This week in WWE history: Heel turn leaves fans stunned, Brock Lesnar-themed show (July 1-July 7)
WWE has had an incredibly busy weekend. Friday Night SmackDown was held at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto followed by a sold out Money in the Bank Premium Live Event the next night. NXT Heatwave then aired from the same building Sunday night, bringing the hectic weekend to a close.
On top of that, all eyes are on WWE SummerSlam, which will take place in about a month. This PLE will be held at a stadium in Ohio, which means tens of thousands of fans will be in attendance. Business is booming for World Wrestling Entertainment.
This hasn't always been the case, however. The company has had a lot of ups and downs over the years with major matches, moments, and events helping to shape the company as fans know it today.
Sportskeeda offers a weekly article looking back at some of these major moments. This edition will cover what may have led to the decline of a brand, a shocking heel turn, and arguably the best pay-per-view ever.
Below are major matches and moments from this week in WWE history.
#4. Shawn Michaels turned on Hulk Hogan on RAW on July 4th, 2005
The first event that took place this week in WWE history that will be highlighted on this list aired on July 4th, 2005. RAW was held live from the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California in front of around 10,000 fans.
The main event of the night saw Carlito and Kurt Angle team up to battle the super team of Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels. The pair had united recently and looked to dominate once again, which they did, as the two won the bout.
The post-match is what WWE fans remember most, however. While Hogan and Michaels posed together, Shawn shockingly dropped The Hulkster with the Sweet Chin Music. This led to a brief heel turn of sorts from HBK and a SummerSlam match between the two legends.
#3. Big Show won the ECW Championship on July 4th, 2006
The next entry comes from an episode of ECW on July 4th, 2006. This show was held at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and featured a dramatic change that ultimately contributed to the direction of the WWE brand shifting.
Days prior, Rob Van Dam and Sabu were pulled over and arrested on drug charges. WWE fined both men and would suspend them too, but not before RVD first dropped his two titles. The first he had lost on RAW, the second changed hands on ECW.
RVD lost to The Big Show in the main event of this episode, thus losing the ECW Title. This led to a new era on the brand and one that saw the show become far more like RAW and SmackDown and less like Extreme Championship Wrestling. It wasn't long after this that the brand essentially became a developmental show, much like NXT would later become.
#2. Brock Lesnar destroyed Kofi Kingston at Beast in the East on July 4th, 2015
During the WWE Network era, the promotion toyed with making some special live events programs that aired on the streaming service. This included the international Beast in the East which took place on July 4th, 2015.
This event took place at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan with over 8,600 fans in attendance. The theme of the show, as the title suggests, was Brock Lesnar's return to Japan.
WWE showed five matches on the stream, with Brock's being a one-on-one match against Kofi Kingston. As would be replicated years later, Lesnar defeated Kofi with ease. He beat the future world champion and then laid out both Big E and Xavier Woods too in typical Lesnar fashion.
#1. One of WWE's greatest shows took place with In Your House: Canadian Stampede on July 6th, 1997
The final entry on this week's list is arguably the best pay-per-view of all time. WWE held the In Your House: Canadian Stampede event on July 6th, 1997. The show took place live from the Canadian Airlines Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. From top to bottom, this show was fantastic.
Around 12,000 fans were in attendance for the four match main card. The main event was an incredibly entertaining ten-man tag team match pitting The Hart Foundation's Bret Hart, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Brian Pillman, and Jim Neidhart against The Legion of Doom, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The Hart Foundation ultimately won the 24+ minute match, which featured a wild crown fully behind the stable that were presented as heels in the United States. While much of the Hart Foundation would be gone from WWE by the winter, this era was extremely fun, with the group being babyfaces everywhere except in the U.S.