With Monday Night Raw being a huge success on a weekly basis during the Attitude Era, WWE decided to introduce a second weekly program onto the scene in 1999. Capitalizing on their incredibly popularity at that time, as well as one of The Rock's most famous catchphrases, SmackDown was born.

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A lot of memorable moments were created during the first years of the show's existence. With the original WWE Draft in March 2002, SmackDown truly established itself as an essential part of WWE programming, being the home for some of the greatest feuds, promos, matches and overall moments in WWE ever since. Some wrestlers, like The Rock, are instantly associated with SmackDown, but let's take a look at ten wrestlers who spent most of their time in WWE as part of the blue brand.

10 Rey Mysterio

rey mysterio shawn michaels smackdown 2010

The legendary Rey Mysterio made a name for himself in the late '90s in WCW, as a member of their cruiserweight division. After the Atlanta-based promotion closed its doors, Rey arrived in WWE in 2002. His debut took place on an episode of SmackDown with a win over Chavo Guerrero, himself a former WCW cruiserweight.

From that point forward, Rey Mysterio spent almost all of his WWE career as a member of the SmackDown roster. Whether it was as a member of the "SmackDown Six" in 2002, competing for the Cruiserweight Championship against Matt Hardy Version 1, challenging for the tag titles alongside the likes of Batista and Eddie Guerrero, or as the World Heavyweight Champion, Rey was always an essential part of the show for many years.

9 Carmella

Carmella becomes SD Women's Champion

Carmella is a name that perhaps most readers didn't expect to see on this list, but she did spend a lot of time as a member of the blue brand. Having formerly been the valet of Enzo & Cass in NXT, she originally made her jump to the main roster during the 2016 WWE Draft without the duo, who went to RAW.

She quickly turned heel and entered a feud with the returning Nikki Bella in 2016. The following year, 'Mella became the first-ever holder of the female Money in the Bank briefcase, and eventually won the SmackDown Women's Championship on the episode of SmackDown following WrestleMania 34. After her long partnership with R-Truth in the WWE 24/7 Championship scene, Carmella finally moved to Raw in the 2021 Draft.

8 Edge

Edge World Heavyweight Champion May 2007

Edge found his footing as a singles wrestler after being drafted to the blue brand in the original WWE Draft in 2002, particularly after an amazing rivalry with Kurt Angle. Edge was having some of the best matches of his career up to that point as a member of the "SmackDown Six", until neck injury forced him to miss over a year of action.

RELATED: 5 Best Edge Matches Since His WWE Comeback (& 5 Worst)The Rated-R Superstar made his return on Raw the following year, where he enjoyed his first runs with the WWE Championship a couple of years later. However, he made the jump back to SmackDown in May 2007, shocking the world by cashing in Money in the Bank for the second time in his career, stealing the World Heavyweight Title from The Undertaker. Edge spent the next number of years competing in the World Title scene on Friday nights, up until he was forced to retire as SmackDown's reigning World Champion right after WrestleMania 27 in 2011.

7 Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura Intercontinental Champion

After a run as the NXT Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura made his WWE main roster debut on the episode of SmackDown Live following WrestleMania 33. He has been a member of the SmackDown brand ever since then, having had several runs with the United States, Intercontinental and SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

Nakamura's highlight as a SmackDown wrestler was his victory in the 2018 Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Roman Reigns. Nakamura unsuccessfully challenged AJ Styles for the WWE Championship a number of times throughout that year, including at WrestleMania 34.

6 Eddie Guerrero

eddie-guerrero-wwe-championship

While Eddie Guerrero did make his return to WWE on Raw in 2002, it didn't take long for Latino Heat to join the SmackDown brand just a couple of months later. It was on the blue brand that Guerrero was finally able to reach his full potential as a main eventer, showing unique charisma and doing some of the best work of his entire career.

It is not a coincidence that Eddie can be found in a lot of the most memorable moments in SmackDown history, as well as some of the best matches in the history of the show. Guerrero helped elevate many talent during that awesome run, including his nephew Chavo as part of Los Guerreros, but also the likes of Edge, Rey Mysterio, Brock Lesnar, John Bradshaw Layfield, Batista, and even Tajiri!

5 Daniel Bryan

via wwe.com

Daniel Bryan was first drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2011 WWE Draft. Already a former United States Champion in WWE, the former 'American Dragon' shockingly won that year's SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match in July, using it later in the same year to win his first World Heavyweight Championship in WWE.

RELATED: The Best Daniel Bryan Match Every Year During His WWE CareerWhen he was forced to retire due to injuries in 2016, Bryan was named SmackDown General Manager ahead of the 2016 Draft. Two years later, Bryan was able to return to in-ring action and picked up right where he left off. Shortly after his epic return, Bryan turned heel and enjoyed a career renaissance as "The New Daniel Bryan", finally getting a proper run with the WWE Championship.

4 Kurt Angle

Angle had another good year in 2002

The Olympic Hero is another name from WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era who spent most of his time on SmackDown. Kurt Angle was a member of the blue brand from 2002-05, constantly producing great work due to his unmatched in-ring skill and charisma. He had awesome matches with Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena and many others during that stint, before finally leaving SmackDown in 2005 so he could have a rematch with Shawn Michaels.

Angle had one last short run on SmackDown shortly before his WWE departure in 2006. When Batista was forced to relinquish the World Heavyweight Championship due to injury in January 2006, Raw's Kurt Angle showed up on SmackDown and won a battle royal for the vacant gold. Angle feuded with Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, The Undertaker (whom he had a fantastic match against at that year's No Way Out) and Mark Henry, before leaving in June for ECW. Just two months later, Angle was off to TNA.

3 AJ Styles

AJ Styles WWE Champion 2nd reign Cropped

AJ Styles was certainly the face of the "SmackDown Live" era of the blue brand after the start of WWE's second brand extension, with Styles even claiming that SmackDown was the house that AJ Styles built. The former TNA star was on SmackDown for the first three years of the second brand extension, capturing the WWE Championship twice and headlining multiple events.

Styles' list of amazing matches while he was on SmackDown throughout that time is endless. Whether he was feuding with John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, or even Shane McMahon, Styles was the highlight of SmackDown during that time. Styles later came back to SmackDown for a number of months in 2020, having a classic Intercontinental Championship match with Daniel Bryan before returning to Raw.

2 Batista

Batista World Champion Cropped

If AJ Styles was the face of SmackDown during the late 2010s, the same applies to The Animal during the latter years of the Ruthless Aggression Era. Fresh off a great rivalry with Triple H, where Dave won his first World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 21, Batista joined SmackDown during the 2005 WWE Draft.

RELATED: Every Wrestler Who Defeated Batista In A Singles PPV Match For the next four years, Batista spent most of the time as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion, essentially feuding with every top guy imaginable. The Animal developed a fantastic chemistry with The Undertaker in 2007, against whom Batista had some of the greatest matches of his entire career.

1 The Undertaker

The Undertaker World Heavyweight Champion 2009 Cropped

The original brand extension lasted from March 2002 until August 2011. Apart from the first four months on Raw (although he still appeared on SmackDown many times, as the WWE Undisputed Champion appeared on both shows), The Undertaker was on SmackDown the entire time! 'The Deadman' was the heart and soul of SmackDown during the Ruthless Aggression Era.

In what were the final years of The Undertaker's career as a full-time active wrestler, there's nothing that The Undertaker didn't do or anyone he didn't face during that decade. He headlined WrestleMania, captured several World Championships, won a Royal Rumble and defended his impressive WrestleMania streak every year against fierce competition.