The First Ever WWF Draft

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When Vince McMahon purchased WCW, the initial plan was to air a WCW television show on a weekly basis. When no interest was shown by networks, Vince was left with an incredibly large roster and little television time. Along with this, there was no more competition left for the WWF to conquer.
It was decided then that the WWF would create it's own competition by splitting it's roster in two, creating 2 separate brands of the WWF. The Raw Brand and the Smackdown Brand would have unique rosters, a unique weekly television show, and eventually, both rosters would have their own pay per view events. The original brand split happened in 2002 when the WWF held the very first draft on WWF television.
With Ric Flair owning Raw and Vince McMahon owning Smackdown, the split owners of the World Wrestling Federation would choose superstars to represent their respective brands. This video looks at the very first WWF draft in 2002 when Flair and McMahon would split the entire WWF roster, changing the entire WWF in the process.
Topics covered in this video include:
00:00 - The WWF roster becomes overloaded
05:31 - Ric Flair and Vince McMahon prepare for the first draft
08:50 - The first drafted superstars
14:13 - Flair and McMahon boost their rosters with Hogan, RVD and Edge
18:21 - Brock Lesnar and others are drafted
- Much More!
#WWE #Wrestling #Draft

[@JayTeeAyy]

These videos are pretty much carrying the Summer for me at this point

[@theSuperviLLain_est]

You should check out wrestlingpremier and wrestling with wregret

[@lewispowell794]

100%

[@herbromero1073]

Been on wrestlingpremier. Gonna check out wrestling with regret thanks

[@Sickness2310]

Kurtis Mills I think that Brian Zane’s Classic PPV reviews are right up there with Wrestling Bios videos for my favorites.

[@YoitsDeMo]

Same here

[@NobesBLO13]

It’s amazing there was a time when wrestling could beat Monday Night Football in the states.

[@dildonius]

Even back then, it would be INCREDIBLY rare for WWF/WWE Monday Night Raw or WCW Monday Nitro to EVER beat NFL Monday Night Football in the ratings. At least in the USA, or at least in MOST PARTS of the USA.

[@bugsyproductions3140]

When did that happen

[@imtotallynotbigbossinhidin2289]

....they never came close.

[@nlee4566]

@@imtotallynotbigbossinhidin2289 Yes they did. I believe in 98/99 MNF was in trouble with Raw.

[@imtotallynotbigbossinhidin2289]

@@nlee4566 source?

[@trentwalker7297]

The original brand spit would still be going STRONG today if they just kept SMACKDOWN an equal to Raw

[@trentwalker7297]

Kid From 21 Jump Street I brand split stop being good in 2007 haha

[@bsculls]

Just like our political party’s

[@horrorfan4-life689]

I hated the brand split

[@horrorfan4-life689]

@Kid From 21 Jump Street how so?

[@dwlc4288]

Yep

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

It's a damn shame how WWE isn't as good as it used to be.

[@horrorfan4-life689]

They dont feel they have competition so no reason to try.

[@christophertanner7394]

God 80s wrestling was so good

[@chrishandsome4267]

It’s not even a quarter as good as it used to be

[@brandnewday2750]

Too watered down now

[@kingrama27]

Was it ever really good though?

[@joeg5155]

Remember playing this draft on Smackdown shut your mouth so many times 😂

[@JM1993951]

I probably played through it 10 times before I paid attention and realized I can just assign everyone to whatever show I wanted and just skip the draft.

[@nlee4566]

@@JM1993951 😂😂 It was hella fun to do the automatic draft tho.

[@tym4536]

Because of how much wrestling has changed. I will honestly admit that Shut Your Mouth was the last WWE game I played

[@grammysworld5449]

I loved it because the wrestlers would always be seen reacting in the game

[@roryslaine7896]

That was one of the best Smackdowns ever IMO. Was it in that game where the nWo come back in the middle of the storyline or am I getting confused? The nWo angle might have been in the previous game. Been so long since I played them! Edit: should have just watched the video... haha.

[@SethColby69]

honestly thought the best moment about that draft was undertaker getting angry in the lockeroom when he found out he was getting drafted to raw , getting so mad that he kicked a door open to leave

[@frijoleroenelruedo027]

i was always SMackdown because, i was dirt poor and couldnt afford cable. So The Blue Brand was mine!!

