<P> In April 01 , 2002 , with an excess of talent employed as a result of having purchased WCW and ECW , WWE needed a way to provide exposure for all of its talent . This problem was solved by introducing a `` Brand Extension '' , with the roster split in half and the talent assigned to either Raw or SmackDown ! in a mock draft lottery . Wrestlers , commentators and referees became show - exclusive , and the shows were given separate on - screen General Managers . Shortly thereafter , on the June 24 , 2002 episode of Raw , Vince McMahon officially referred to the new era as `` Ruthless Aggression '' . Later in 2002 , after WWE Champion Brock Lesnar announced himself exclusive property of the SmackDown ! brand and with the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship , all the championships became show - exclusive too . Additionally , both Raw and SmackDown ! began to stage individual pay - per - view events featuring only performers from that brand -- only the major four pay - per - views Royal Rumble , WrestleMania , SummerSlam and Survivor Series remained dual - branded . The practice of single - brand pay - per - view events was abandoned following WrestleMania 23 . In effect , Raw and SmackDown were operated as two distinct promotions , with a draft lottery taking place each year to determine which talent was assigned to each brand . This lasted until August 2011 , when the rosters were merged and the Brand Extension was quietly phased out . </P>
<P> In April 01 , 2002 , with an excess of talent employed as a result of having purchased WCW and ECW , WWE needed a way to provide exposure for all of its talent . This problem was solved by introducing a `` Brand Extension '' , with the roster split in half and the talent assigned to either Raw or SmackDown ! in a mock draft lottery . Wrestlers , commentators and referees became show - exclusive , and the shows were given separate on - screen General Managers . Shortly thereafter , on the June 24 , 2002 episode of Raw , Vince McMahon officially referred to the new era as `` Ruthless Aggression '' . Later in 2002 , after WWE Champion Brock Lesnar announced himself exclusive property of the SmackDown ! brand and with the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship , all the championships became show - exclusive too . Additionally , both Raw and SmackDown ! began to stage individual pay - per - view events featuring only performers from that brand -- only the major four pay - per - views Royal Rumble , WrestleMania , SummerSlam and Survivor Series remained dual - branded . The practice of single - brand pay - per - view events was abandoned following WrestleMania 23 . In effect , Raw and SmackDown were operated as two distinct promotions , with a draft lottery taking place each year to determine which talent was assigned to each brand . This lasted until August 2011 , when the rosters were merged and the Brand Extension was quietly phased out . </P>
when did the wwe ruthless aggression era start
when did the wwe ruthless aggression era start
April 01 , 2002
April 01 , 2002