Ranking all the Eras in the history of WWE Smackdown

#2 The Golden Era (2007-2011)

Edge and Taker were pivotal for SmackDown during this era

After a highly dull 12 months throughout 2006, The Undertaker's Royal Rumble match victory in 2007 began a phenomenal resurgence for the blue brand. Back at the top of the ladder on Smackdown, it was the first time in years that Taker was being positioned as the biggest superstar on a show, and the result of this soon started showing on the overall quality of the show.

His rivalries with fellow cornerstones of the show, Batista throughout 2007 and with Edge in the first half of 2008, added such a new flair and seriousness to Smackdown's quality that it started reflecting on other rivalries and storylines on the show. Often regarded as the Golden Era of the show, this period was the last time a match from Smackdown main evented WrestleMania. Even after The Undertaker took the part-timers role in 2009 and Batista moved to Raw, the show continued to feature better storylines than its sister show.

Edge's sensational work as a heel did wonders for the show, with his rivalries against Triple H and Jeff Hardy making up for some exceptional TV product. The Intercontinental scene also reached new heights in 2009, with Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio killing it inside the ring on a weekly basis. Even though 2010 was a slightly low period, the show had a stunning return in the first half of 2011.

Often overshadowed by the Summer of Punk, the rivalry between Christian and Randy Orton was the last epic rivalry on the show before the well-documented downfall started in late 2011. From a pure storyline perspective, this was easily the peak of the show. However, it just fell short to a near perfect phase -the phase with which Smackdown will forever be associated with.