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This week in WWE history: Randy Orton does the unthinkable, Rhea Ripley's crowning moment (December 18 - December 24)

WWE had another big week from December 18 to December 24. In fact, it was the last big week of 2023. RAW, SmackDown, and NXT all presented new programming, albeit mostly taped. That won't be the case this week, however.

Both Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown will seemingly be special "best of" editions of the shows. NXT, on the other hand, will be a taped program. Still, the slow week may leave some fans wishing for more of their wrestling fix.

For fans wanting to experience other wrestling beyond the modern product, you're in luck. Sportskeeda offers a weekly retrospective look back at some of the most pivotal and exciting matches, moments, and events in the company's storied history.

This week's article will look back at an underrated Hell in a Cell Match, a shocking and brutal decision by Randy Orton, a big-time Money in the Bank cash-in, and even Rhea Ripley's crowning moment.

Below are five key events that happened this week in WWE history.


#5. The Undertaker battled Randy Orton inside Hell in a Cell on December 18, 2005

WWE Armageddon was held on December 18, 2005. The show took place at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Around 8,000 fans were in attendance, which isn't particularly strong for a pay-per-view.

This Armageddon event was presented by the SmackDown brand. In total, seven matches aired on the main show. This included Big Show and Kane vs. Batista and Rey Mysterio, JBL vs. Matt Hardy, and Chris Benoit vs. Booker T.

The main event of the night was a Hell in a Cell Match that lasted over 31 minutes. The legendary Undertaker battled, battered, and beat Randy Orton in the hellacious structure. The match was fun, but the post-match imagery of The Deadman standing atop the cell is iconic.


#4. Daniel Bryan cashed in at TLC on December 18, 2011

Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan

The third annual TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs pay-per-view was held by WWE on December 18, 2011. The big event was held at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. Around 9,000 fans were in attendance for the show.

WWE held an astonishing ten matches on the main card. Of those ten bouts, most were under ten minutes in length, and only two had a run time of over 11 minutes. One of the shorter matches on the card saw Big Show defeat Mark Henry in a Chairs Match to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

The real important story came after, however. Mark Henry, in a rage, laid Big Show out with a DDT onto a pile of chairs. From there, Daniel Bryan showed up and cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and won in seven seconds. This meant Bryan won his first-ever world title in the company.


#3. Rhea Ripley dethroned Shayna Baszler on NXT on December 18, 2019

December 18, 2019, was a special day for many WWE fans and for one NXT star in particular. A new episode of NXT aired on that date on the USA Network. The show was held live from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.

The main event of the night featured Shayna Baszler defending her coveted NXT Women's Champion. The person battling The Queen Of Spades was The Nightmare Rhea Ripley.

Shayna Baszler had been a seemingly unbeatable champion up until that point, with only Asuka's reign being as impressive on WWE NXT. In the end, however. The Ripper proved to be too much, and Rhea managed to win the gold and receive her crowning moment on the brand. Now, Ripley is arguably the top female star in the company.


#2. AJ Styles battled James Ellsworth on SmackDown on December 20, 2016

AJ Styles in Mexico
AJ Styles in Mexico

WWE held an episode of Friday Night SmackDown on December 20, 2016. This show was just a handful of months after the 2016 Draft went into effect, and many fans believed SmackDown was the best brand the company had.

This edition of SmackDown was held in Detroit, Michigan, and was headlined by WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. James Ellsworth. Ellsworth was an enhancement talent who shocked the world by defeating The Phenomenal One thanks to help from Dean Ambrose weeks prior.

This time around, however, James had far worse luck. Styles put his title on the lane but made short and easy work out of Ellsworth. A brutal strike combo was enough to get The Phenomenal One the win in impressive fashion, putting the humiliation behind him once and for all.


#1. Randy Orton burned The Fiend alive at WWE TLC on December 20, 2020

The final entry in this week's list is TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs. The big show was held on December 20, 2020, at the WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. This was at the height of the pandemic, so there weren't fans in the arena.

The show featured six main roster matches of varying quality, but the event is best remembered for the main event. Bray Wyatt, then competing as The Fiend, went one-on-one with Randy Orton. They clashed in a Firefly Inferno Match. This meant WWE had fire all around the ringside area.

The match between Randy Orton and The Fiend only went about 12 minutes, with Orton winning once Wyatt's arm was set ablaze. The aftermath shocked fans, however. While on fire, Bray was hit by an RKO.

From there, Orton doused Bray's body with gasoline and shockingly set him on fire. The show ended with Orton staring at Wyatt's burning body. Of course, this was just an angle, and Bray Wyatt would later return for revenge.

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