20 Greatest WWE SmackDown Superstars Ever

8. Brock Lesnar

The Rock SmackDown Fox
WWE

Brock Lesnar was once so far away from the suplex-chucking sleepwalker of 2018 that he was willing to wrestle for an hour on a taped show and lose four falls in the process.

Long before 'The Next Big Thing' became 'The Beast', he was simply a freakishly brilliant prospect-done-good, owning his newfound fame as the WWE Champion and surpassing expectations as the best all-rounder in the game.

Though criminally cut short by his own indifference, his 2002-2004 stint on SmackDown had the exact blend of Sports and Entertainment to make him an outstanding babyface and terrifying heel. He was a dream sequence come to life for Vince McMahon - it's no wonder The Chairman paid so handsomely to have him again.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett