4 Unadvertised Ex-SmackDown superstars who should appear at SmackDown 1000

The historic 1000th episode of SmackDown Live is all set to air tonight. A number of matches and returns have already been announced for the show, but that doesn't mean we should rule out a few more surprises.

SmackDown Live has been around since 1999 and there are a lot of Superstars who have made the Blue Brand a must-see and entertaining show over the years. Some of these stars, like The Big Show, The Undertaker, Batista, Rey Mysterio etc. will be appearing on the show while others like Edge, The Rock, and several others may or may not appear.

As much as people want Superstars like The Rock and Edge to appear on the show, it must be made clear that they aren't under contract with WWE and will only appear if they want to.

However, there are several other Superstars still under contract with WWE who were a big part of SmackdDwn Live at one point or another but remain unadvertised for SmacDdown 1000. An appearance by one, two or all of these Superstars will likely make the historic show feel even bigger.

So, here are four ex-SmackDown Superstars still under contract with WWE who should appear at SmackDown 1000 tonight.

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#4 Kurt Angle:

Kurt Angle was a huge part of SmackDown between 2002 and 2006

Kurt Angle made his WWE return last year after nearly 11 years of absence from the company. Ever since returning to WWE, Angle has appeared exclusively on Raw, where he served as the show's general manager between April 2017 and August 2018.

It now looks as though he is set to make a full-time return to the ring, having secured a spot in the upcoming WWE World Cup at the upcoming Crown Jewel event.

Kurt Angle was a big part of SmackDown, first from 2002 to 2005 and then in 2006. Kurt Angle won the company's top title three times as a SmackDown Superstar and had some of the most amazing matches and feuds of his WWE career on SmackDown. It's unclear why Kurt Angle hasn't been advertised for Smackdown 1000 yet. One thing is for sure, however, and that is that Smackdown 1000 will not be complete without the Olympic Gold Medalist.

#3 Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman):

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman moved to Smackdown in 2002

Brock Lesnar (with manager Paul Heyman) moved to Smackdown in August 2002 and both remained with the Blue Brand until he left the company in 2004.

While he was a part of Smackdown, Lesnar either reigned as the WWE Champion or remained in the title hunt. While almost all well-established Superstars like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Goldberg etc. were on Raw and Smackdown's "Big" Superstars like The Undertaker and Kurt Angle were injured, it was Lesnar who carried the Blue Brand for months.

As discussed above, Heyman moved to Smackdown with Brock Lesnar. Three months later, however, Heyman ended up betraying Lesnar and aligning with Big Show, handing Lesnar his first-ever defeat at Survivor Series 2002.

Heyman's alliance with Big Show was short-lived, however, as Kurt Angle soon became Paul Heyman's client. Heyman became the General Manager of Smackdown by the end of 2003. Although he served as the GM for a few months, many people, even to this day, believe that he was one of the best General Managers of Smackdown.

As much as we would like to see Lesnar returning to the show that made him a star, an appearance by the former Universal Champion is highly unlikely.

He is currently paid on a per-appearance basis by the WWE, and it seems unlikely that the company will want him appearing on an episode of SmackDown, even if it is a special occasion.

Paul Heyman, on the other hand, can appear in a backstage segment with some of SmackDown's other General Managers, such as Paige and Teddy Long. If Brock ends up making a surprise appearance, it would be well-received for sure.

#2 John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL):

JBL entering Wrestlemania 21 as the WWE Champion

In the first-ever draft, JBL (then known as Bradshaw) was drafted to Raw and remained in the Hardcore Title hunt during his time there.

JBL returned to Smackdown in 2003 and reunited with Farooq to reform the APA. After the group split up in March 2004, JBL went on to have a surprisingly successful career as a singles Superstar. He won the WWE Title from Eddie Guerrero in June 2004 and held it until April 2005.

JBL became the longest reigning World Champion exclusive to Smackdown, a record which was only broken this year by AJ Styles. In 2006, JBL retired from in-ring action to become a colour commentator on Smackdown, before leaving for Raw in 2007.

After leaving the WWE in 2009, JBL made his return in 2012 as a commentator and remained on-screen for five years before once again leaving in 2017. However, JBL still remains under some kind of contract with WWE which allows him to pursue other projects outside WWE yet still make occasional appearances for the company. JBL was a prominent part of the Blue Brand in 2004 and 2005 and it would be a fitting edition to their 1000th show.

#1 John Cena:

John Cena's monster push started in 2004

Unlike Brock Lesnar, John Cena wasn't pushed to the moon immediately. Instead, WWE took its time and made Cena into the Superstar that we know today. Cena made his debut in 2002 as a SmackDown Superstar. He shortly turned heel and emerged as a breakout star in 2003. His real push started when he turned face just before 2004. He won his first singles gold, the US title at Wrestlemania XX and just one-year later won the WWE title at Wrestlemania 21, before moving to Raw in June 2005.

John Cena became a part-timer in 2016 and has remained quite occupied with other projects since.

Since Wrestlemania 34, Cena has made just three appearances for WWE, all of which have been on events that have taken place outside of the USA. John Cena stated before returning earlier this month for WWE Super Showdown that he had to stay in China for two more months to wrap up filming Projection X-traction with Jackie Chan.

Earlier this week, however, Cena made an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and it's possible that he could leave for China after Smackdown 1000. Even if Cena can't manage to appear in person, he should at least appear via satellite. Smackdown 1000 can't be celebrated without the leader of Cenation.