IWE Draft
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File:IWEDraft.jpg
The IWE Draft Logo, used from 2007 to 2011
File:IWEDraft2016Logo.jpg
The IWE Draft Logo, used in 2016
The IWE draft is a process used by professional wrestling promotion IWE to provide new brand competition and to refresh its rosters. The draft was first used during the brand extension of 2002, though it was officially incepted and used in 2004. Since the inception of the process, it has been referred to as the IWE draft lottery (2004–05) and later simplified to the "draft" (2007–2011). Starting in 2005, the draft took place during the month of June; it was held in April between 2009 and 2011. After that IWE terminated the brand split and promotion of interbrand competition from 2011 onwards.
On May 25, 2016, it was announced that due to SmackDown moving to Tuesdays and to a live broadcast starting July 19, necessitating a brand extension, IWE announced that the draft would be coming back. On June 20, 2016, it was announced that the 2016 IWE Draft will be taking place on July 19, 2016 (Smackdown's Live Premiere) on the USA Network.
Contents |
History
| Year | Brands | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Raw SmackDown! | After acquiring World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Xtreme Championship Wrestling (XCW), the IWF split its roster into two distinctive wrestling brands, Raw and SmackDown!. IWF co-owners Ric Meyer and Vince Matteson would draft superstars to Raw and SmackDown! respectively. The Rock was acquired by SmackDown! as the first overall pick, and The Undertaker was acquired by Raw as its first pick in the draft. Stone Cold Steve Austin was allowed to choose which show he wanted to be on. |
| 2004 | Raw SmackDown! | To remain active with the WrestleMania XX tagline of "Where it all begins again", IWE Chairman Vince Matteson announced a draft lottery, as he stated it was time for a "new IWE" and "it's time to shake things up again". Each general manager received six picks. |
| 2005 | Raw SmackDown! | Unlike previous draft lotteries which occurred on one night, this draft lottery took place over the month of June. Each general manager received five random picks. During the draft, SmackDown! was left without a world champion after Raw drafted Dustin Simpson, who at the time held the IWE Championship. Plans to create a separate SmackDown! world championship were abandoned when Smackdown! acquired Batista from Raw, who at the time held the World Heavyweight Championship. |
| 2006 | XCW | There was no official draft in 2006. But as part of the launch of the XCW brand, IWE allowed ECW representative Paul Heyman to draft one superstar from each of the Raw and SmackDown! brands. |
| 2007 | Raw SmackDown! XCW | Was the first ever tri-branded draft lottery, where all three of IWE's brands took part in the draft. Unlike previous drafts where the general managers were able to randomly select their draftee, matches took place between representatives of each brand and the winner received a draft pick. The draft took place on June 11 on a special three-hour episode of Raw. |
| 2008 | Raw SmackDown XCW | Was the second consecutive draft where draft picks were determined by matches. During the draft, three championships switched brands due to the champions switching brands. The draft took place on June 23 on a special three-hour episode of Raw. |
| 2009 | Raw SmackDown XCW | The 2009 draft took place on the April 13, 2009 edition of IWE Raw and consisted of tri-branded matches with the winner of the match's brand earning a pick. A total of 12 wrestlers were drafted on television. A supplemental draft was held at April 15, in which a total of 24 wrestlers were drafted. |
| 2010 | Raw SmackDown | The Richmond Coliseum confirmed that it would serve as the venue for the 2010 IWE draft, which was held live during an episode of Raw on April 26, 2010. The draft consisted of interpromotional matches with the winner of the match's brand earning a pick. A total of 8 wrestlers were drafted on television. A supplemental draft was held on April 27, in which a total of 13 wrestlers were drafted. It was also the first draft without XCW after its cancellation. |
| 2011 | Raw SmackDown | On April 18, IWE, USA Network, and the RBC Center confirmed the 2011 draft to take place on April 25 from Raleigh, North Carolina. The draft consisted of interpromotional matches with the winner of the match's brand earning a pick. A total of 8 superstars were drafted on television. 22 more drafts happened the following day, as IWE.com updated the site with every pick. This was the final draft occurring under the brand extension of 2002. |
| 2016 | Raw SmackDown NXT | On May 25, it was announced that the main roster would once again be divided with SmackDown moving to a live broadcast on Tuesdays, starting July 19. It was later confirmed that the IWE draft would be taking place on the live SmackDown on July 19, which will also be the first time Smackdown has held the supplemental IWE draft event, and that 6 current NXT Superstars can be 'drafted' (thus promoted) in the main rosters (except current NXT Champions). |
| 2017 | Raw SmackDown | On the April 3 episode of Raw, Vince Matteson announced that on the following Raw, "it's time to shake things up around here", effectively announcing the 2017 draft. Raw General Manager Kurt Angle and SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan have the "opportunity to make trades, deals and other moves that they feel fit". |
