WWE Brand Extension

Between 2002 and 2011, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), promoted its core business of professional wrestling through two brands, two independent branches of the company named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown. This Brand Extension ended on the August 29, 2011 episode of Raw, when WWE chief operating officer Triple H announced that Raw would also feature SmackDown stars on a full-time basis, thus effectively dissolving the brand extension. As a result, the yearly draft (which had taken place since 2004) was also discontinued. WWE explained that their decision to end the brand extension was due to wanting their content to flow across TV and online platforms.