The 2006

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

(WWE) brand extension draft, also known as the 2006 ECW draft, was the fourth

WWE draft The WWE Draft, alternatively called the WWE Superstar Shake-up from 2017 to 2019, is a process used by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE to refresh its rosters between the Raw and SmackDown brands (2002–2011; 2016–present). ...

that took place at the Tacoma Dome in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, on May 29. The draft aired on WWE's flagship program '' Raw''. The draft featured ECW representative

Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Undisputed WWE Universal Heavywei ...

receiving two total draft picks from the existing SmackDown! and Raw rosters for the newly created ECW brand.

Background

After

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

bought all the assets of

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

(ECW) in 2003, the company began releasing

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

s promoting the original ECW. Soon afterwards, the company promoted shows for ECW alumni entitled,

One Night Stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

and in 2006. On May 25, 2006, WWE announced the launch of a new brand, ECW, a revival of original promotion. The new brand would later debut its

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

on the

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

on June 13, 2006.

Selections

Aftermath

Fifteen days after the draft '' ECW'' would hold its premiere episode on June 13, 2006. Although not drafted,

Tazz Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967), better known by the ring name Taz (also spelled Tazz) is an American radio host, radio personality, color commentator, and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestlin ...

later defected from SmackDown! to ECW,

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...

from Raw to ECW, and

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. He is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

from SmackDown! to Raw. In August 2006, after a few appearances, Kurt Angle requested and was granted his release from his WWE contract. On February 2, 2010, WWE Chairman

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

announced that ''ECW'' would air its final episode on February 16, 2010. The ECW brand was disbanded after the final show, with every ECW wrestler becoming a free agent, eligible to join either the Raw or SmackDown brands. The original

brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use th ...

would end in August 2011.

References

{{World Wrestling Entertainment History of WWE WWE draft ECW (WWE brand) 2006 in professional wrestling Professional wrestling in Washington (state) May 2006 events in the United States Events in Washington (state)