Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to Raw primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Monday Night Raw , also referred to simply as Raw . It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with SmackDown , collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016.
35-450: In addition to Raw's main television program, less-utilized wrestlers also appear on the brand's supplementary show, Main Event . Raw's wrestlers also perform on the branded and co-branded pay-per-view and livestreaming events . During the first brand split (2002–2011), Raw wrestlers also competed on the former supplementary show, Heat , and on ECW under a talent exchange program with
70-896: A Triple Threat match at Night of Champions , leaving Raw without any top-tier championships. On the June 30, 2008 episode of Raw , the Raw brand regained a world championship, after Money in the Bank contract holder, CM Punk, cashed in his contract and defeated the World Heavyweight Champion , Edge . Lastly, the United States Championship returned to SmackDown after Shelton Benjamin defeated Matt Hardy at The Great American Bash pay-per-view on July 20. Trevor Murdoch and Big Daddy V were both later released from WWE prior to their first appearances on SmackDown after being drafted. Chuck Palumbo
105-410: A live episode of Main Event from Detroit on its then-new subscription service WWE Network . It was reported to be a stress test for live events on the service in preparation for WrestleMania XXX . Prior to November 28, 2016, Main Event was taped prior to SmackDown . It was then moved to Raw after the premiere of WWE Network 's 205 Live , which was broadcast live after SmackDown from
140-515: A process they called the " brand extension ". The WWF divided itself into two de facto wrestling promotions with separate rosters, storylines and authority figures . Raw and SmackDown! would host each division, give its name to the division and essentially compete against each other. The split came about as a result of the WWF purchasing their two biggest competitors, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW); and
175-576: A random draft pick for their brand. Draft picks were kayfabe selected at random via a computer that was shown on the Raw titantron . Like the previous year, a supplemental draft took place on June 25, where draft selections were randomly conducted. The Draft featured the Raw brand randomly drafting ECW Champion Kane from the ECW brand. It also featured the ECW brand drafting WWE United States Champion Matt Hardy from
210-644: A world title and tag team title, although raw superstars were allowed to challenge for them. Beginning in December 2021, talents from Raw begin to appear on NXT 2.0 . Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio reported that a Raw-NXT crossover between their talents as a way to help boost NXT 2.0 ratings as both shows air on the USA Network. Initially, the WWE Undisputed Championship and
245-559: Is taped on Monday nights prior to WWE Raw . Episodes generally feature two matches (typically one men's match and one women's match). In the United States, Main Event streams new episodes on Hulu on Thursdays; it was initially carried by Ion Television as well until April 2014. It is also carried by WWE's international television partners. The series first aired in the United States on Ion Television , originally premiering October 3, 2012 and airing on Wednesday nights. WWE considered
280-639: The SmackDown brand. The final selection in the draft was conducted by the SmackDown brand, and they drafted WWE Champion Triple H from the Raw brand. Per pre-draft stipulations, all the three champions brought their respective titles to the brand to which they were drafted. The 2008 Draft was the last to take place in the Ruthless Aggression Era , as the era ended after the SummerSlam PPV. The draft
315-662: The WWE Tag Team Championship . With the WWE Championship being defended exclusively on SmackDown, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley introduced the WWE Universal Championship to be Raw's world title . At Crown Jewel on October 31, 2019, SmackDown wrestler "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt won the WWE Universal Championship, thus taking the title to SmackDown. On the next night's episode of SmackDown , WWE Champion Brock Lesnar quit SmackDown and moved to Raw, bringing
350-542: The August 29, 2011, episode of Raw , it was announced that performers from Raw and SmackDown were no longer exclusive to their respective brand. Subsequently, championships previously exclusive to one show or the other were available for wrestlers from any show to compete for—this would mark the end of the brand extension as all programming and live events featured the full WWE roster. In a 2013 interview with Advertising Age , Stephanie McMahon explained that WWE's decision to end
385-506: The Draft, the ECW brand was left without a world championship, after the ECW Champion Kane was drafted to Raw. As a result of pre-draft stipulations, champions took their championships to their new brand and made them property of that brand. SmackDown, however, lost their secondary championship, after United States Champion Matt Hardy was drafted to the ECW brand, in the process making
