The road to WrestleMania 42 reached its final SmackDown in San Jose and the show was largely built around Pat McAfee. Whether you find that an exciting prospect or a frustrating one will probably determine how you feel about this episode overall.

McAfee opening the show with a long promo set the tone. He doubled down on calling himself the hero, dismissed CM Punk as a fraud and tried to position himself as a man of the people by announcing a Ram Trucks ticket discount for WrestleMania weekend. The blurring of real-life sponsorship messaging and storyline promo work felt awkward, which is presumably the point. Cody Rhodes coming out to confront him was the highlight of the segment. Rhodes calling McAfee a play wrestler and saying the Attitude Era was thirty years ago was a sharp line. He referenced Paul Boesch refusing to call fans marks, instead calling them customers, and then told McAfee that the entire fanbase agreed on one thing: nobody wants to see him. It was good stuff.

The follow-through was less subtle. Randy Orton appearing on the screen having already taken out Jelly Roll, then dragging him to the ring and attacking Rhodes, was effective enough as a beatdown. McAfee handing Orton the WWE Championship to use as a weapon hammered home the alliance. With Rhodes vs. Orton set for WrestleMania 42, this felt like the final piece of heat-building before the big match. Whether the story has actually earned that main event spot is another question entirely.

The matches on this show were mostly short and largely felt like they were there to get people on TV before WrestleMania rather than to tell meaningful stories. Alexa Bliss beating Bayley after a Charlotte Flair distraction was fine, building momentum for Bliss and Flair heading into the four-way tag title match at Mania. Bayley getting too cocky and arguing with Flair before getting rolled up was a believable finish. The match itself was good while it lasted but it barely got time to breathe. Bayley being royalty in San Jose made the loss feel more notable than it probably should have.

Royce Keys making his in-ring debut against Berto was a quick showcase to introduce him to the SmackDown audience. The Spinebuster looked great and the crowd reacted well. Solo Sikoa welcoming him afterwards is an interesting beat that could go several different ways. Whether WWE actually has a plan for Keys remains to be seen, but the debut itself was effective.

Jacob Fatu beating Tama Tonga was a solid match between two guys who know each other well. The pop-up Samoan Drop into the moonsault finish looked good. The post-match attack from Drew McIntyre was the real point of the segment. McIntyre showing up in jeans and a t-shirt looking ready for a fight, then handcuffing Fatu and busting him open with a leather strap, gave the unsanctioned match at WrestleMania the brutal edge it needed. McIntyre is fully committed to the storyline that he is going to expose the real Jacob Fatu and the Drumline beatdown made him look genuinely dangerous.

Trick Williams beating Matt Cardona was a quick win for Trick to keep his United States Championship feud with Sami Zayn moving along. Cardona gets to look like a credible veteran, Trick gets a clean win, everyone moves on.

Danhausen beating Kit Wilson was the most fun segment on the show. The whole storyline about Danhausen cursing the referee from last week is goofy in the best possible way and Danhausen winning a match on SmackDown felt like a genuine moment of joy. R-Truth teaching him how to subscribe to ESPN Unlimited backstage was a nice touch that leaned into the comedy without becoming too much.

The main event between Jade Cargill and IYO SKY was the right call but it did not get enough time. SKY bumped well for Cargill and put her over clean, which makes Cargill look strong heading into her next title defence. Rhea Ripley running in to save SKY from a chair attack closed the show, but as a final image before WrestleMania weekend it felt a bit flat. They went off the air with Cargill backing away rather than any real heightened moment.

Overall this was a SmackDown that did its job without being particularly memorable. The McAfee and Rhodes segment was the standout, McIntyre’s beatdown of Fatu added genuine heat to their unsanctioned match, and the women’s division did enough to keep multiple feuds ticking. With WrestleMania 42 a week away the card is set and the build is locked in. Whether all of that adds up to a great Mania weekend will be answered soon enough.