This week in WWE history (March 7-13) - Daniel Bryan hijacks RAW; the COVID-19 pandemic hits SmackDown

WrestleMania 38 is right around the corner and it appears that injuries are coming in thick and fast for WWE. Bobby Lashley was taken out of the equation last month with a shoulder injury, whilst Becky Lynch recently missed RAW after the star herself revealed that she was hospitalized.

Big E is the most recent star to be added to the injury list after he suffered a broken neck in a botched belly-to-belly suplex on SmackDown. The former WWE Champion will now miss WrestleMania, but as ever, the show must go on and it is shaping up to be quite a stupendous event.

This week throughout history has seen some interesting pieces of news and here are some of the standout stories:

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#5. Kurt Angle makes his WWF/E debut - Sunday Night Heat March 7th, 1999

Kurt Angle was already known to the WWE Universe ahead of his debut in the company after competing and winning gold at the 1996 Olympic games. Angle was later able to transition from an Olympic wrestler to a WWE Superstar and made his debut on an episode of Sunday Night Heat in March 1999.

He was ringside when Tiger Ali Singh cut a promo and offered to pay him $500 to blow his nose on the American flag, for some cheap heat. Angle appeared to take the offer before blowing his nose on the Indian flag instead.

Angle was then attacked by Singh but was able to fight him off and deliver two suplexes before standing tall in the ring. Angle went on to make his official debut for the company at Survivor Series eight months later.

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#4. Sami Zayn wins the Intercontinental Championship for the first time - Elimination Chamber - March 8th, 2020

Sami Zayn is already set to face off against Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania 38 in a few weeks' time, but the star has recently been looking to reclaim his Intercontinental Championship from Ricochet.

Zayn lifted the title for the first time two years ago at Elimination Chamber when he was able to overcome the threat of Braun Strowman in a handicap match. The match also included Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura and the trio were able to defeat The Monster Among Men on the night.

Zayn was then absent for several months heading into WrestleMania 36 given the global pandemic and would have the title taken away from him, which then led to the star feuding with Jeff Hardy, who won the title in his absence.

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#3. Daniel Bryan hijacks RAW - March 10th, 2014

Daniel Bryan is currently working for AEW, but eight years ago he was seen as a B+ Player by The Authority on RAW. It forced him to take matters into his own hands. He was looking for a match at WrestleMania 30 and occupied RAW until he was given what he wanted.

Bryan and several members of the WWE Universe invaded the ring in his shirts and refused to leave until he was given that WrestleMania match.

In the end, Triple H gave him the match and it was one that Bryan won. He was then added to the World Championship main event, where he defeated Batista and Randy Orton.

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#2. Mark Henry makes his first WWE RAW appearance - March 11th, 1996

Following his appearance at the Pan America Games, Mark Henry was signed by WWE and went on to become one of the company's most recognizable stars.

Ahead of his appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Henry made an appearance on an episode of Monday Night RAW where he attacked Jerry Lawler following an in-ring interview.

Lawler ridiculed Henry, which led to the Hall of Famer then being power-slammed by Henry, who at the time was just 24 years old. This led to a feud between the two men, which kicked off a few months later at SummerSlam.

Henry later went on to become The World's Strongest Man and is now a former world champion, WWE Hall of Famer, and is currently in AEW.

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#1. WWE Presents the first-ever episode of SmackDown without an audience - March 13th, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic forced several restrictions to be put into place around the world back in 2020 and WWE was hit hard by the news. Whilst the company still pushed for WrestleMania to take place at the Raymond James Stadium, it was clear that all shows would be presented from the Performance Center from the moment the new restrictions were announced.

March 13th, 2020 was the debut of a new reality for WWE. A reality that lasted for more than a year and saw the company forced to perform without an audience before The ThunderDome was introduced.

The first episode of SmackDown was made up of replays, recaps as well as a few short matches. It even included Triple H attempting to work as a cameraman.

WWE failed to miss a show throughout the pandemic and were able to invent new ways for fans to continue to be entertained.