WWE Smackdown has been one of the most famous wrestling show for sixteen years. WWE. com recently talked about the best wrestlers in Smackdown history;
#10 John Cena
Although The Champ has been a Raw staple for nine years, he wouldn’t have gotten there if not for his breakout success on SmackDown during the early years of his WWE career.
It was on the blue brand where John Cena answered Mr. McMahon’s call for “ruthless aggression,” putting on a stellar first performance against Kurt Angle. Proving not to be a one-trick pony, Cena would thrive as “The Doctor of Thuganomics” shortly after, continuously taking on the likes of Angle and Brock Lesnar. Cena’s first championship opportunities would also come while a member of the SmackDown roster, representing the brand by overcoming Big Show for the U.S. Championship at WrestleMania XX. A year later, he became WWE Champion following an epic rivalry and bout against JBL at WrestleMania 21.
Cena’s excitement and intensity is part of what not only made him a star, but also what made SmackDown must-see TV.
#9 Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar’s tenure in SmackDown was short, but it certainly wasn’t short on impact. Just two months into his time in WWE, he unseated The Rock as WWE Champion, becoming the youngest in history to win the prized title and bringing it to SmackDown exclusively.
In addition to the memorable beatings of and battles with John Cena – akin to what was witnessed at Extreme Rules 2012 and SummerSlam 2014 – Lesnar was one-half of what some may consider SmackDown’s greatest rivalry with Kurt Angle. The two amateur wrestling savants beat the tar out of each other for months on pay-per-view and SmackDown, exchanging the WWE Title multiple times in the process. Perhaps most memorable of the latter being an Iron Man Match on Sept. 18, 2003, that Lesnar won, 5-4.
Although he left WWE less than a year later, it’s no surprise given his battles with these three competitors – among others – that many still identify Lesnar with SmackDown.
#8 Rey Mysterio
Although Raw and SmackDown are no longer entirely separate brands, some WWE Superstars still seem to embody a specific show. This is the case with Rey Mysterio and SmackDown.
After making his WWE debut on the blue brand on July 25, 2002 – an episode so great that WWE.com hypothesized it could be the best SmackDown show ever – The Master of the 619 went on to win multiple WWE Tag Team and Cruiserweight Championships on SmackDown’s stage. The Ultimate Underdog made a career of overcoming the odds in legendary battles against much larger foes such as Big Show, Batista and JBL.
Some of the former World Champion’s most heated rivalries played out on Thursday and Friday night’s, including a controversial victory over JBL on May 26, 2006, that sent the self-proclaimed “Wrestling God” into semi-retirement as a SmackDown color commentator.
#7 JBL
John Bradshaw Layfield is one of only a few names on this list that you can still watch weekly on WWE television, albeit in a much different role than what got the former WWE Champion in this prestigious spot. The WWE Superstar turned color commentator transformed himself from APA brawler to self-made millionaire right before the WWE Universe’s eyes. And it happened on SmackDown.
On March 25, 2004, the financial tycoon arrived while sporting a suit and tie, ushering in a new era for the tough Texan. The Loudmouth Longhorn would go on to overtake SmackDown’s main event stage, competing in unforgettable battles with Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Big Show and other top competitors.
The self-proclaimed “Wrestling God” captured the WWE Championship from Eddie Guerrero in 2004, proudly carrying the coveted title on SmackDown for a remarkable 280-day title reign and making him one of the show’s defining champions.
#6 Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle had some of his greatest squared circle showdowns on Thursday and Friday nights. If you want to look back at the effect the Olympic gold medalist had on the blue brand, look no further than his epic 60-minute Iron Man WWE Championship Match with Brock Lesnar on Sept. 18, 2003.
Your Olympic Hero is also one of just a few Superstars in SmackDown’s 15 year-plus-history to win a World Championship on the show, when he outlasted 19 other Superstars in an impromptu 20-Man Battle Royal for Batista’s vacant World Heavyweight Championship on Jan. 13, 2006.
The Wrestling Machine not only can lay claim to being John Cena’s first-ever WWE opponent, but is also one of the few Superstars who can say they were in charge, considering he was SmackDown’s General Manager. Simply put, Angle is one of the blue brand’s top Superstars. It’s true, it’s damn true.
#5 Eddie Guerrero
Being viewed by some as the “B-show” of WWE has one advantage: You can be as outrageous as you want to be. It was under this umbrella that the “lie, cheat and steal” mantra of Eddie Guerrero thrived on SmackDown.
Whether Latino Heat was disarming the Divas or harming the competition, Guerrero always left the WWE Universe screaming “Viva la Raza!” His quest to push the show where it had never gone before created countless SmackDown moments from a Frog Splash off the top of a steel cage to steamy shower scenes to United States Championship Parking Lot Brawls.
#4 Edge
When Edge made history in 2006 as the first Superstar to cash in the Money in the Bank contract, his career rocketed ahead with no end in sight. The Rated-R Superstar raised eyebrows with his in-ring shenanigans with Lita on Raw, reached new heights of greatness with heart-pounding Ladder Match performances, and found a home on SmackDown.
From his epic battles with The Undertaker – as well as an emotionally charged on-again, off-again relationship with Vickie Guerrero – Edge made SmackDown must-see TV for the WWE Universe for years. An injury forced him to suddenly retire in 2011, but Edge continues to live on in WWE history after taking his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
The Ultimate Opportunist also found himself in a recurring role in “Haven” on Syfy, a gig that proved Edge could successfully make the transition from one form of entertainment to another. Hopefully, there is more to come from one of WWE’s most decorated champions
#3 Batista
Since making his WWE debut on SmackDown in 2002, Batista used the blue brand as a backdrop for some of his most notable rivalries, engaging in epic clashes against main event Superstars such as Rey Mysterio, The Undertaker, JBL and others. Save for his WWE hiatus, The Animal has been a consistent headlining force on Thursday and Friday nights, up until 2014 when the former Evolution member abruptly quit.
The six-time World Champion had his fair share of significant SmackDown moments, including winning the WWE Tag Team Titles with Rey Mysterio in tribute to the late, great Eddie Guerrero. In fact, it was the then-World Heavyweight Champion who led Team SmackDown to brand supremacy over Team Raw at Survivor Series 2005. When it comes to the top SmackDown Superstars, Batista bleeds blue.
#2 The Undertaker
If WWE is The Undertaker’s home, then it could be argued that SmackDown became his personal house of horror. For it was from the big blue staging ground that The Demon of Death Valley carried all three of his World Heavyweight Championship reigns and launched epic rivalries against everyone from Randy Orton to Mark Henry to Batista to Edge to CM Punk – showdowns that, in many cases, evolved into crucial portions of The Phenom’s WrestleMania Streak.
#1 Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Did you really expect anyone else? After all, it was one of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s popular catchphrases that led to the show’s name and “smackdown” becoming an official word in Webster’s Dictionary.
The Great One not only appeared on the program’s very first episode on Aug. 26, 1999, in Kansas City, Mo., but he made it clear in the opening segment that SmackDown was his show. Nearly 800 episodes later and no other Superstar is more synonymous with WWE’s blue brand than The People’s Champion.
From his WWE Championship Match against Triple H on the program’s premiere, to his return in 2013, The Rock has electrified Thursday and Friday nights while checking countless competitors into the SmackDown hotel. It’s only fitting that The Brahma Bull was also the blue brand’s first-ever Draft Pick in March 2002.
No one, and WWE.com means no one, can layeth the smackdown like The Rock. That’s why he is the greatest SmackDown Superstar ever.