IWE Brand Extension

==History==
===Meltdown and Fusion===
After acquiring the remains of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), its main competitor throughout the 1990s, in March 2002, the International Wrestling Entertainment sought a way to split itself into two separate promotions, because of the numbers of talent that it had acquired as part of its purchase. On March 18, 2002, Julia Walsh announced the "brand extension" in which the company would be split into two distinct brands.
In terms of storyline, Ric Flair had become fifty percent owner of the IWE following Survivor Series 2001 after James and Brittany Mayer had sold their stocks to him in order to purchase WCW and Xtreme Championship Wrestling (XCW), respectively. Grant Mayer detested having to share his creation with Ric Flair and looked for a way to dissolve their partnership. After entering a feud with Martin McAlmond, Flair sought a match with him at WrestleMania X8, However, the IWF Board of Directors would only allow the match if Flair were to return one hundred percent control to Mayer. Flair agreed, however, the Board also reserved the right to review the ownership status of the IWF following WrestleMania. Their decision was to split the entire IWF roster into two separate entities, with Grant Mayer in control of the Fusion! brand and Ric Flair in control of the Meltdown brand. A draft was held the following week on Meltdown. Each owner would get a total of thirty picks. The brand extension officially began on April 1, 2002. By having two brands in place, the IWF was able to increase the number of live events held each year from 200 to 350, including tours in several new international markets.
==The 2002 Draft==
Pick #	Brand 	Pick #	Superstar/Diva 	Notes
1 	Fusion 	1 	Sam Simkins 	
2 	Meltdown	1 	Martin McAlmond 	
3 	Fusion 	2 	Matt Borske 	
4 	Meltdown	2 	n.W.o (Josh Erickson, Tyler Erickson & Brian Tobol)	Mr. Mayer allowed the n.W.o to be drafted as a group.
5 	Fusion 	3 	Kevin Hunter 	Drafted while recovering from neck surgery. Hunter made his IWE return on the MD brand instead.
6 	Meltdown	3 	Chris LeGreca 	
7 	Fusion 	4 	"Hollywood" Hulk Hogan 	
8 	Meltdown	4 	KGM 	When drafted, KGM was the IWE Intercontinental Championship, making the title exclusive to MD.
9 	Fusion 	5 	Billy and Chuck 	Tag Team Champions]], making the title exclusive to Fusion! In addition, Billy and Chuck's manager, Ricki went along with them in the draft.
10 	Meltdown	5 	Steve Britz 	
11 	Fusion 	6 	Chris Gomez 	
12 	Meltdown	6 	The Big Marc 	
13 	Fusion 	7 	Keithshi 	
14 	Meltdown	7 	Harlan 	
15 	Fusion 	8 	Scott 	
16 	Meltdown	8 	Cameron Dana 	When drafted, Dana's manager, Paul Heyman, went along with him in the draft
17 	Fusion 	9 	Steven Larson 	
18 	Meltdown	9 	WillIam Kapphan 	When drafted, Kapphan was the Euro Champion, making the title exclusive to Meltdown.
19 	Fusion 	10 	Michael Love 	When drafted, Michael was the Hardcore Champion, making the title exclusive to Fusion! However, Russ would defeat Michael for the championship prior to the brand separtion bring the title to Meltdown with him.
20 	Meltdown	10 	Nicole 	First Diva Drafted, Only Diva selected on television
21 	Fusion 	11 	Billy Kid 	
22 	Meltdown	11 	John Goff 	
23 	Fusion 	12 	Park 	When drafted, Park was the Cruiserweight Champion, making the title exclusive to Fusion!
24 	Meltdown	12 	Richard Veach 	
25 	Fusion 	13 	Kris McGowan 	
26 	Meltdown	13 	Matt Hooper 	
27 	Fusion 	14 	Felisha 	
28 	Meltdown	14 	Russ 	
29 	Fusion 	15 	B-Train 	
30 	Meltdown	15 	Josh Hooper 	
31 	Fusion 	16 	Gregory Beasley 	
32 	Meltdown	16 	Mr. Billy McAlmond 	
33 	Fusion 	17 	Al Know 	
34 	Meltdown	17 	Spike 	
35 	Fusion 	18 	Mike 	
36 	Meltdown	18 	D'Low Green 	
37 	Fusion 	19 	DDB 	
38 	Meltdown	19 	Sean McCurry 	
39 	Fusion 	20 	Jessica Wilson 	
40 	Meltdown	20 	Terry 	
41 	Fusion 	21 	Scotty 	
42 	Meltdown	21 	Miss Jacki 	
43 	Fusion 	22 	Stacey Keibler 	
44 	Meltdown	22 	James Thomas 	
45 	Fusion 	23 	Jared Hunt 	
46 	Meltdown	23 	Bailey Dalton 	
47 	Fusion 	24 	Andrew Sekora 	
48 	Meltdown	24 	Justin Creed 	
49 	Fusion 	25 	Jon Ripsen 	
50 	Meltdown	25 	Big Boss Brandon 	
51 	Fusion 	26 	Tazz 	
52 	Meltdown	26 	Tommy Brown 	
53 	Fusion 	27 	Steven Murnion 	
54 	Meltdown	27 	Crash Murnion 	
55 	Fusion 	28 	Sean Venis 	
56 	Meltdown	28 	Might Murnion 	
57 	Fusion 	29 	Perry Merry 	
==XCW==
====Background====
After International Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. bought all of Xtreme Championship Wrestling (XCW)'s assets in 2003, the company began releasing DVDs promoting the original XCW. Soon afterwards, the company promoted two XCW reunion shows for XCW Alumni entitled, XCW One Night Stand in 2005 and in 2006.
On May 26, 2006, IWE announced a launch of a new brand, XCW, a revival of the 1990s promotion.
===Superstar selections===
The 2006 International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE) Brand Extension Draft took place from the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on May 29, 2006, where XCW representative, Paul Heyman, drafted two superstars, one from Fusion! and one from Meltdown onto the newly created XCW brand.
Pick #	Brand (to)	Employee 	Role 	Brand (from)
1 	XCW 	Kyle Van Johnson	Male wrestler	Meltdown
2 	XCW 	Matt Borske 	Male wrestler	Fusion!
====Aftermath====
In late 2007, Fusion! and XCW superstars began to appear on each others shows as part of a (kayfabe) deal between then-XCW General Manager Armando Estrada and then-Fusion General Manager Lynn Lehr.
In addition to the Talent Exchange between Fusion and XCW, an exchange between Meltdown and XCW was announced in September 2008.
On February 2, 2010, IWE Chairman Grant Mayer announced that XCW would air its final episode on February 16, 2010. The XCW brand was disbanded after the final show, with every XCW wrestler becoming a free agent and eligible to join either the Meltdown or Fusion brands.