2010 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 to; the ECW brand additionally involved between 2006 and 2009. Since its inception, annual drafts have followed, except for in 2003. As in previous drafts that followed the Brand Extension, the purpose of the 2010 WWE Draft was to increase television ratings of WWE programming and refresh the rosters with new storylines for each brand. The 2010 WWE Draft was confirmed both by WWE and Richmond Coliseum via their websites between March and April 2010, which featured the draft eligibility of WWE employees from the Raw and SmackDown brands. The event was scheduled to take place over two days, in which the televised draft would air live on the USA Network in the United States from the Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia on the April 26 episode of "Raw". The second portion of the draft, the "supplemental draft," was originally scheduled for April 28; however, it was announced during the live broadcast that it would be held the next day on April 27 with selections being announced via WWE's website.
WWE 2K
Every game in the "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw" series includes a roster of "superstars" and "Divas" based on superstars who compete for WWE. Every year, WWE acquires new superstars and releases old superstars. As a result, every time a "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw" game is released, the new superstars are added into the game and the old released superstars are removed from the game to reflect the changes in the actual WWE. From the release of "WWF SmackDown!" to the release of "WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It", superstars were not divided into brands. In 2002, the WWE split its entire roster into two brands of wrestling, called Raw and SmackDown!, which were named after WWE's television shows. The WWE Brand Extension was first featured in "WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth". In 2006, WWE launched a new brand, called ECW, which was named after the original Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion. The new ECW brand was first featured in "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008". WWE holds an annual draft lottery, in which WWE superstars switch brands. The games in production when the draft occurs include the changes that take place in the draft. For example, when "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008" was in production during June 2007, the 2007 WWE Draft took place, and the draft changes were included in the video game. Another brand of wrestling included in the series is the legends program, which was first included with the release of "WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain". Popular WWE alumni or members of the WWE Hall of Fame have been included since then under the legends program. This was featured up until the release of "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008", as alumni and Hall of Fame members were not featured in "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009" due to production of "WWE Legends of WrestleMania". "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009" was also the first game to feature characters as downloadable content.