Alex Rodriguez, Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning and Alexander Ovechkin. Aside from being exceptional athletes and among the very best in their respective fields of battle, all four are true cornerstones: uber-talented stars that teams can build their entire franchises around. In the world of competitive play, they’re known as “franchise players.”
In professional sports, not every team has one of these extraordinary individuals. In fact, some don’t even have one legitimately elite star. But in the squared circle, there’s no shortage of in-ring warriors who could be considered standard-bearers for the Raw and SmackDown brands, and to a larger extent, WWE as a whole.
WWE.com takes an up-close look at Friday night’s best, tackling the undeniably tough challenge of narrowing it down to four Superstars that stand as the face of SmackDown. These competitors are the linchpins of the notorious blue brand, persistently commanding the attention of the WWE Universe while crafting their own unique identity.
Click through to see our four picks, and then cast your vote in WWE.com’s poll to decide who ultimately deserves to be called the franchise player for SmackDown.
