WWE's First Brand Split - The Untold Inside Story!

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On March 18th, 2002, Linda McMahon made a groundbreaking on-air proposal: a WWE draft and brand split. Learn more

The idea was introduced to alleviate the issues of a packed roster and to emulate the competition the company no longer had after its mass acquisition of talent from the former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotions.

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But did the brand splits offer more bang for the buck, or did it just dilute their product? Those involved share the reasonings behind the fateful decision behind one of their most debatable moves.

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The Story Behind the First WWE Draft

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Linda McMahon's appearance behind a desk on the March 18th, 2002 broadcast of WWF Raw caught viewers off guard. Little did they know, she was about to make a historic announcement.

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“We are proposing a brand extension under the World Wrestling Federation corporate umbrella, in which Ric Flair would have 100% control and authority over WWF Raw, and Vince McMahon would have 100% control and authority over Smackdown.”

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Bruce Prichard on the first draft's most significant bust: "Obviously, it didn’t work!”

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