This week in WWE history (Dec 20-26) - Seth Rollins wins WWE accolade, Brodie Lee passes away 

This week's WWE news has been dominated by the fact that Roman Reigns turned on Paul Heyman and now his future is unknown. There are several routes the company could take with Reigns and Heyman since Brock Lesnar is set to challenge for the Universal Championship at WWE Day 1.

Whilst this is the news that is making the headlines at present, there have been several very different headlines in the wrestling world from this week in history.

The following list looks at just five news stories that were being discussed by the WWE Universe this week in history.

---

#5. Seth Rollins wins Superstar of the year at the Slammy Awards - WWE RAW, December 21st, 2015

Seth Rollins has had a fantastic 2021 since the year allowed him to revolutionize his character and create something that is similar to DC's Joker persona.

Just six short years ago, Rollins was considered to be one of the best wrestlers in the world. The former champion was holding the world championship throughout 2015 until his knee gave way and forced him to be sidelined for more than six months.

The former Shield member vacated the title in November before he underwent surgery to fix his knee. He made his return to RAW for one night only to collect his Slammy award. Unsurprisingly considering the fact that he cashed in the Money in the Bank contract as part of WrestleMania's main event, Rollins won Superstar of the year.

The former WWE Champion arrived on crutches and delivered an iconic speech before leaving the company and making his return at Extreme Rules in 2016. Other winners included Nikki Bella for Diva of the Year, Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar for Rivalry of the Year as well as The Usos for Tag Team of the Year.

Neville picked up the Slammy award for Breakout Star of the Year, whilst Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker at Hell in a Cell was voted as the Match of the Year.

#4. Maryse wins the Divas Championship for the first time - WWE SmackDown December 22nd, 2008

Maryse is still part of WWE programming to this day. The former Divas Champion recently attacked Edge on RAW and this is expected to lead to the return of Beth Phoenix following her recent departure from NXT's commentary booth.

Maryse originally left WWE back in 2011, before returning in 2016 alongside her partner The Miz and the couple were then able to launch Miz and Mrs.

During her first stint in WWE, Maryse was able to lift the Divas Championship on several occasions, the first time came back in 2008 when she defeated Michelle McCool at a taping of SmackDown in Canada.

The show technically aired a few days later on Boxing Day, but Maryse's victory took place on December 22nd. Maryse set the record with this reign when she was able to hold the title for 216 days, and it remained intact for several years until it was broken by AJ Lee in 2014. Nikki Bella later broke this record and remains the longest reigning Divas Champion.

#3. WWE launches Tribute To The Troops - December 25th, 2003

In what has become an annual event over the past two decades, WWE launched their first-ever Tribute To The Troops show back in December 2003.

The first event took place on Christmas Day and was presented from Iraq for the first few years before moving stateside in 2010. The show has since remained in The United States but still takes place around Christmas every year.

The show was originally a SmackDown special in 2003 and 2004 before moving over and including the Raw brand in 2005. Since 2007, the show has combined both brands and is pre-recorded ahead of the festive season, before airing on tape delay at some point in December.

One fact that is relatively unknown about the Tribute To The Troops show is that it was the brainchild of WWE Hall of Famer JBL. The star has even been able to wrestle as part of several Tribute to the Troops shows, whilst being associated with the original idea for the event.

#2. Velveteen Dream wrestles his final WWE match - NXT December 23rd, 2020

Velveteen Dream was once seen as one of the best up-and-coming stars in WWE before he was wrapped up in scandal in his personal life.

The former NXT North American Champion first made his name as Patrick Clarke when he was part of Tough Enough in 2015, before being signed by the company.

Dream later went on to have some incredible matches in NXT, before being called out as part of the #SpeakingOut movement in 2020. This prevented the company from promoting the star to the main roster or pushing him on NXT for several months.

Dream did make his return to NXT on an episode of the show on December 23rd 2020 where he was easily defeated by Adam Cole.

Though it wasn't known at the time, this went on to be Dream's final match for WWE, since the star was one of several superstars who was released from the company in May 2021.

Adam Cole has also since left WWE and is now wrestling for AEW.

#1. Former WWE Superstar Brodie Lee passes away - December 26th, 2020

Luke Harper was known for his time in The Wyatt Family whilst under contract with WWE, but the former Intercontinental Champion left WWE in the fall of 2019.

Following his release from WWE, Harper made the move over to AEW, where he was unveiled as The Exalted One behind The Dark Order. As Mr. Brodie Lee, Harper brought in a new era for The Dark Order and was able to push the group to the top of AEW's roster.

Lee was also able to become TNT Champion during his short stint in All Elite Wrestling before his passing came as a surprise to the entire wrestling community.

His illness was kept a secret from many superstars as well as the public before it was revealed that he had passed away on December 26th, 2020. Tributes poured out from wrestlers around the world as it was made clear that Lee was a man who would be sorely missed.

Lee's wife and children have since become regular additions to AEW TV and his son has been renamed -1 as a member of The Dark Order.