This week in WWE history : (Dec 27-Jan 2) Mankind becomes WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar Retires 

This week's WWE news has been dominated by the buildup to the company's first-ever Day 1 event.

The show could have run a lot smoother since several huge changes were made at the last minute that saw Brock Lesnar moved into the WWE Championship match as his bout with Roman Reigns was canceled.

It's the start of a new year and RAW will have a new Champion at the helm moving forward, which will have major implications on the company's upcoming WrestleMania event.

The week between Christmas and New Year has been a slow news week in the wrestling world over the years, but there were still several interesting events taking place.

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#5 Several current and former WWE Superstars celebrate their birthday on December 27th

December 27th has been the date of several RAW and SmackDown shows over the years, but it is also the birthday of current WWE Superstars Cesaro and Goldberg as well as WWE Hall of Famer Chyna.

Former US Champion Cesaro turned 41 earlier this week, whilst WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg is incredibly still considered to be a member of the active roster at the age of 55.

His last match came back at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia when he defeated Bobby Lashley. Goldberg has noted in several recent interviews that he is still contracted to WWE and has one match left on his current deal.

It's unclear if the match will take place at this year's WrestleMania or if Goldberg will be called back for his final match later in the year as part of SummerSlam.

December 27th would have also been the 51st birthday of former WWE Superstar Chyna. The former Women's Champion sadly passed away back in April 2016 but left quite the legacy behind for the women of WWE's current era to step into.

Following her untimely passing, Chyna has been inducted into WWE's Hall of Fame as a member of D-Generation X alongside Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, Billy Gunn, and Road Dogg.

#4 Mankind defeats The Rock to become WWE Champion - RAW Is War December 29th, 1998

More than two decades ago on a pre-taped episode of WWE's Monday Night RAW, which was then called RAW is War, Mick Foley was able to win his first WWE Championship under his Mankind persona.

Foley has noted several times that this is a title that he didn't want to win, but it was one that changed the history of WWE. The show was pre-taped in the middle of the Monday Night Wars between WCW and WWE.

The outcome of the match between The Rock and Mick Foley/Mankind was ruined by Tony Schiavone midway through the WCW Nitro show when he told the crowd that Mankind had won the title.

This move backfired as more than half a million fans then changed the channel in order to watch Mankind lift the Championship and dramatically change the face of the company.

Foley went on to lose the title back to The Rock just a few weeks later in an I Quit match at The Royal Rumble.

#3 Brock Lesnar retires from MMA ahead of WWE return - December 31st, 2011

Brock Lesnar is the current WWE Champion after defeating four other men at Day 1 last night in Atlanta.

The Beast Incarnate was looking at a very different future 11 years ago when he announced that he was retiring from MMA after a loss to Alistar Overeem via TKO at UFC 141.

The former World Champion noted that he had promised his wife Sable that he would retire from the business if he lost his bout and he followed through on this.

After an eight-year absence, Lesnar made his long-overdue and quite surprising return to the company just four months later.

Lesnar returned to the company in April 2012 and set his sights on John Cena, who had become one of the most dominant forces in the history of the company.

Lesnar has made one return to MMA since his retirement from the sport, which came back in July 2016 when he was able to defeat Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

#2 Kevin Federline defeats John Cena on New Year's Day RAW - WWE RAW January 1st, 2007

Kevin Federline became part of a feud with John Cena in mid-2006 when he interfered in the superstar's match at WWE Cyber Sunday.

This later led to Federline challenging Cena to a match on RAW on New Year's Day. The Cenation Leader obviously accepted the challenge but was defeated by the star in a no-DQ match.

Interference from Johnny Nitro and Cena's rival at the time, Umaga, were the only reasons why K-Fed was able to pick up the victory, which is now still remembered more than 15 years later.

After his loss earlier on in the show, Cena was booked in a 4-on-1 Handicap match against Jonathan Coachman, Umaga, Johnny Nitro and Armando Estrada with Federline at ringside.

After the match ended in a disqualification, Cena would get his revenge on Federline. The Cenation Leader delivered an Attitude Adjustment to Britney Spears' ex-husband to ensure that his night ended on a sour note for the celebrity on WWE TV.

#1 Al Wilson marries Dawn Marie - WWE SmackDown January 2nd, 2003

The Miz and his wife Maryse renewed their wedding vows this past week on WWE RAW, as part of a segment that ended in a Brood Bath.

It appears they are not the only happy couple this week in WWE history since Dawn Marie and Al Wilson tied the knot back on 2nd January 2003.

Wilson and Marie walked down the aisle in one of the strangest segments in the history of the company. More shockingly, the segment that main evented the episode of SmackDown as well.

Despite Wilson being fellow WWE Superstar Torrie Wilson's real-life father, she wasn't involved in the segment and the wedding was short-lived. Wilson suffered a heart attack on their wedding night.

Wilson and Marie were part of a lengthy storyline on WWE TV before the latter was released from the company in 2004.

Torrie Wilson recently revealed that her father, who passed away in 2019, liked working in the storyline.

Marie is now a mother and works as a nurse in her home state of New Jersey.