In the aftermath of the Invasion storyline, Vince McMahon lobbied WWE's television carrier, TNN, for time on its schedule for a new show featuring the WCW brand. Reports say this idea was rejected owing to McMahon's failure with non-WWF projects, the XFL in particular.
Faced with a surplus of talent, even after the departure of several undercard wrestlers from both organizations, April 2002 saw the WWF undergo a process McMahon called the Brand Extension. The WWF was divided 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.
Wrestlers would become show-exclusive, wrestling for their specific show only. At the time this excluded the WWE Undisputed Championship and WWE Women's Championship, as those titles would be defended on both shows. In August 2002, WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar refused to defend the title on RAW, in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown! The following week on RAW, General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly created World Heavyweight Championship, with a design similar to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt, to RAW's designated #1 contender, Triple H.
Following the Brand Extension, a yearly Draft Lottery was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.
Faced with a surplus of talent, even after the departure of several undercard wrestlers from both organizations, April 2002 saw the WWF undergo a process McMahon called the Brand Extension. The WWF was divided 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.
Wrestlers would become show-exclusive, wrestling for their specific show only. At the time this excluded the WWE Undisputed Championship and WWE Women's Championship, as those titles would be defended on both shows. In August 2002, WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar refused to defend the title on RAW, in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown! The following week on RAW, General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly created World Heavyweight Championship, with a design similar to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt, to RAW's designated #1 contender, Triple H.
Following the Brand Extension, a yearly Draft Lottery was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.
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