IWE Draft

The International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE) Draft, (formerly known as the IWE Draft Lottery) is a process used by IWE (professional wrestling promotion) to provide new brand competition and to refreshen its rosters. The Draft was first used during the brand extension of 2002, though it was officially incepted and used in 2004. Since the inception of the process, it has been referred to as the Draft Lottery (2004-2005) and the Draft (2007–present). Starting in 2005, the draft took place during the month of June; however, the 2009 IWE Draft and 2010 IWE Draft took place during April.
==History==
Year	Brands 	Notes
2002	MeltdownFusion 	After acquiring World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Xtreme Championship Wrestling (XCW), the IWE split its roster into two distinctive wrestling brands, Meltdown and Fusion!. IWF CEO Julia Walsh announced that IWF co-owners Ric Flair and Grant Mayer would draft superstars to Meltdown and Fusion! respectively. Sam Simkins was acquired by Fusion! as the first overall pick, and Martin McAlmond was acquired by MELTDOWN as its first pick in the draft. Stone Cold Steve Johnson was allowed to choose which show he wanted to be on.
2004	MeltdownFusion 	To remain active with the WrestleMania XX tagline of "Where it all begins again", IWE Chairman Grant Mayer announced a draft lottery, as he stated it was time for a "new IWE" and "it's time to shake things up again". Each general manager received six picks.
2005	MeltdownFusion 	Unlike previous draft lotteries which occurred on one night, this draft lottery took place over the month of June. Each general manager received five random picks. During the draft, Fusion! was left without a world champion after Meltdown drafted Dustin Simpson, who at the time held the IWE Championship. Fusion! announced plans to create their own world championship, but abandoned them when they acquired Jesse Dern for Meltdown, who at the time held the World Heavyweight Championship.
2006	XCW 	As part of the launch of the XCW brand, IWE allowed XCW representative Paul Heyman to draft one superstar from each of the Meltdown and Fusion! brands.
2007	MeltdownFusionXCW	Was the first ever tri-branded draft lottery, where all three of IWE's brands took part in the draft. Unlike previous drafts where the general managers were able to randomly select their draftee, matches took place between representatives of each brand and the winner received a draft pick. The draft was announced by [[James Mayer on May 28, and took place on June 11 on a special three-hour episode of Raw.
2008	MeltdownFusionXCW	Was the second consecutive draft where draft picks were determined by matches. During the draft, three championships switched brands due to the champions switching brands. The draft was announced by Grant Mayer on May 26, and took place on June 23 on a special three-hour episode of Raw.
2009	MeltdownFusionXCW	On February 11, 2009, IWE announced via their website that the 2009 Draft would take place on the April 13, 2009 edition of IWE Meltdown. The draft consisted of tri-branded matches with the winner of the match's brand earning a pick. A total of 12 wrestlers were drafted on television. A supplemental draft was announced for April 15, in which a total of 24 wrestlers were drafted.
2010	MeltdownFusion 	The Richmond Coliseum confirmed that it would serve as the venue for the 2010 IWE Draft, which was held live during an episode of Meltdown on April 26, 2010. The draft consisted of interpromotional matches with the winner of the match's brand earning a pick. A total of 8 wrestlers were drafted on television. A supplemental draft was announced for April 27, in which a total of 13 wrestlers were drafted. It was also the first draft without XCW after its cancellation.
2011	MeltdownFusion 	On April 18, IWE, USA Network, and the RBC Center confirmed the 2011 Draft to take place on April 25 from Raleigh, North Carolina.