This week in WWE history: Vince McMahon reveals massive RAW return, major title change (December 25-December 31)

While most weeks are busy for WWE, the past seven days have been slower, at least in terms of broadcasted content. Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown were both "best of" specials, as was NXT Level Up. NXT was a standard show, but it was pre-taped.

Still, the company made many headlines. CM Punk returned to action at two live events. Additionally, it was revealed that Kevin Dunn, a lead producer in World Wrestling Entertainment for decades, was planning to leave the Sports Entertainment juggernaut.

For fans who are more interested in re-living the past, you're in luck. Sportskeeda offers weekly articles that look back on some of the best, worst, and most notable moments in the company's storied history.

This week, four major title changes will be highlighted. This includes co-champions that were later removed from the record books, an unlikely tag team, and more. Beyond that, a major return was revealed that shocked the world. What all went down?

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

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#5. Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan won tag team gold the on December 25th, 2017 edition of Monday Night RAW

WWE aired a rare Christmas Day edition of Monday Night RAW on December 25th, 2017. This show was held in Chicago, Illinois, a city home to numerous major wrestling events over the years.

This show was notable for featuring the return of John Cena, but that was not the only story of the night. An impromptu RAW Tag Team Championship match was made with Cesaro and Sheamus, collectively known as The Bar, putting their gold on the line.

The Bar defended their titles against the unlikely WWE pairing of Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan. After a massive belly-to-back neckbreaker out of nowhere, the talented Jordan got the pin, and we had new champions. Unfortunately, Jason would soon suffer an injury that led to his retirement from in-ring competition.

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#4. Big E won the Intercontinental Title on SmackDown on December 25th, 2020

Big E is a former Intercontinental Champion.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the December 25th, 2020, edition of SmackDown was held without fans at The ThunderDome in Tropicana Field.

While this Christmas Day edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown featured numerous top stars, the most notable bout was the main event. The then Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn defended his coveted prize against Big E.

The bout wasn't a standard match type, either. Sami and E battled in a Lumberjack Match. After a hard-fought contest, Big E ended up defeating The Underdog From the Underground to win the prized title and kickstart his singles career in a big way.

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#3. Chyna and Chris Jericho became co-champions on December 28th, 1999

Tuesday, December 28th, 1999, is a controversial day of the year in WWE lore. SmackDown was filmed in Richmond, Virginia, although it aired two days later on Thursday, December 30th.

The reason this date is controversial is because of the outcome of a match and how history recognizes it. Chris Jericho and Chyna went one-on-one for the Intercontinental Championship. In the end, both superstars pinned each other, resulting in a draw.

The company subsequently made the two dual champions leading into the Royal Rumble, where they competed in a Triple Threat Match with Hardcore Holly with the belt on the line.

After that match, the company no longer considered Chyna an Intercontinental Champion, and the entire dual champion era is wiped from the title's lineage. Instead, the Intercontinental Title has been retroactively deemed vacant from this episode until the Rumble. It isn't clear why the company made this decision.

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#2. Vince McMahon revealed Bret Hart would return to WWE RAW on December 28th, 2009

Vince McMahon is the former owner of WWE.

WWE hosted an episode of Monday Night RAW on December 28th, 2009. This particular episode was held in Hartford, Connecticut, not particularly far from World Wrestling Entertainment's home base in Stamford, Connecticut.

This show was extremely memorable due to what transpired the following week. On this edition of RAW, Vince McMahon, thanks to some goading from Shawn Michaels, agreed to let the legendary Bret "The Hitman" Hart return to WWE. This announcement set up his first time appearing in over a decade.

Bret Hart coming back to WWE was unbelievable, considering how the two parties parted ways back in the day. Vince, Shawn, and Bret were all part of the infamous Montreal Screwjob incident in 1997. Aside from a Hall of Fame induction, The Hitman hadn't appeared in person at a live event since until that point.

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#1. Mankind won the WWE Championship on RAW on December 29th, 1998

The final entry on this week's list was a television show that became one of the most notable in WWE history. The Sports Entertainment juggernaut held an episode of RAW on December 28th, 1998. The taped show was held at The Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York, and didn't actually air until a week later.

The main event of the night saw The Rock defend the coveted WWE Championship against Mankind. This wasn't long after Survivor Series: Deadly Games, where The Rock and Vince McMahon screwed Mankind out of winning the title.

This time, however, Foley had D-Generation X and a surprise appearance from Stone Cold Steve Austin to keep The Corporation at bay. This allowed Mankind to pin The Corporate Champion in what turned out to be a major ratings victory for WWE. Fans still fondly remember this major title victory.