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#1732883410763420-511: The ECW brand drafted five representatives: one on television and four through the supplemental draft. The 28 included two commentators, two Divas, and 24 male wrestlers (two inactive wrestlers and 22 active wrestlers). During the program, representatives from the Raw, ECW and SmackDown brands were involved in matches that determined which brand received a draft pick. Overall, there were 9 matches, in which Raw won four, ECW won one, SmackDown won three and one resulted in no winner. Jim Ross, one of
455-603: The General Managers of the respective brands hand-picking the wrestlers for their brands. Raw's Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley created a new championship—the WWE Universal Championship . This championship would be exclusive to the Raw brand, as the WWE World Championship had become exclusive to the SmackDown brand. Clash of Champions was scheduled as the reintroduction of
490-539: The Raw brand drafted 11 representatives: five on television and six through the supplemental draft. The SmackDown brand earned five television selections through their representatives winning five different matches, while they received seven supplemental selections. In total, the SmackDown brand drafted 12 representatives: five on television and seven through the supplemental draft. The ECW brand earned one televised selection through their representative winning one match, while they received four supplemental selections. In total,
525-750: The World Heavyweight Championship for Raw. Shortly thereafter, Raw became the exclusive brand for the World Tag Team Championship , the Intercontinental Championship and the original WWE Women's Championship. On July 19, 2016, the brand extension was brought back and for the first time ever the draft was held on SmackDown Live . Raw drafted the WWE Women's Championship , the United States Championship , and
560-522: The brand extension was due to wanting their content to flow across television and online platforms. On May 25, 2016, it was announced that WWE would be reintroducing the brand split in July, with distinctive rosters for both Raw and SmackDown. On the July 11 episode of Raw , Vince McMahon named Stephanie McMahon the Commissioner of Raw . The draft took place on the live premiere of SmackDown on July 19, with
595-457: The contest, at their homes and asked them for a password, which was revealed at the opening of the Raw broadcast. If their answer was correct, he awarded the fan a portion of one million dollars. On June 24, WWE announced on its website that a supplemental draft would take place on June 25 at noon ET . The supplemental draft, like the previous year, was conducted randomly, with each brand receiving random draft selections. Wrestlers affected by
630-468: The cruiserweight division and the first Raw-exclusive pay-per-view since January 2007 , whereas Elimination Chamber was scheduled as the final Raw-exclusive pay-per-view two years later . Subsequently, this saw all upcoming pay-per-views interbranded after WrestleMania 34 . After SmackDown moved to Fox in October 2019, Raw lost its status as the main "A" Show. Following WrestleMania 38 it also didn't have
665-440: The draft helps increase ratings, it is also used as a way to refresh the rosters and create new storylines. There were 28 selections conducted in the draft overall. 11 selections were conducted on television, while 17 selections occurred during the supplemental draft. The Raw brand earned five televised selections through their representatives winning five different matches, while they received six supplemental selections. In total,
700-424: The draftees, was unaware he was to switch brands during the draft. After the draft, Ross was on the verge of quitting his job as a commentator for WWE, as he was angry at the fact he was leaving the Raw brand, where he had commentated for over ten years. Ross stated on his official blog that he was about to quit WWE, but he decided to continue to work for the company and make the best of working on SmackDown. After
735-559: The former ECW brand, while during the second brand split (2016–present), the brand's wrestlers have appeared in the interbrand Worlds Collide , Mixed Match Challenge , and annual Tribute to the Troops events. Additionally during the second split, Raw's cruiserweight wrestlers competed on 205 Live when WWE's revived cruiserweight division was exclusive to Raw from 2016 to 2018 before 205 Live became its own brand. In early-to-mid-2002, then World Wrestling Federation (WWF) underwent
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#1732883410763770-542: The main roster. 2008 WWE draft The 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) draft , the sixth WWE draft , took place at the AT&;T Center in San Antonio, Texas , on June 23. The draft took place live for three hours on Raw . Every WWE wrestler, announcer , commentator , and general manager were eligible to be drafted. Similar to the 2007 WWE draft , wrestlers from each brand competed in matches to win
805-546: The original WWE Women's Championship soon became a Raw exclusive title as well. As a result of the brand extension, an annual " draft lottery " was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups. Raw was the home brand for many top WWE stars including Triple H, Ric Flair , R-Truth , Batista , Randy Orton , Chris Benoit , CM Punk , Goldberg , Booker T , Chris Jericho , Christian , Shawn Michaels , John Cena , Kane , Cody Rhodes , Trish Stratus , Lita and Stacy Keibler . The 2005 draft
