With SmackDown 1000 airing tonight, we decided to look back and examine who the biggest stars in SmackDown history were. Certainly, we'll have left off some names that deserve consideration and we didn't touch on the females who have affected the show over it's run, but the idea here was to highlight the biggest of the biggest and the best of the best.

With names like Rey Mysterio, Batista, Edge and others making their return to WWE tonight for the historic episode of the show, would they make the list? It's hard to argue leaving them off. Who else gets the nod? We covered everything from recent performers and stars from long ago.

Here are the WWE Superstars who made the biggest impact on SmackDown after 1000 episodes.

AJ Styles

via cagesideseats.com

He might be relatively new to SmackDown when compared to some of the other names that will be featured on this list, but he certainly isn't lying when he calls SmackDown Live the house that "AJ Styles built.". No WWE Superstar has had a greater impact on the blue brand since the brands split than the Phenomenal One.

Styles has been the champion on the SmackDown brand for over 340 days. The plan might be for him to be the longest reigning WWE Champion in the history of the show and outlast CM Punk's reign of 434 days as a WWE star across both brands. Styles truly is the 'Face That Runs the Place.'

The Undertaker

via TheSportster

Perhaps there's no bigger star in the history of WWE that The Undertaker, which means it would be hard to argue against calling him the biggest star ever on SmackDown. The Undertaker's three reigns as World Heavyweight Champion were all on SmackDown and he had some of the most memorable feuds with names like Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Batista, Edge and CM Punk. Many of those feuds were part of the Deadman's legendary WrestleMania undefeated streak.

He'll back making an appearance tonight and it won't be clear if it's to celebrate his legacy or further his storyline with DX.

The Rock

via TheSportster

Arguably, if not for the Rock, SmackDown wouldn't have its name. Dwayne Johnson used to tell people he would lay the smackdown on their candy a$$es and the phrase became so popular, WWE stole the words and used it as the title of the show.

The Great One not only appeared on the program’s very first episode on Aug. 26, 1999, but he designated the show as his own during the opening segment. Perhaps he hasn't been around much in the latter half of the thousand shows but the impression he left in the first few hundred were so significant, it lasts on to this day.

It would be a dissapointment if The Rock didn't somehow make an appearance on the 1000th edition of the show.

RELATED: THE BEST MOMENTS FROM SMACKDOWN LIVE'S FIRST 1000 SHOWS

Edge

via wwe.com

Edge will be back tonight hosting an episode of the Cutting Edge. He did that an awful lot when he was part of SmackDown. He was also the first Superstar to cash in the Money in the Bank contract and he elevated himself into a superstar and eventual Hall of Famer immediately following that moment.

The multiple Ladder Matches, his feud with The Undertaker, his relationship with Vickie Guerrero and tag team relationship with Christian and many memorable tag team moments were all done on SmackDown. If you ask him, he'd probably tell you he felt most proud of his work as part of the blue brand.

Eddie Guerrero

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Before Eddie's untimely passing, he was one of the biggest stars on the SmackDown brand and his matches and commitment to making SmackDown the "A-Show" for WWE was evident throughout his time there. If there was a gimmick match that existed during his time, Eddie was probably in it. He also holds the distinction of defending a title more than any other Superstar in SmackDown history.

Eddie and his Latino Heat made 'lying, cheating and stealing' fun and fans adored him. Perhaps there was no other star to reach such an international audience as Guerrero did. Had he lived longer, he might have been the biggest star in the show's history without a doubt.

RELATED: RAW RECAP, REACTIONS AND BIGGEST MOMENTS - DON'T CALL DEAN CRAZY

Batista

via TheSportster

Another superstar who will be making his return to SmackDown tonight is Batista. Ironically, his return will be as a member of Evolution, which was a faction featured on Raw, but nonetheless, Batista was a huge part of the SmackDown brand.

He had memorable battles with and against names like Rey Mysterio, Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, JBL, and others and while his most recent return to WWE wasn't the greatest, he was a huge star when he was part of SmackDown, perhaps one of the biggest in WWE. He's looking to get back into a storyline with WWE and tonight be the start of that.

Kurt Angle

via TheSportster

Angle was all over every brand in WWE but he made a huge mark on SmackDown where he had memorable matches, was the GM for a while and introduced the world to John Cena through his series of open challenge matches. If not for Angle, Cena probably wouldn't be what he became.

Angle won the World Heavyweight Title on the show in a Battle Royal (surprisingly, in 1000 episodes, the title changing hands hasn't happened that often) and he had an unreal battle with Brock Lesnar that may go down as Lesnar's best feud in WWE. Some of the greatest matches in the show's history involved Angle. He's on Raw now, but he'll probably show up tonight.

RELATED: SMACKDOWN 1000 STAT PROVES EDDIE GUERRERO HAS THE MOST TITLE DEFENSES IN SHOW'S HISTORY

Rey Mysterio

viaTheSportster

When Rey Mysterio makes his long-awaited return tonight to SmackDown, he'll be coming back to the show that was the best fit for him. He never really made a mark on Raw but with the blue brand, he battled the likes of The Big Show, Batista, Eddie Guerrero, and JBL. Despite his size, he was a true star in every sense of the word.

Rey Mysterio is an icon in all sorts of promotions now, but, no doubt, his best success in WWE was on SmackDown. As he moves forward with WWE, it will be with the blue brand.

RELATED: RUMOR: WWE STILL IN TALKS WITH THE ROCK OVER SMACKDOWN 1000 APPEARANCE

JBL

via EyesontheRing.com

For years JBL spun his wheels as Justin Hawk Bradshaw and a member of the APA. Then, one day, on SmackDown he showed up wearing a cowboy hat, a suit and driving in a limo calling himself a self-made millionaire and things were never the same. He went on to become perhaps the best heel champion in SmackDown history, hated maybe more than anyone else in the show's tenure.

He called himself a "wrestling God", took on Mysterio, Undertaker, Big Show and John Cena, among others, and won the WWE title from Eddie Guerrero in 2004, holding that title for almost a full year.

John Cena

via EWrestling

Cena went on to become perhaps the biggest star in WWE over the past 20 years but he got his start on SmackDown, developed his Doctor of Thuganomics character on SmackDown and became a huge star on SmackDown.

He was never afraid to go back to SmackDown when the biggest stars were on Raw and he did his best to elevate that show when it felt like the company had almost all but given up on it.

NEXT: WWE CONFIRMS REY MYSTERIO'S RETURN FOR SMACKDOWN 1000