Raw (WWE brand)
{{short description|Professional wrestling roster division, referred to as brands, in WWE}}
{{Infobox brand
|name=Raw
|logo=
|logo_upright=
|logo_alt=
|logo_caption=Logo for the brand and the WWE Raw television program since January 6, 2025
|image=
|image_upright=
|caption=
|producttype=Professional wrestling
Sports entertainment
|currentowner=WWE
|producedby=Paul "Triple H" Levesque
Lee Fitting
|country= United States
|introduced=March 25, 2002
(first split)
July 19, 2016
(second split)
|discontinued=August 29, 2011
(first split)
|markets=
|previousowners=
|trademarkregistrations=
|module1=General Manager
Adam Pearce
}}
Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to Raw primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Monday Night Raw, also referred to simply as Raw. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with SmackDown, collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016.
In addition to Raw's main television program, less-utilized wrestlers also appear on the brand's supplementary show, Main Event. Raw's wrestlers also perform on the branded and co-branded pay-per-view and livestreaming events and the quarterly Saturday Night's Main Event special. During the first brand split (2002–2011), Raw wrestlers also competed on the former supplementary show, Heat, and on ECW under a talent exchange program with the former ECW brand, while during the second brand split (2016–present), the brand's wrestlers have appeared in the interbrand Worlds Collide, Mixed Match Challenge, and annual Tribute to the Troops events. Additionally during the second split, Raw's cruiserweight wrestlers competed on 205 Live when WWE's revived cruiserweight division was exclusive to Raw from 2016 to 2018 before 205 Live became its own brand.
History
{{main|WWE brand extension}}
= First split (2002–2011) =
File:Eric Bischoff.jpg was the first Raw General Manager.]]
In early-to-mid-2002, then World Wrestling Federation (WWF) underwent a process they called the "brand extension".{{cite book|last1=Shields|first1=Brian|last2=Sullivan|first2=Kevin|title=WWE: History of WrestleMania|year=2009|page=55}} The WWF divided itself into two de facto wrestling promotions with separate rosters, storylines and authority figures. Raw and SmackDown! would host each division, give its name to the division and essentially compete against each other. The split came about as a result of the WWF purchasing their two biggest competitors, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW); and the subsequent doubling of its roster and championships. The brand extension was publicly announced by Linda McMahon during a telecast of Raw on March 25 and became official the next day.
At the time, this excluded the WWE Undisputed Championship and the original WWE Women's Championship as those WWE titles would be defended on both shows. In September 2002, then WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar refused to defend the title on Raw, in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown!. The following week on Raw, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated number one contender Triple H. Because the WWE Undisputed Championship was now a SmackDown! exclusive title, it was no longer referred to as "undisputed". Following this, the original WWE Women's Championship soon became a Raw exclusive title as well. As a result of the brand extension, an annual "draft lottery" was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.
Raw was the home brand for many top WWE stars including Triple H, Ric Flair, R-Truth, Batista, Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, CM Punk, Goldberg, Booker T, Chris Jericho, Christian, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Kane, Cody Rhodes, Trish Stratus, Lita and Stacy Keibler.
The 2005 draft was held on the June 6 episode of Raw. The first draft lottery pick was then WWE Champion John Cena, thus moving the WWE Championship to Raw and having two titles on the brand. Eventually, then World Heavyweight Champion Batista was drafted to SmackDown! as the last draft pick, leaving only the WWE Championship on Raw. In the 2008 draft lottery, CM Punk got drafted to Raw and then won the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge, who was a SmackDown wrestler. Triple H, who was the WWE Champion at the time, got drafted to SmackDown while Kane, who was the then ECW Champion, got drafted to Raw. After the draft lottery in 2009, the WWE Championship was brought back to Raw when Triple H was drafted from SmackDown while the World Heavyweight Championship was brought back to SmackDown when Edge defeated John Cena to win the title at Backlash.
