20 Greatest WWE SmackDown Superstars Ever
6. Daniel Bryan
Ahead of his surprising 2018 return, Daniel Bryan carved out a rather fruitful run on SmackDown as both a wrestler and authority figure on the show that always felt closer to his in-ring ethos than Monday Night Raw.
As a heel World Champion and AJ Lee's d*ckhead boyfriend in 2011/12 he was a sheer delight, unexpectedly instigating a movement around a single word he once used obnoxiously following his cheap victories of The Big Show, Mark Henry and other seemingly insurmountable WWE monsters in his path. As General Manager in 2016/17, he was a literal breath of fresh air compared to blowhard McMahons and simpering heel toadies.
His comeback has redefined his legacy, with a sagging babyface transformed by a heel turn and one of the finest WWE Championship reigns of the modern era.