10 Historic 2002 Raw & SmackDown Moments To Check Out On WWE Network

10. The Brand Extension

After the aforementioned 'Invasion' woes, the WWF were keen to make up for lost time. Finally, even though he should have been part of the WCW scenario, 'Nature Boy' Ric Flair returned to the company. Arriving amidst a lot of fanfare in November, Flair was cast as a co-owner of the promotion with Vince McMahon. This led to the split between Raw and Smackdown. Known as the 'Brand Extension', both shows would have separate rosters and run independently from one another. This was historic, because it's exactly what the WWF had tentatively planned to do with World Championship Wrestling. Fans were interested to see what might come of the situation, and it was exciting to imagine Raw and Smackdown having genuinely different things to offer. Raw retained much of the entertainment feel it was known for, whereas Smackdown slowly but surely morphed into being a more wrestling-centric show. As the year progressed, it was amazing to watch these changes and see the company mix things up. The March 25th episode of Raw featured the infamous Draft, which is a must-see edition of the show.