Vegas.

Time is rapidly running out on that front, but creative will want to put Elimination Chamber in the rearview mirror before painting some of the bigger storytelling strokes on the 'Mania canvas. Friday's episode of SmackDown was all about delivering three things. One, more mental mulling over Rocky's offer from Cody. Two, establishing an official challenger for Shinsuke Nakamura's United States Title. Three, getting you real excited about both Chamber bouts in Toronto.

Success varied there, and WWE even exposed the truth about John Cena's retirement run. He's as part time as part time gets. This was probably always going to happen, but the loudest words should go unsaid unless it's someone like Logan Paul needling 'Super Cena' just because he can.

One glance at the 'Ups' and 'Downs' counts shows that there's still a lot to like about SmackDown despite the pesky third hour that's been added in 2025 and is all over the WWE news. Hopefully, they can do away with that soon and go back to the zippier two hour format. That worked for Fridays better than becoming Raw-lite ever will.

Here's all the good and bad on the final stop before everyone gets locked in those Chamber pods.