On the August 29, 2011, episode of Raw, it was announced that performers from Raw and SmackDown were no longer exclusive to their respective brand.{{cite web|last=Nemer|first=Paul|title=Raw Results – 8/29/11|url=http://www.wrestleview.com/wwe-wrestling-results/wwe-raw-results/26309-raw-results-8-29-11/|work=Wrestleview|date=August 30, 2011|access-date=November 5, 2016}} Subsequently, championships previously exclusive to one show or the other were available for wrestlers from any show to compete for—this would mark the end of the brand extension as all programming and live events featured the full WWE roster.{{cite web|author=Tom Herrera|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/the-most-important-moments-in-raw-history/page-11|title=The 10 most important moments in Raw history|publisher=WWE.com|date=January 11, 2014|access-date=February 2, 2014}} In a 2013 interview with Advertising Age, Stephanie McMahon explained that WWE's decision to end the brand extension was due to wanting their content to flow across television and online platforms.{{cite web|title=WWE NEWS: Stephanie McMahon says why brand split is gone|url=http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_68058.shtml|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=January 22, 2013}}
= Second split (2016–present) =
On May 25, 2016, it was announced that WWE would be reintroducing the brand split in July, with distinctive rosters for both Raw and SmackDown.{{cite web|last1=Clapp|first1=John|title=Smackdown going live July 19th|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/article/smackdown-live-usa-network-july-19|publisher=WWE|access-date=May 25, 2016}} On the July 11 episode of Raw, Vince McMahon named Stephanie McMahon the Commissioner of Raw.{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=James|title=7/11 WWE Raw Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Report|url=http://www.pwtorch.com/site/2016/07/11/711rawresultsfinal/|work=Pro Wrestling Torch|access-date=July 11, 2016}} The draft took place on the live premiere of SmackDown on July 19, with the General Managers of the respective brands hand-picking the wrestlers for their brands.{{cite web|title=WWE's destiny to be determined during SmackDown's LIVE premiere|url=http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/article/live-draft-smackdown-premiere?sf29076738|publisher=WWE|date=June 20, 2016|access-date=June 20, 2016}} Raw's Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley created a new championship—the WWE Universal Championship. This championship would be exclusive to the Raw brand, as the WWE World Championship had become exclusive to the SmackDown brand.{{cite web|url=http://www.foxsports.com/wwe/story/wwe-universal-championship-raw-seth-rollins-072516|title=WWE creates new Universal Championship for Raw|last=Schwartz|first=Nick|access-date=July 26, 2017}} Clash of Champions was scheduled as the reintroduction of the cruiserweight division and the first Raw-exclusive pay-per-view since January 2007, whereas Elimination Chamber was scheduled as the final Raw-exclusive pay-per-view two years later. Subsequently, this saw all upcoming pay-per-views interbranded after WrestleMania 34.
Beginning in December 2021, talents from Raw begin to appear on NXT 2.0. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio reported that a Raw-NXT crossover between their talents as a way to help boost NXT 2.0 ratings as both shows air on the USA Network.{{Cite web|url=https://wrestlingnews.co/wwe-news/wwe-is-planning-to-do-more-raw-vs-nxt-feuds/|title=WWE is planning to do more Raw vs. NXT feuds|work=Wrestling News | WWE and AEW Results, Spoilers, Rumors & Scoops |date=22 February 2022}}
After SmackDown moved to Fox in October 2019, Raw lost its status as the main "A" Show.{{cite web | url=https://cultaholic.com/posts/report-fox-originally-wanted-tv-rights-to-wwe-raw | title=Report: FOX Originally Wanted TV Rights to WWE Raw | date=March 30, 2022 }} When Raw moved to Netflix in January 2025, this brand regained its "A" Show status and Raw became the home of WWE's top stars such as Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, The Usos (Jimmy and Jey), Rhea Ripley and Gunther.{{cite web | url=https://www.ewrestlingnews.com/news/wwe/wwes-plans-for-roman-reigns-on-netflix-revealed | title=WWE's Plans for Roman Reigns on Netflix Revealed | date=22 November 2024 }}
Champions
