Raw (WWE brand)
Raw is a brand of the U.S. based professional wrestling promotion WWE. The brand was first established on March 25, 2002, with a draft on "Monday Night Raw" and went into effect one week later on April 1. The brand split was discontinued in August 2011, but was brought back in July 2016. Wrestlers assigned to the Raw brand wrestle predominantly on the "Raw" television program as well as "Main Event", the seasonal "Mixed Match Challenge", and Raw branded or co-branded pay-per-view events and WWE Network events. During the first brand split, they also competed on "Heat" and on "ECW" under a talent exchange program.
The New Breed (ECW)
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) acquired Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and its video library in 2003, and later began reintroducing ECW by utilizing ECW library content for DVDs and releasing a series of books. The popularity of ECW merchandise prompted WWE to organize an ECW reunion pay-per-view, ECW One Night Stand, in 2005. WWE organized a second One Night Stand pay-per-view the following year. In May 2006 WWE announced the launch of ECW as a stand-alone brand, congruous to Raw and SmackDown!, with its own show on the Sci Fi channel. In preparation for the launch of the ECW brand, WWE hired several original ECW wrestlers, including Sabu, The Sandman, and Balls Mahoney. It was also announced that wrestlers who had previously worked for ECW before joining WWE following its closure, including Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer, would be moving to the new ECW brand.