WWE Wrestling tour tickets On October 16, 2007 it was announced that the SmackDown! and ECW brands would begin a "talent exchange", allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand.
In early to mid-2002, WWE Wrestling underwent a process they called the "Brand Extension". WWE Wrestling 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 was a result of WWF purchasing their two biggest competitors, WCW and ECW. The brand extension was publicly announced during a telecast of WWF Raw on March 25, 2002, and became official the next day.
On December 10, 2007 Raw celebrated its 15th anniversary in a three-hour spectacular on the USA Network with the returns of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rob Van Dam, The Godfather, Steve Blackman, Howard Finkel, Ted DiBiase, Eric Bischoff, Marty Jannetty, Gangrel, Trish Stratus, Lita, Sunny, Hulk Hogan and Mick Foley (as Mankind) among others. Along with several reunions of former tag teams and also included a 15-man "15 Years of Raw" battle royal. The Raw 15th Anniversary DVD was also released which featured some of the most memorable moments in Raw history.
Wrestlers now would become show-exclusive, wrestling for their specific show only. At the time this excluded the WWE Wrestling Undisputed Championship and WWE Wrestling Women's Championship, as those WWE Wrestling titles would be defended on both shows. In August 2002, WWE Wrestling Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar refused to defend the title on Raw, in effect causing WWE Wrestling's title to become exclusive to SmackDown! The following week on Raw, General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated #1 contender, Triple H. Due to the fact that since the WWE Wrestling Undisputed Championship was now SmackDown! exclusive it was no longer seen as "undisputed". Following this, the WWE Wrestling Women's Championship soon became Raw-exclusive 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.
WWE Wrestling tour tickets On October 16, 2007 it was announced that the SmackDown! and ECW brands would begin a "talent exchange", allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand.
