This week in WWE history (Jan 24-30) RAW is canceled, CM Punk walks out

CM Punk walked out eight years ago and is yet to make his return

The annual WWE Royal Rumble has dominated this week's news and rumors regarding surprises and returns have been rife.

Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar were the stars who walked out as the winners of their respective matches last night with Lesnar winning his second Rumble match, almost two decades after his original victory.

The end of January has annually been the time where the company presents their Royal Rumble and kickstarts the Road to WrestleMania, so it appears that this week in history was dominated by these shows.

#5. The Royal Rumble makes its debut in WWE - January 24th, 1988

34 YEARS AGO TODAY:

Jim Duggan wins the 20 man 1988 Royal Rumble! https://t.co/otXBeVsYYR

The Royal Rumble was the brainchild of former WWE star and producer Pat Patterson, and his show finally became a reality back in 1988.

The first-ever match saw just 20 participants battle it out with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan being the final man standing and making history as the first-ever winner.

Legends Jake "The Snake" Roberts, The Ultimate Warrior, Harley Race and Bret Hart were all part of the match but came up short to WWE Hall of Famer Duggan.

Of course, this wasn't the only Royal Rumble to take place today, since Yokozuna was able to outlast 29 other men and eliminate Randy Savage en route to victory in the 1993 match.

Six years later, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon eliminated Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the 1999 Royal Rumble match and book his place in the WrestleMania main event.

The 1999 Rumble event also famously saw The Rock defeat Mick Foley in one of the most intense and violent "I Quit" matches in the history of the company.

The 2016 Royal Rumble match is the final match to take place on this day and this match saw Roman Reigns forced to defend his championship in the match for the first time.

Triple H last eliminated Dean Ambrose to win the match and become the new Champion. This was Triple H's second Rumble win after being victorious in the 2002 Rumble match 14 years prior.