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.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008
The game is the ninth edition of the long-running "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw" (later renamed to simply "WWE") video game series based on the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It is the sequel to 2006's "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007", succeeded by "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009" in 2008. It is the first WWE game to include the promotion's ECW brand. It is also the first WWE game to be available for all seventh generation video game consoles.