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 Battleground
WWE Battleground was a professional wrestling event produced by the WWE, a Connecticut–based promotion, and broadcast live and available through pay-per-view (PPV) and the WWE Network. The event was established in 2013, debuting in October on WWE's pay-per-view calendar. In 2014, the event moved to the July slot of WWE's pay-per-view calendar. In 2016, the event is regarded as the last PPV event featuring both superstars from Raw and SmackDown, before the newly reinstated WWE brand extension went into full effect.