This week in WWE history: Top star brings competitor's title belt in surprising debut, international sensation signed (September 3-September 9)
Another week has gone by, and WWE continues to make headlines. RAW, SmackDown, and NXT all had fans talking, as did last weekend's Payback Premium Live Event, which most believes that it overdelivered.
Stories featuring The Judgment Day, Becky Lynch, and The Bloodline have fans hooked. As do big-time bouts featuring stars such as Gunther and Rhea Ripley. Still, some fans want more wrestling than what the Sports Entertainment titan can offer.
Thankfully, Sportskeeda has those fans covered. Each week, we dive into some of the biggest matches and moments in the company's illustrious history. They're not always positive, but they're certainly memorable and helped shape the foundation of the promotion.
This article will look at several big moments from this week in history, which include a Hall of Famer winning a big title, the debut of a megastar, and an international sensation being signed. What went down?
Below are five key events that happened this week in WWE history.
#5. Eddie Guerrero won the Intercontinental Championship on RAW on September 4, 2000
WWE Monday Night RAW was held on September 4, 2000, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The main event of the night saw The Rock and The Undertaker take on Edge and Christian.
Perhaps the most interesting match of the night, however, was Chyna defending the Intercontinental Championship in a Triple Threat Match. She battled Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero, two men who would go on to win world titles
Chyna and Eddie were a unit going into the match, which made the end all the more surprising. When Chyna was out cold towards the end of the bout, Eddie went to hug her and check on her, but the referee counted to three. Guerrero stole one, allegedly without meaning to.
#4. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels clashed at In Your House: Ground Zero on September 7, 1997
WWE presented a special In Your House, on September 7, 1997. This was the 17th In Your House pay-per-view, and it was titled "Ground Zero." The event took place at the Louisville Gardens in Louisville, Kentucky.
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker is an epic rivalry. Most fans will remember their brutal Hell in a Cell Match at Badd Blood and their incredible bouts at WrestleMania over a decade later. Their first major one-on-one match took place at Ground Zero, however.
The bout was chaotic. Referees got knocked down, and D-Generation X interfered. Things eventually became such a mess that the main event of the pay-per-view ended in a No Contest.
This result led to The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels hitting officials, referees, and, of course, each other. The bout set the stage for their Hell in a Cell Match.
#3. Shawn Michaels battled Chris Jericho at Unforgiven on September 7, 2008
WWE Unforgiven took place on September 7, 2008, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, in front of around 8,700 fans. The event was presented by RAW, SmackDown, and NXT.
The show is notable for a few reasons. It introduced the Championship Scramble concept, a unique stipulation match that hasn't been used often since. It also featured a vicious Unsanctioned Match.
Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were the two men involved. They had been feuding for a few months now, with things getting intense after Jericho accidentally punched Shawn's wife. In the end, Shawn stood tall after about 26 minutes.
#2. Asuka signed with WWE on September 7, 2015
September 7, 2015, was a big day for WWE. On that date, the promotion announced that they signed Japanese sensation Kana. This shocked many fans and thrilled numerous others.
Kana later became known as Asuka. The Empress of Tomorrow is one of WWE's top stars to this very day, having recently held championship gold. Her reign on NXT was one of the most dominant in the brand's history.
Needless to say, her signing with the promotion dramatically changed the course of the company's history. Given everything she has accomplished, nobody was or will ever be ready for Asuka.
#1. Ric Flair debuts on Prime Time Wrestling on September 9, 1991
WWE Prime Time Wrestling aired on September 9, 1991. The show was quite standard of the time, with mostly inconsequential matches being propped up by hilarity with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
The notable part of the show, however, was that it featured the first official appearance of Ric Flair in WWE. He had left WCW and arrived in the company as the "Real World's Champion." With him was the World Heavyweight Championship.
It was a huge moment, as the competition's title appearing on WWF programming was both unexpected and unheard of. While legally, the title couldn't be shown properly for long, it was a major, memorable, and controversial moment nonetheless. Flair went on to win the WWF Title just a few months later.