840-606: The original WWE Women's Championship were available to both brands. The other championships were exclusive to the brand the champion was a part of. When the brand extension began, Raw received the Intercontinental Championship and the European Championship when their respective holders were drafted. In September 2002, the WWE Undisputed Championship became the WWE Championship again and was moved to SmackDown, prompting Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff to create
875-564: The same venue. Main Event was initially positioned as a non-branded show, featuring performers from both the Raw and SmackDown rosters. Following the 2016 WWE Draft , the program became exclusive to SmackDown. After the cancellation of WWE Superstars , Main Event became exclusive to Raw. In late-2022, under changes made by Triple H after being promoted to WWE's chief content officer, NXT wrestlers began to increasingly appear on Main Event , particularly to evaluate their performance and audience reception when performing with members of
910-474: The show to be a spiritual replacement for WWE Superstars (which previously aired on WGN America until 2011, and transitioned to WWE's digital platforms in the United States afterward). Hulu acquired rights to the series as well, as part of a larger pact that included video on-demand rights for WWE's main weekly programs. Ion Television dropped the series in April 2014; following the cancellation, WWE streamed
945-503: The subsequent doubling of its roster and championships . The brand extension was publicly announced by Linda McMahon during a telecast of Raw on March 25 and became official the next day. At the time, this excluded the WWE Undisputed Championship and the original WWE Women's Championship as those WWE titles would be defended on both shows. In September 2002, then WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar refused to defend
980-556: The televised draft were exempt from the supplemental draft. Because professional wrestling is scripted, outcomes are usually predetermined. Unlike years past, during this draft, many employees in WWE were not told whether they were scripted to change brands. Aside from the Million Dollar Mania contest, the draft was announced to help increase the television ratings of Raw, which had been declining since WrestleMania XXIV . Though
1015-467: The title ECW property, but gained another top-tier championship when WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to the SmackDown brand, in the process making the title SmackDown exclusive for the first time since 2005. The result of Triple H being drafted was the loss of the Raw brand's world championship. After the draft, the ECW Championship moved back to ECW when Mark Henry defeated Kane and Big Show in
1050-400: The title on Raw , in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown! . The following week on Raw , Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated number one contender Triple H . Because the WWE Undisputed Championship was now a SmackDown! exclusive title, it was no longer referred to as "undisputed". Following this,
1085-515: The title with him. A new World Heavyweight Championship was created for Raw after Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns was drafted to SmackDown in 2023. WWE Main Event WWE Main Event is an American professional wrestling streaming television program produced by WWE . Premiering on October 3, 2012, the hour-long program features mid-to-low-card wrestlers from WWE's Raw brand as well as some from NXT . Main Event
Raw (WWE brand) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1120-476: Was a SmackDown wrestler. Triple H, who was the WWE Champion at the time, got drafted to SmackDown while Kane, who was the then ECW Champion , got drafted to Raw. After the draft lottery in 2009 , the WWE Championship was brought back to Raw when Triple H was drafted from SmackDown while the World Heavyweight Championship was brought back to SmackDown when Edge defeated John Cena to win the title at Backlash . On
1155-422: Was also later released from the WWE prior to his first appearance on Raw after being drafted. Umaga died in 2009 from an accidental drug overdose, while Big Daddy V died in 2014 of heart failure. The draft helped increased the television ratings of Raw , which was one of the main purposes of the draft. The television rating for the three hours was 3.40 TVR , as it earned 2.78 TVR for the first hour, 3.46 TVR for
1190-548: Was announced by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on the May 26, 2008, episode of Raw . During the announcement, he stated that every WWE performer from all three brands, Raw, ECW, and SmackDown, were eligible to be drafted. On the June 16 episode of Raw , McMahon announced that his McMahon's Million Dollar Mania contest would take place on the same night as the WWE draft. During the contest, McMahon gave away one million dollars to WWE fans. McMahon telephoned fans, who had registered for
1225-449: Was held on the June 6 episode of Raw . The first draft lottery pick was then WWE Champion John Cena , thus moving the WWE Championship to Raw and having two titles on the brand. Eventually, then World Heavyweight Champion Batista was drafted to SmackDown! as the last draft pick, leaving only the WWE Championship on Raw . In the 2008 draft lottery , CM Punk got drafted to Raw and then won the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge , who
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