The Smackdown brand has always been known as a superstar harvesting ground that is raided every year in the annual draft by Raw and now ECW. It is common knowledge that of three brands, Smackdown is the wrestling-oriented brand.

Smackdown has groomed and developed some up and coming superstars and interesting gimmicks, including Mr. Kennedy, Montel Vontavious Porter, King Booker, The Boogeyman, The Miz, Paul London & Brian Kendrick. With the exception of MVP, all were taken away from the brand in the draft.

With SummerSlam this coming Sunday, WWE has an excellent opportunity to strengthen its Smackdown heavyweight division and elevate one of their superstars into the main event making him a bonafide superstar. After putting him out of action for almost a year, Chavo Guerrero will be facing the returning Rey Mysterio at the “Biggest Party of the Summer” and if booked properly, this feud can do more than just springboard Rey Mysterio back into the title picture.

Chavo Guerrero has been doing an amazing job carrying this feud for the last month, but even before the vignettes began airing for Mysterio’s return, Chavo has consistently been putting on stellar matches. His ring work has improved greatly over the years and now can carry his opponents in matches with his ring savvy and match pacing.

The writing staff has done several things right since the development of this feud. 1) Unlike most heels that have to deal with the consequences of a returning superstar that they’ve put out of action, they booked Guerrero as more than looking forward to the return of Mysterio and possibility of re-injuring the former heavyweight champion. 2) They also booked Guerrero in a skit that mocked Mysterio. One of the things that I found unique about this segment was the use of Mysterio’s mask and how Chavo talks to it, often placing it on opponents and attacking them as if they’re Mysterio. It’s eerily similar to the way Chavo’s uncle, Eddie, reacted in his feud with Mysterio a few years ago.

Speaking of Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio greatly benefited from their feud as it elevated him to main event level and served as the initial starting point of his quest to win a heavyweight championship. By defeating a former heavyweight champion, in the matter in which he did, made Mysterio main event material in the eyes of the fans. Now it is time for Mysterio to return the favor and help elevate Chavo the same way Eddie did for Mysterio.

Should Chavo win the match at SummerSlam? If the writing staff chooses to end the feud at the pay per view, then yes, Chavo should pick up the win. Mysterio hasn’t wrestled in singles competition in almost a year, while Chavo has been at the top of his game and was just recently the cruiserweight champion. It would be really hard to believe that Mysterio could come back off an injury and defeat one of the most consistent in-ring superstars on the brand. Besides, the win would do more for Chavo than it would for Mysterio.

Now, if the writing staff chooses to do the right thing and extend the rivalry, then Rey should pick up the win at SummerSlam, to avenge the loss from last year. Have Guerrero and Mysterio put on wrestling clinics for the next few months with each of them exchanging wins over one another. Following the conclusion of their initial feud, move Chavo into high profile matches with the main eveners on Smackdown. He has to be involved with big time superstars to be perceived as a big time superstar.

Guerrero has been in the shadow of his uncle, Eddie, since their days in World Championship Wrestling. I don’t know if Chavo will ever escape the shadow that Eddie has cast, but if booked properly, this could quite possibly be his best chance to at least begin casting a shadow of his own, with Mysterio providing the light.