5 times WWE shows were rebranded
Visually for WWE programming, things tend to change every few years to keep things fresh. Times and technology change, allowing the WWE to enhance their product.
On occasion, the company has been known to do a full re-brand of their programming. This can involve brand new sets, looks, and concepts.
That being said, in no particular order, let's take a look at five times WWE shows were rebranded.
#5 WWE Raw and SmackDown split rosters for the first time in 2002
The first WWE Draft took place on this day in 2002, splitting the huge post-WCW / ECW closure rosters into Raw and Smackdown rosters for the first time. https://t.co/v49enG3Bjf
Following WWE's purchase of WCW, the company acquired several talents. It was the largest roster the WWE ever had. To combat this, the company decided to hold Draft to split their roster across two shows, RAW and SmackDown. Each show would have its roster and essentially be an in-house war between the two.
The mammoth rebrand saw RAW and SmackDown receiving their own new sets, pay-per-views, and assigned tours. It was nothing like we had ever seen before in WWE programming. It would essentially divide fans initially to follow their favorite show, whether it be the red brand or the blue brand.
16 years ago today we had the First ever WWF/WWE Draft Lottery.
The level of talent the WWE had back in 2002 was crazy!
#RAW #SDLive https://t.co/4EH1PVfbsu
Speaking on an episode of his Something To Wrestle With podcast, Bruce Prichard discussed the 2002 Draft and the in-house competition:
"Vince McMahon presented the idea of creating our own competition and separating the brands. In Vince's head, Vince saw it as RAW was one brand, SmackDown was the other brand and never shall the two cross. Vince McMahon was, like, they are separate brands and they will remain separate, but WrestleMania will have representation from both, but they wouldn't be against one another." Bruce Prichard said. (h/t Give Me Sport)
The WWE Draft of 2002 essentially set the stage for the WWE we see today. The Draft takes place every year, and the rosters are split between RAW and SmackDown, with also the inclusion of NXT.
Brand loyalty isn't as strong as it was during the Ruthless Aggression era. The WWE Universe does tend to follow both shows, as every pay-per-view now features both brands' superstars in action. Overall, it was a fantastic concept from the brain of Vince McMahon that changed the game for WWE in 2002.