[@EsteBandido_YT]

Same here. I remember only UPN being available on CableMas in Tijuana, while TNN (I believe) was only on premium cable services like Sky.

[@elboti7520]

Yes me too! And plus smackdown had the cruiserweight division

[@peterwhite6683]

Wasteman

[@headbuster103]

Same lmao

[@headbuster103]

Damn I thought I was the only one that went through that

[@kevinpayton2664]

I remember when the Rock came out after he was drafted to SmackDown and the crowd was chanting "a**hole" and Vince said, "Don't talk about the Rock like that." 😁

[@kcjustice08]

Yes!!! That was the best mic part of the show! Lol. They went on for about 3 minutes calling Vince an assh*le.

[@WarhawkBeyond2040]

When they announced that there was going to be a draft where Raw and Smackdown would be separate brands where wrestlers would compete on one show exclusively, I was very curious as to how it would work and concerned that it could hurt them in the long run but looking back now, I was blown away at how much star power the company had at the time. This is still to this day my favourite draft and it was the most special. Initially when it started with Ric Flair running Raw and Vince Mcmahon running Smackdown, it didn't feel any different at first but I felt when Eric Bischoff and Stephanie Mcmahon took over as GM's of the respective shows, things got much better and more exciting. It was like a modern day Monday Night Wars where both GM's were in a game of one upsmanship to prove that they were the superior show while trying to sign the big names to their brand. Ric Flair had the best picks but for me in the long run, Smackdown later on benefited the most out of the draft as they would go on to have their best run from July 2002 - March 2004 where they would put out some of the best ppv quality matches ever on TV and its still to this day my favourite period of the ruthless aggression era as a wrestling fan. I absolutely loved it.

[@WRESTLEWITHANDY]

This Draft will forever be the best, it felt so fresh watching something different for the first time, felt like such a big deal

[@rockajabroni5975]

Ive always said this; 2002 was WWE's ALLSTAR roster. They finally had WCW top guys wrestling, including Hogan and Flair. Rock and Austin had their final run as active top guys, Smackdown still had the best wrestlers in their prime like Eddie, Benoit, Jericho, Edge, Angle and Rey. Lesnar started his amazing rookie year. You were finally seeing the true potential of Jeff Hardy, RVD, Booker T, Kane and Christian, and got a returning Shawn Michaels...2002 was actually a pretty damn great year.

[@raphaelmorrata8905]

It was to me the last good WWF year. After that, slowly WWF began to suck

[@SkullTaker]

I always thought it was strange that Vince took control of SmackDown. Raw is his baby and was always the flagship show, but they obviously tried to turn it into WCW with Flair, Bischoff, and the big gold World Heavyweight title.

[@starone2737]

Raw in the beginning of 2002 had all the former ecw and WCW stars aside from stone cold and undertaker and most of them was washed up. Which was why they had to send hhh and y2j to raw

[@bethanyduffy5381]

If you look at it like a business then it's not strange at all. Don't look at it like a Mark and think. Now give me an explanation on why it made perfect sense.

[@wintermute8315]

@@bethanyduffy5381 You're embarrassing yourself.

[@abhinavk0929]

maybe it was to help smackdown, Vince must've thought that him drafting for smackdown would give it a boost.

[@panthers-rl8fu]

Can you do a story of how they came to having two world champs? You touch on it briefly but I think a video on it would be awesome.

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

The 2002 & 2004 draft picks were my favorites.

[@johnmcgehee2497]

Me too

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

@@johnmcgehee2497, I really miss those days.

[@AD-ur1fk]

The 2004 smackdown vs raw brawl at the end was the best

[@syxodude91]

I personally liked how they revealed 2 picks a week in 2005.

[@nickanderson5531]

Would love to see a video of the transition of bradshaw to Jbl. Not something I have even seen covered before and he was a red hot heel. Also how great of an idea it was but also a risk. To go from being this back ass outlaw who was generally over with all the fans. Apa had giant pops. Then to cut his hair, dye it blond, all over fox news talking about his stocks and how much money he was making. (not in that order) It was a very underrated character change and one of this biggest.

[@jamesbounds]

I remember they made a action figure draft series after this. It was a pretty big line of figures. Good times.

[@timbartschwolfman]

2002 Draft was the beginning of the Ruthless Aggression Era

[@kevinpayton2664]

Also it was the era of the Supershow. I went to one in 2006 in Memphis, TN where both Raw and SmackDown were in the same arena. Raw was live that night and SmackDown was taped and shown on TV later in the week.

