20 Greatest WWE SmackDown Superstars Ever

7. Batista

The Rock SmackDown Fox
WWE

Initially a pariah on the blue brand thanks to thoughtless and misunderstood remarks he made whilst working on Raw, Batista grew into his role as it's defender - particularly after the untimely death of Eddie Guerrero in November 2005. He over-delivered in the wake of the tragedy, dedicating much of his run around that time to the late 'Latino Heat'.

A 2007 feud with The Undertaker was the year's best programme, whilst an exquisitely drawn-out heel turn on Rey Mysterio in 2009 steered him all the way back to the Raw end of the WrestleMania 26 main event the following year.

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