This week in WWE history: Huge star comes out of retirement, international wrestler debuts, and more (April 1-April 7)

WWE had an epic weekend. WrestleMania 40 and NXT Stand & Deliver took place, as did a huge episode of SmackDown, the 2024 Hall of Fame, and even the Slammy Awards. There was so much going on that it may have been difficult for some fans to keep up.

The big stories coming out of the weekend include new champions being crowned, Giulia seemingly signing with World Wrestling Entertainment, a new title being introduced and the new era officially kickstarting.

While all of this is exciting, some fans prefer to look to the past. Those specific members of the audience are in luck, as Sportskeeda offers a weekly look back at some of the biggest and best moments in World Wrestling Entertainment history.

This specific edition will take a gander through history at four past WrestleMania events and a game-changing NXT TakeOver event. New champions were crowned, stars debuted and one name even came out of retirement. What went down this week in history?

Below are five major matches or moments from this week in WWE history:

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#5. Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior clashed at WrestleMania 6 on April 1st, 1990

WWE held the WrestleMania VI on April 1st, 1990, but this was no April Fools prank. The epic event was held live at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with a reported 67,000+ fans in attendance.

This was a different era for WWE and the pay-per-view card reflected that. The main show had 14 matches with only two going past 10 minutes in length. Ted Dibiase vs. Jake Roberts went for 11 minutes, while the main event went for almost 23.

The main event of the evening saw the Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior defeat the-then WWF Champion Hulk Hogan by pinfall. This was a passing of the torch moment where Warrior won the world title. The clash of the titans bout was one of, if not the best match of either star's career.

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#4. The Undertaker and Batista had a classic at WrestleMania 23 on April 1st, 2007

The next big event on this week's list is WWE WrestleMania 23. This edition of The Show Of Shows was held on April 1st, 2007. The show was held at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan with around 74,000 fans reportedly in attendance.

This was one of the best WrestleMania events in WWE history. John Cena and Shawn Michaels had a memorable bout, plus there was the classic Battle Of The Billionaires storyline. Still, the match that held up the best was an absolute banger between Batista and The Undertaker.

The two men battled over the World Heavyweight Championship. While Batista gave The Deadman quite the fight, The Undertaker ultimately defeated The Animal in about 15 minutes. Nothing else could quite top their hard-hitting bout.

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#3. Shinsuke Nakamura debuted at NXT TakeOver: Dallas on April 1st, 2016

The next Premium Live Event on this list came from the NXT brand. Triple H presented NXT TakeOver: Dallas on April 1st, 2016. This show took place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.

Around 9,000 fans were in attendance for what was still the early days of NXT going out on the road. At this point, WWE began having NXT do their Premium Live Events on the same weekend as major main roster shows. This one was particularly notable, however, for an epic match featuring two stars on different paths.

Shinsuke Nakamura made his WWE debut by defeating Sami Zayn in what was The Underdog From The Underground's swan song from the brand. The bout lasted for about 20 minutes and it was a classic that truly set Nakamura up for great things.

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#2. Lawrence Taylor made his wrestling debut at WrestleMania 11 on April 2nd, 1995

The next entry on this list took place all the way back in the 1990's. WWE held WrestleMania XI on April 2nd, 1995. This was a more toned-down Show Of Shows than what were previously done, with just 16,000 fans in attendance. For comparison's sake, tonight's RAW will have more fans than WrestleMania 11.

There were seven matches booked for the main card, including Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship. Bret Hart was also in action, as he battled Bob Backlund in an I Quit Match.

The main event was an unusual match as the NFL's Lawrence Taylor went one-on-one with Bam Bam Bigelow. This was an early example of a good celebrity match. It over-delivered with Taylor ultimately defeating the big, nasty heel in around 11 minutes.

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#1. Mick Foley came out of retirement for WWE WrestleMania 16 on April 2nd, 2000

The final entry on this list is a WrestleMania that doesn't age particularly well. WWE held WrestleMania 16, also known as WrestleMania 2000, on April 2nd of that year. The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, California was the venue and around 19,000 fans were in attendance.

The main event was a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match with McMahon in every corner for the WWE Championship. Vince McMahon was in The Rock's corner, Stephanie was in Triple H's corner, Shane was in The Big Show's corner, and lastly, Linda McMahon was in the returning Mick Foley's corner.

Foley had retired after No Way Out, yet he was instantly back less than two months later just to lose fairly early in the match. In the end, Triple H stood tall after about 38 minutes. This was the first heel win in the main event of any WrestleMania.