WWE released the following press release today:
WWE® TO HOLD HISTORIC DRAFT
Celebrity Appearances Lined Up for Special Three-Hour RAW® on June 11
STAMFORD, Conn., June 6, 2007 – With the official 2007 draft season underway, World Wrestling Entertainment® is ready to shake the foundations of the sports entertainment world when it holds its own WWE talent draft on a special three-hour edition of Monday Night RAW (USA, 8 p.m. ET/7C) on June 11. The live broadcast will be accompanied by a special Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night with television appearances by Steve-O from JACKASS, Jesse Ventura, Gene Okerlund, Bobby Heenan and Mick Foley, among several other notables.
“With the 2007 draft comes an unprecedented occasion in WWE history where each Superstar across all three of our programs is subject to being placed on another roster,” said Stephanie McMahon Levesque, Executive Vice President, Talent and Creative Writing. “No one will be safe this evening. This is what makes it so exciting to witness, as viewers will see some of their favorites being traded to a different roster, making for a thrilling dynamic in the months ahead.”
All WWE Superstars and Divas from WWE’s highly rated prime time television programs – RAW (regularly at 9 p.m. ET/8 C), Friday Night SmackDown® (CW 8 p.m. ET/7C) and ECW®: Extreme Championship Wrestling™ (SCI FI, 10 p.m. ET/9C) – will participate in the draft. With this year’s draft being the first to feature all three WWE brands, there are sure to be some major talent roster changes.
The talent draft is a historical fan favorite. The first draft was held on March 25, 2002, when WWE decided to create two distinct brands, each with its own talent rosters and self-contained storylines within their respective television programs: Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown. That first draft pitted Vince McMahon, drafting for SmackDown, against WWE Legend Ric Flair®, who then managed the RAW brand. It featured some of WWE’s most well-known Superstars, such as The Rock®, Triple H®, Undertaker® and current World Heavyweight Champion Edge®.
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) is an integrated media and entertainment company headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto and London. Additional information on the company can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.
Trademarks: All World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, and logos are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ECW is a trademark of WWE Libraries, Inc. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contact:
BWR Public Relations
Michele Billig / 212.901.3929 / Michele.Billig@bwr-ny.com
