2011 WWE draft
The Brand Extension storyline was initiated in March 2002, in which WWE's Raw and SmackDown television programs were made into brands (similar to conferences within a league) to which employees were assigned; the ECW brand was additionally involved between 2006 and 2009. Annual drafts have followed since this occurrence, except for in 2003. As with past drafts, the purpose of the 2011 WWE draft was to increase television ratings of WWE programming and refresh the rosters for each brand. The 2011 event was confirmed by the RBC Center in April 2011, with WWE officially announcing it on the April 18 episode of "Raw". A USA Network executive had also confirmed the event to occur via a press release on the same day of the WWE announcement.
History of WWE Raw
The program first aired on January 11, 1993 on the USA Network as a replacement for "Prime Time Wrestling", which aired on the network for eight years. The original "Raw" was sixty minutes in length and broke new ground in televised professional wrestling. Traditionally, wrestling shows were taped on sound stages with small audiences or at large arena shows. The "Raw" formula was considerably different from the taped weekend shows that aired at the time such as "Superstars" and "Wrestling Challenge". Instead of matches taped weeks in advance with studio voice overs and taped discussion, "Raw" was a show shot and aired to a live audience, with angles playing out as they happened.