[@zacharythomason7359]

@@kevinpayton2664 I wonder WWE still do those supershows?

[@strickyboiwonder]

@@kevinpayton2664 I remember the supershows.... thats when smackdown would not use the fist but the raw titantron with the smackdown shattered glass at the bottom. I have a question though, was smackdown taped before raw went live or after?

[@bruceleroythethird]

Actually the ruthless agression started when John cena said those exact words

[@bruceleroythethird]

@Misguided Angel there is something called Google you idiot. Vince McMahon said himself that Ruthless Agression Era officially started with John Cena

[@JustinStinoStamosZamora42]

16:37 Hulk Still Rules T-Shirt spotted in the crowd. They were definitely putting Hogan back in the red and yellow. When he first came out with his new red and yellow attire, I was ecstatic.

[@CLM1987]

1st and still best Draft WWE did. I still use those rosters to this day as close as I can in the WWE games

[@kevinpayton2664]

I never liked the drafts but the original one is the best.

[@nicolevarnam2290]

Absolutely agree with U and WB FAM. Nothing lives up the THIS ONE😉🖤🤘

[@TG5455]

I always love using the draft in story mode in Shut Your Mouth. Fun times. 😁

[@blackbartthepoet3820]

I ain’t came this early since last night

[@ladarin95]

💀💀💀💀

[@VERDICTInsanity]

During this time in wrestling I was homeless and couldn’t watch, but I played a lot Smackdown vs Raw at a friends house and I remember the cut scene where Vince spins around on his nwo chair

[@mattelwood980]

Invasion parts 1 + 2 and the aftermath in a span of 3 days. Damn man such good work.

[@TimmayZ24]

I was actually there in person for this. Good times

[@brandonleague3641]

Hulk attaching himself to The Rock to stay at the top of the card and in the limelight...the same way he did with Randy Savage in 1988...

[@CheapestBigSpender]

Hardy boys together as a pick...why couldn't the Dudley Boyz couldn't be that way? That was the worst thing in that draft. Destroyed a great tag team

[@gfbs7004]

The dudleyz Probably wanted to try something new... test out their individual careers But we all know that aint work out

[@zemox2534]

Vince hates tag team wrestling for some stupid reason.

[@maxmeza4859]

The Hardyz were drafted individually. They just happened to end up on the same show

[@Eric-wu7bp]

That Draft night also marked the last time we saw the classic Raw Steel structured Titantron

[@marcespinoza6068]

0:57 I wanna know about this supposed shoot fight between Stone Cold and Dawn Marie.

[@ignatiusjackson235]

That's a funny way to spell "Debra."

[@RollerCodsterWFEW]

Splitting the tag teams was the one thing i didn't like the most about the draft.

[@kevinpayton2664]

I remember when the Dudley Boyz were broken up. They eventually got back together, but I was really shocked when Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin(The World's Greatest Tag Team)was split.

[@UFCWWE69]

I guess it was just an easy way for wwf to break up teams without having to write storylines to explain breakups

[@toxicavenger7073]

Borrowing a bit feom the first guy these videos have helped me through this whole quaritine and ever after it still will thank you

[@kawimason361]

I feel the same way

[@nlee4566]

Love it love it!! Did u ever do a video on the Radicalz?

[@daviddarrh1610]

Love the early 2000s where how's the years gone by

[@Kas58223]

Simply awesome wrestling bios once again delivering awesome content during the pandemic and that intro was awesome

[@KiLLeRisMe100]

Vince McMahon said it best (when talking about the drop in business/creativity after the acquisition of WCW and ECW respectively) when he said "You find yourself running twice as hard when someone is chasing you, once no one is left chasing you its just harder to push yourself to go faster" paraphrasing a bit there but that totally sums it up.

[@TheTrainFan9]

One little thing that I love during the early days of the brand split was the cruiserweight title belt itself. They didn't have the WWE version of the belt ready at that point, so they just used the WCW cruiserweight belt, completely unaltered. I still remember watching Backlash '02, and the onscreen graphic for the belt was just the WCW version with a WWF scratch logo slapped on top.

[@crisdmt5479]

I watched the WCW since 1992 until they closed....2020 and still missing 🖤

[@toddrichardson8595]

WELL DONE AS ALWAYS! My FAVORITE SERIES in a Long time! Each Episode brings back more and more Memories.. INCREDIBLY WELL DONE AND RESEARCHED!

