This week in WWE history: Major injury to top champion, world title decided in a Royal Rumble Match (January 15-January 21)

WWE continues to have eventful weeks on a consistent basis. Last Monday's episode of RAW saw Seth Rollins defend his coveted World Heavyweight Championship against Jinder Mahal in the main event. Unfortunately, the top title holder was seemingly injured in the bout.

Beyond that, much of the week featured the same standard, yet exciting, programming fans love. NXT saw more action with the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns was back on Friday Night SmackDown.

While there's a lot to enjoy for modern fans, World Wrestling Entertainment has a vast history. The promotion has been running in some form or other for around 70 years now. As a result, a lot of exciting moments, matches, and shows have come and passed.

Sportskeeda Wrestling offers a weekly article that looks back at major events in the company's illustrious history. Some are positive, some are more unfortunate, but they all helped build the company that so many fans enjoy today. What went down this week in history?

Below are five key events that took place this week in WWE history:

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#5. Tyler Bate won the United Kingdom Championship Tournament on January 15th, 2017

Tyler Bate on NXT

Night 2 of WWE's United Kingdom Championship Tournament took place on January 15th, 2017. This show was centered around a 16-man tournament with the aim of crowning the first-ever United Kingdom Champion.

In total, Night 2 featured eight full-length matches, and a bonus bout featuring Neville and Tommy End. Tommy was the future Aleister Black who now wrestles for Tony Khan's AEW. The main event of the night and the final of the tournament saw Tyler Bate go one-on-one with Pete Dunne.

The two men had an amazing fight but, in the end, The Big Strong Boi won the bout and became the first-ever champion. The United Kingdom Championship Tournament returned the following year and the NXT UK brand then followed. Unfortunately, neither the title nor the brand remain active today, but Dunne and Bate are still in the company.

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#4. Shawn Michaels suffered a devastating injury at Royal Rumble on January 18th, 1998

WWE held the 11th annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view back on January 18th, 1998. The epic event was held at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California. Around 18,000 fans were in attendance at the stellar show.

Typically, the main event of a Royal Rumble pay-per-view is a Royal Rumble Match. While the specialty bout was on this card and won by Stone Cold Steve Austin, the final match featured two icons of the ring going at it.

Shawn Michaels battled The Undertaker in a Casket Match to close the show. Unfortunately, the bout isn't fondly remembered as an errant spot saw Michaels hit his back against the side of the casket. This led to him taking over four years off from wrestling. At one point, many believed he'd never return to the ring. Thankfully, the Heartbreak Kid did come back to entertain millions.

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#3. Ric Flair won the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble on January 19th, 1992

One of the most beloved Royal Rumble events ever took place on January 19th, 1992. WWE held the event at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York. Around 17,000 fans were in attendance, a sizable number even by today's standards.

WWE included five matches on this Royal Rumble card, three of which were for championship belts. The main event was a 30-man Royal Rumble Match. While the winner of that match typically earns a title opportunity at WrestleMania, this show had a different spin on things, which was arguably even more exciting.

Ric Flair battled it out and won the 62-minute match. Upon winning, Flair became the new WWF Champion. The title had been vacant, so the match decided a new champion and The Nature Boy managed to pull it off. To this day, this particular Royal Rumble Match is considered one of the best and Bobby Heenan's commentary was incredible.

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#2. Brock Lesnar wrestled twice at Royal Rumble on January 19th, 2003

Brock Lesnar at Backlash

WWE held another edition of the Royal Rumble back in 2003. More specifically, the show took place on January 19th. The event was held at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts, with around 15,000 fans in attendance.

While there were several bouts on the card, this show was notable for having Brock Lesnar highlighted multiple times. The Next Big Thing battled The Big Show in the opening bout and won, which allowed him entry into the main event.

From there, Lesnar managed to win the 30-man Royal Rumble Match. The bout lasted over 53 minutes and the talented Lesnar last eliminated The Undertaker. From there, he went on to headline WrestleMania with Kurt Angle in a well-remembered classic.

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#1. Triple H won the Royal Rumble Match on January 20th, 2002

The final entry on this week's list took place on January 20th, 2002. WWE held the 15th annual Royal Rumble event in front of over 16,000 fans. The show was held at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

WWE had five matches on the main card of this event. This included Chris Jericho vs. The Rock for the Undisputed Championship and Ric Flair vs. Mr. McMahon in a Street Fight. Trish Stratus vs. Jazz and William Regal vs. Edge were also included on the card, which was clearly stacked with top stars.

The main event was a 30-man Royal Rumble Match that featured several big pay-per-view returns. The likes of Goldust, Mr. Perfect, Triple H, and The Godfather all made a comeback. In the end, The Game won the near-70-minute-long match. From there, he defeated Chris Jericho at WrestleMania X8 to win the world title.