Initially, the WWE Undisputed Championship and the original WWE Women's Championship were available to both brands.{{cite web|url=https://www.oowrestling.com/recaps/raw/20020325.shtml|access-date=February 23, 2008|title=WWE Draft 2002 Recap|last=Zimmerman|first=Christopher Robin|date=March 26, 2002|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303064835/https://www.oowrestling.com/recaps/raw/20020325.shtml|archive-date=March 3, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/020325.html|access-date=February 23, 2008|title=WWE Raw (March 25, 2002) Results|publisher=Online World of Wrestling}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wrestlestation.com|access-date=February 23, 2008|title=WWE Draft 2019 Results|publisher=PWWEW.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020126101230/https://wrestlestation.com/|archive-date=January 26, 2002|url-status=dead}} The other championships were exclusive to the brand the champion was a part of.{{cite web|url=https://www.pwwew.net/tv/020325.htm|access-date=February 23, 2008|title=WWE Raw (March 25, 2002) Results|publisher=PWWEW.net}}{{dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} When the brand extension began, Raw received the Intercontinental Championship and the European Championship when their respective holders were drafted.{{cite web|url=https://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/cruiser/|access-date=February 23, 2008|title=WWE Cruiserweight Championship History|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment}} In September 2002, the WWE Undisputed Championship became the WWE Championship again and was moved to SmackDown, prompting Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff to create the World Heavyweight Championship for Raw.{{cite web|url=https://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldheavyweight/3044541431|access-date=February 23, 2008|title=Triple H's first World Heavyweight Championship reign|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221163812/https://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/worldheavyweight/3044541431|archive-date=February 21, 2008}} Shortly thereafter, Raw became the exclusive brand for the World Tag Team Championship, the Intercontinental Championship and the original WWE Women's Championship.{{cite web|url=https://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/wwetag/|access-date=February 23, 2008|title=WWE Tag Team Championship History|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/unitedstates/|access-date=February 23, 2008|title=WWE United States' Championship History|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment}}
On July 19, 2016, the brand extension was brought back and for the first time ever the draft was held on SmackDown Live. Raw drafted the WWE Women's Championship, the United States Championship, and the WWE Tag Team Championship.{{cite web|title=2016 WWE Draft results: WWE officially ushers in New Era|url=https://www.wwe.com/2016-wwe-draft-results|work=WWE|access-date=July 19, 2016|date=July 19, 2016|author=WWE.com Staff|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720044640/https://www.wwe.com/2016-wwe-draft-results|archive-date=July 20, 2016|url-status=live}} With the WWE Championship being defended exclusively on SmackDown, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley introduced the WWE Universal Championship to be Raw's world title.{{cite web|last1=Hamlin|first1=Jeff|title=WWE Raw live results: title match set for SummerSlam & a new champion is crowned|url=https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/wwe-raw-live-results-title-match-set-summerslam-new-champion-crowned-217286|publisher=Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online|date=July 25, 2016|access-date=July 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727131532/https://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/wwe-raw-live-results-title-match-set-summerslam-new-champion-crowned-217286|archive-date=July 27, 2016|url-status=live}} At Crown Jewel on October 31, 2019, SmackDown wrestler "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt won the WWE Universal Championship, thus taking the title to SmackDown.{{cite web|date=October 31, 2019|last=Silverstein|first=Adam|title=2019 WWE Crown Jewel results, recap, grades: Major world title change among surprising outcomes|url=https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/2019-wwe-crown-jewel-results-recap-grades-major-world-title-change-among-surprising-outcomes/|work=CBSSports|access-date=March 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101155615/https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/2019-wwe-crown-jewel-results-recap-grades-major-world-title-change-among-surprising-outcomes/|archive-date=November 1, 2019|url-status=live}} On the next night's episode of SmackDown, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar quit SmackDown and moved to Raw, bringing the title with him.{{cite web|date=November 1, 2019|first=Brent|last=Brookhouse|url=https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/wwe-smackdown-results-recap-grades-shocking-nxt-invasion-brock-lesnar-quits-and-moves-to-raw/|title=WWE SmackDown results, recap, grades: Shocking NXT invasion, Brock Lesnar quits and moves to Raw|work=CBSSports|access-date=March 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102152426/https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/wwe-smackdown-results-recap-grades-shocking-nxt-invasion-brock-lesnar-quits-and-moves-to-raw/|archive-date=November 2, 2019|url-status=live}} A new World Heavyweight Championship was created for Raw after Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns was drafted to SmackDown in 2023.
