10 WWE Superstars who are/were the Heart and Soul of WWE Smackdown

Batista

The Beast was the Big Dog on Smackdown during the second half of

2000s

.

For new fans of wrestling, Dave Batista would forever be that muscular actor who played Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. However, for the fans who watched WWE in the Ruthless aggression and the subsequent era, Batista is a lot more than that. For us, he is the guy who was the Poster Boy of Smackdown for the second half of the 2000s, someone who was never out of the title picture.

With John Cena tearing the house down of Raw as their top babyface, Batista was complimenting him in a perfect way as the ruthless 'Animal' on Smackdown. Even though he won his first World Title as a Raw member, it wasn't until he moved to Smackdown that he transformed into a reliable superstar. Between 2005 and 2009, his four reigns with the World Heavyweight Title coincided with the best period for the now defunct title.

The matches that he wrestled with The Undertaker and Edge in 2007 and 2008 turned Smackdown into a must watch show and made the World Heavyweight Title the most important title in the WWE. Batista's appearance at Smackdown 1000 have sparked rumours of a return in the near future. If he does, given the history he shares with the show, Smackdown should be the only place he should return to.