by SPJ

Created on: November 10, 2008

August 26, 1999, SmackDown! officially debuted on the UPN network, and a successful debut it was. The WWE (then WWF) was still in their "Attitude Era". It was dubbed "the Rock's show". Given his popularity and the popularity of the "Attitude Era" in general, Smackdown! was a major hit. A legendary progression for the WWE.

March 23, 2001, all of WCW's trademarks and archived footage, as well as twenty-five of the lower-tier-to-mid-card wrestler contracts, were sold to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. The Monday Night Wars were over. With no viable competition stateside WWE was officially the king of the mountain. No other wrestling promotion in the U.S. could directly challenge the WWE in any way. A legendary progression for the WWE.

This second progression, however, proved to be extremely dangerous. When there is a monopoly, in any business, the owner now has the freedom to basically do whatever it is they want. Vince McMahon knew that people weren't going to just stop watching wrestling.

March 18, 2002, Linda McMahon announced the "brand extension" in which the company would be split into two distinct brands. It all seemed to make sense. It was a way to get fans of team sports more interested in pro wrestling. It allowed the WWE to make more money by holding more live events. It also allowed, or was supposed to allow, all of the talent to have more exposure as the number of signed wrestlers was above 60. It was also supposed to create more stars and big names. Smart business. Smart theory. Bad practice.

The brand extension started off strong, started to sink, then seemed to level out. From a business standpoint it started as a huge success. Viewership increased slightly, though it was on the rise before the split. Obviously, it solved the problem of having 60 plus performers on one show. However, these positives didn't hold up very long.

Just when the idea of the brand extension was wearing off, the WWE made another potentially awesome move. After buying the total assets of ECW and two annual PPVs dedicated to the ECW style, fans, and wrestlers, on May 26, 2006 the WWE announce they were adding another brand. This brand was supposed to be a revival of the cult classic that was Extreme Championship Wrestling. Supposed to.

The split started off with one major men's title, one major women's title, and one major tag team title. The men's title, WWE Undisputed Championship, and the women's title, WWE Women's Championship, were defended

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