[@nickneurohr5422]

Do you do everything for your channel. With the content, music, editing etc? Because if so you should be doing this on a bigger platform. I know KZbin is huge and can pay well but I mean people need your talents. Like ummm WWE..lol.. But seriously in my opinion your KZbin channel is the best wrestling channel. Just different and more in depth then the others. Keep it coming because we love the content

[@nlee4566]

Great Idea! WWE would control his content tho. They would not let him give his personal opinion.

[@nickneurohr5422]

@@nlee4566 yeah definitely true

[@zemox2534]

No thanks. Wrestling Bios does not need WWE to be a star. He us already a star.

[@Wolfgangster182]

I've been watching the videos in order since the Invasion, I never realized how much I actually miss the storylines from back then, how they blended so well and how some stories ended up having more than just 2 people or a certain group of people. 😳🤷🏽‍♂️🤘🏽😎👍🏽

[@jjbjjb273]

Great video could you do something about raw vs smackdown from the ruthless aggression era

[@logangreen7865]

Man you are smashing out quality content nonstop this channel is on a roll keep it up

[@jasonkc7836]

God bless you and your videos.. during quarantine.. I got my old school wwf memories .. really love the channel from Canada

[@JohnW8223]

Another excellent video. I dont watch any wrestling anymore but i was an every weeker between 98-03. This has really taken me back. Thanks for your hard work.

[@fizzyfuzz5878]

One of your best videos. I don't see the first draft covered a lot on KZbin

[@hammibaillie4515]

Haven't watched wrestling since 03ish but addicted to this . Gold

[@magdoro]

Love the content and love reliving these memories! Keep up the great work!

[@TredLand]

I love history and someone who says 99.9% of it ...this channel is really good i hope more people catch on and subscribe

[@richardlopez4318]

So glad you explained this. I hadn't watched wrestling in years and had no idea what had happened. I was so confused until now. Thanks!

[@Mitch-wi3ec]

Great job again love the channel!!

[@JohnHillEU]

Would love to see some ref bios, Earl Hebner etc.!

[@stevenimeson902]

this changed wwf so much!

[@JustinDodds2]

You should do all the drafts :)!! It's an amazing video man

[@weasal97]

Great channel dude I really look forward to your videos keep it up !

[@peteryoung08]

Wrestling bios will always get a preemptive like cause I know it will be a great, informative and always entertaining.

[@thewolf76543]

Incredible video keep up the good work.

[@davidcoe8173]

Another banger, really good video

[@mritty115]

I'd love another video in this series, detailing how/when the "Undisputed" Championship became exclusive to one of the brands, leading to the creation of a new World Championship, and the new "general managers" of the two brands. Down the line, hopefully more videos about the end of the original brand extension and the future re-splits (by which time, I'd stopped being an active WWE fan, so I know very little about it - I'd love your rundown of the splits' histories)

[@DepressedHyena]

You must have to do so much research that it makes me want to help you 😂 love the videos!

[@danbarnes3752]

Your the best brother thanks again for the great content!

[@mrkipling2201]

Bloody hell this channel is quality.

[@aidanduffy3407]

Wasnt sure on the theme at first now I feckin loves it. Makes me.smile

[@cathode6252]

I totally thought you streamed it live for some reason. I need more sleep.

[@user-md7uu9rk4l]

Your videos are always awesome 👏

[@pottsie_era]

in an alternative universe WCW became it's own separate entity within in the WWE.

[@camcamz2128]

Having a horrible day ur videos make me better

[@bsculls]

Your videos have great timing

[@leviamper9649]

On This Day: 20 Years Ago the first ever WWE Draft in 2002 with 2 Brand Extension Raw & SmackDown!

[@wormX666]

I really appreciate all you do for us wrestling fans. All your vids are top notch and your work does not go unnoticed. I just have a small request and I hope you see this, but would you possibly be interested in making a FMW video? Or at least a wrestler from that promotion (hayabusa, tanaka, onita, etc)

[@ldcWhereJustFar]

Lmfaooo 19:54 that spine buster to Stephanie came outta nowhere 😂 that made me laugh

[@laquintinbelser8342]

Another great video

[@smthompson89]

I live in the UK. I could only watch Smackdown, as it was shown at 12 on a Saturday morning on Sky One. We didn’t have cable TV so couldn’t watch Raw, which was shown on Friday nights. Still bitter about not getting to see the likes of Undertaker, Kane, RVD, etc.