= Current championships =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;" |
| colspan="9" style="background:#FBB;"|Raw |
|---|
| Championship
!colspan=2 | Current champion(s) !Reign !Date won !Days !Location !Notes !Ref. |
| align="center" | World Heavyweight Championship
| align="center" | 100px | align="center" | Jey Uso | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | April 19, 2025 | align="center" | {{age in days|April 19, 2025}} | align="center" | Paradise, Nevada | align=left | Defeated Gunther at WrestleMania 41 Night 1. |
| align="center" | Women's World Championship
| align="center" | 100px | align="center" | Iyo Sky | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | March 3, 2025 | align="center" | {{age in days|March 3, 2025}} | align="center" | Buffalo, New York | align=left | Defeated Rhea Ripley on Raw. |
| align="center" | WWE Intercontinental Championship
| align="center" | 100px | align="center" | Dominik Mysterio | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | April 20, 2025 | align="center" | {{age in days|April 20, 2025}} | align="center" | Paradise, Nevada | align=left | Defeated Bron Breakker in a fatal four-way match also involving Finn Bálor and Penta at WrestleMania 41 Night 2. |
| align="center" | WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship
|align="center" | 100px |align="center" | Lyra Valkyria |align="center" | 1 |align="center" | January 13, 2025 |align="center" | {{age in days|January 13, 2025}} |align="center" | San Jose, California |Defeated Dakota Kai in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion on Raw. |{{cite web|url=https://prowrestling.net/site/2025/01/13/wwe-raw-results-1-13-mcguires-live-review-of-dakota-kai-vs-lyra-valkyiria-to-become-the-first-womens-ic-champion-damian-priest-vs-finn-balor-in-a-street-fight-chad-gable-vs-a-mystery-lucha/|title=WWE Raw results (1/13): McGuire's live review of Dakota Kai vs. Lyra Valkyiria to become the first Women's IC Champion, Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor in a Street Fight, Chad Gable vs. a mystery luchador|date=January 13, 2025|last=McGuire|first=Colin|work=Pro Wrestling Dot Net|access-date=January 13, 2025}} |
| align="center" | World Tag Team Championship
| align="center" | 100px | align="center" | The New Day | align="center" | 5 | align="center" | April 19, 2025 | align="center" | {{age in days|April 19, 2025}} | align="center" | Paradise, Nevada | align=left | Defeated The War Raiders (Erik and Ivar) at WrestleMania 41 Night 1. |
| align=center | WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
|style="background:#FBB;" align=center | Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez {{dagger}} |align=center | 4 |align=center | April 21, 2025 |align=center | {{age in days|April 21, 2025}} |align=center | Paradise, Nevada |align="left" | Defeated Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria on Raw. |{{cite web|url=https://prowrestling.net/site/2025/04/21/wwe-raw-results-4-21-powells-live-review-of-the-raw-after-wrestlemania-41/|title=WWE Raw results (4/21): Powell’s live review of the Raw after WrestleMania 41|date=April 21, 2025|last=Powell|first=Jason|work=Pro Wrestling Dot Net|access-date=April 21, 2025}} |
- The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is defended across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.
= Previous active championships =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%" |
| Championship
! Time on brand |
|---|
| align="left"| WWE Universal Championship
|align="left"| August 21, 2016 — October 31, 2019 |
| align="left"| WWE Championship
|align="left"| November 4, 2019 — April 28, 2023 |
| align="left"| WWE Women's Championship (Current)
|align="left"| July 19, 2016 — April 28, 2023 |
| align="left"| WWE United States Championship
|align="left"| April 22, 2019 — May 1, 2023 |
== Previous defunct championships ==
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%" |
| Championship
! Time on brand |
|---|
| align="left"| WWE European Championship
|align="left"| March 25, 2002 — July 22, 2002 |
| align="left"| WWE Hardcore Championship
|align="left"| March 26, 2002 — August 26, 2002 |
| align="left"| ECW Championship
|align="left"| June 23, 2008 — June 29, 2008 |
| align="left"| World Tag Team Championship (Original)
|align="left"| July 29, 2002 — December 13, 2008 |
| align="left"| WWE Women's Championship (Original)
|align="left"| September 24, 2002 — April 13, 2009 |
| align="left"| Million Dollar Championship
|align="left"| April 5, 2010 — November 15, 2010 |
| align="left"| World Heavyweight Championship (Original)
|align="left"| September 2, 2002 — June 28, 2005 |
| align="left"| WWE Divas Championship
|align="left"| April 13, 2009 — September 19, 2010 |
| align="left"| NXT Cruiserweight Championship (2016–2022 version)
|align="left"| September 14, 2016 — April 4, 2018 |
| align="left"| WWE 24/7 Championship
|align="left"| May 20, 2019 — November 9, 2022{{refn|The championship was shared amongst all of WWE's brands, until it was retired on November 9, 2022.|group="nb"}} |
Personnel
{{main|List of WWE personnel#Raw}}
Pay-per-view and WWE Network events
= First brand split events =
= Second brand split events =
Notes
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{reflist|group=nb}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{WWE Championships}}
{{WWE}}
{{WWE personnel}}
{{Professional wrestling in the United States}}
Category:2002 establishments in the United States