[@jjbjjb273]

Me two but you could watch highlights on wwf bottom line on sky one to see raw

[@jaymays8800]

Dude you are the man! I never miss a single video and never will. ... J

[@nuduce123]

As always a great video. There are other channels that can do a Stone Cold bio and couldnt even come close to a video you could do about a jobber. Speaking of jobber, you should do The Brooklyn Brawler/Steve Lombardi.

[@giovahnnigucci409]

I agree, I love these videos. They’re helping me through co-vid19.

[@TheFourFats]

love this channel, best wrestling one around lucky I found it

[@DeAngeloStevens]

That set the Stage for Smackdown Shut Your Mouth on the PS2 in the FALL of November '02.

[@drumrocka]

WOW I have never considered the brand split as the WWE a trying to create its own competition. Mind = blown

[@Lusitano1143]

When there is such a large roster, the brand split is essential. WWE's worst recent period was when it didn't have a brand split and Smackdown was just a rerun show of RAW. Sooner or later AEW will need their brand split, considering the amount of talent they have on their roster, to keep the wrestlers from getting lost in the crowd. As for the draft, the best draft was without a doubt in 2005, I loved that draft model, we only knew who was drafted on the show itself, two drafts per show, and we had great moments like the arrival of John Cena with the WWE title on RAW or the last day with Batista with the world heavyweight title on Smackdown. This model (of the first draft) only made sense at this time or when the brand split returned, doing this now, in 2021, as if the wrestlers were all free agents, made no sense at all.

[@imogenaris1697]

RVD vs Kurt Angle were some of the best matches from this period. Kurt would always get a busted mouth against Rob. The Draft is when I stopped watching, but at least they were trying to do something different.

[@SticcyStaton]

I think that sense of competition between the Writers is missing in today's WWE brand split

[@YoooItsYourBoyLeo]

Great video

[@jggonzalez6299]

I have the network and these are great to go back and watch

[@comfortablynumblbg]

It is a sad world when Mr Perfect vs Tazz lasts 2 minutes in duration and it barely gets a mention nearly 20 years later. These two men are legends in their own right.

[@jmalb42]

I feel like the brand split was way better than the invasion

[@crazycarper7267]

Another great video! Fair play to wrestling bios. you are producing some good content. I personally think the modern day product would benefit from having 2 brands today! Maybe just Raw and NXT drop smack down and 205 spread the best talent between the brands that stay and send the rest to AEW

[@blinkth3dog]

i was there for this, at the time we were SO GEEKED

[@taylormademyself89]

My fav draft ever 😎🤘🙏

[@joshwigmore5224]

Smackdown was the winner good times always remmber this and smackdown 4 on ps2 played draft all the time good video brother xx

[@Venemofthe888]

i dont know if you would do it but id like to see you do the rest of the drafts

[@JM1993951]

10:16... I thought that bald head and Molly Holly’s (?) hair was Rikishi for a second.

[@zellyzell1993]

Hell of an intro 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿

[@Nickzstuff]

Hell ya! Perfect conclusion to the invasion set of vids

[@lmaoitsmee1812]

Damn, Kurt never got his flowers for essentially shaping Smackdown for the next few years.

[@taylormademyself89]

Also if ya want to do vid no one's done yet ( I know cuz I looked everywhere) since they are back teaming ya could do vid on miz and Morrison like ya did with hbk and hhh how they teamed then became opponent, also vid on all who held the unified tag titles 😎🤘🙏

[@nc32203]

DAMN!

[@no_handle_found]

Before this draft, me and my friends used to argue if the wrestling was real but after this draft, it was quiet apparent even to 8 year old that this was just a show 😂

[@AFCManUk]

When that 'Wrestlemania' Theme kicks in, all I hear is Jim Ross screaming, "Oh My Gawd, It's Linda McMahon!!"

[@markjackson6431]

forgot it was at Penn State

[@denzelmccausland4644]

The intro for this one brought too much nostalgia 🔥🔥🔥

[@CallumDickson666]

I know they're probably 3 separate things, but I read that magazine as "Steve Austin Shoot Wrestling Dawn Marie" and I have to say, I'm intrigued.

[@wolfieform9514]

Another brilliant bio 👍😎👍