This week in WWE history: Shock Money in the Bank winner, strangest Premium Live Event name ever (July 8-July 14)

WWE has had another big week. The wrestling promotion came off the heels of a huge Money in the Bank and Heatwave weekend last Saturday and Sunday and has followed it up with major returns, debuts, and signings.

RAW on Monday saw the return of Rhea Ripley. Tuesday saw both a debut and the continuation of returns with MSK reuniting and The Rascalz debuting on NXT. If that isn't enough, international megastar Stephanie Vasquer signed with the Sports Entertainment juggernaut.

Big stars and talented performers are the lifeblood of World Wrestling Entertainment and have helped the company grow and thrive for seven decades. As fun as it is to look at the current product, seeing the stars who helped make the company what it is today can be just as fun.

Sportskeeda offers a weekly look back at some of the biggest matches and moments from the company's illustrious history. This article will dive into four specific events with several major matches and numerous big names.

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

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#4. Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe clashed at Great Balls of Fire on July 9th, 2017

The first entry on this week's list is one of the more bizarre names for a big wrestling show. WWE held the Great Balls of Fire event on July 9th, 2017, live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Great Balls of Fire had around 16,000 fans in attendance for a show featuring eight matches on the main card. The main event of the night was a fantastic, but short bout between Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar. Brock retained his WWE Universal Championship in under seven minutes, but they worked hard for the entire duration of the bout.

While the match between Brock and Samoa Joe was a good one, it was the bizarre name for a Premium Live Event that fans remember best from this show. With so many old show names returning as specials and events, perhaps one day we'll see NXT Great Balls Of Fire as a USA Network special.

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#3. WWE held the Vengeance Premium Live Event on July 11th, 2004

The next event being covered in this week's list is WWE Vengeance. The show was held live from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 11th, 2004. This was a RAW-branded pay-per-view that featured around 7,000 fans in attendance.

The card included seven matches for the main show and numerous talented performers who were stars or would go on to be. This includes Batista, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, Victoria, Matt Hardy, and Kane, among others.

The main event of the night was the most notable bout, as Triple H challenged Chris Benoit for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. After 29 minutes, Chris got a quick pin on Triple H, but it was in part thanks to interference from Eugene. This eventually led to the often-forgotten SummerSlam bout pitting The Game against the unlikely opponent in Eugene.

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#2. Damien Sandow shockingly won at Money in the Bank on July 14th, 2013

WWE held the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on July 14th, 2013. This show was held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a reported 15,000 fans or so in attendance.

As expected, this show had Money in the Bank Ladder Matches, but one had a particularly interesting winner. Damien Sandow won the opening bout by overcoming Cesaro, Cody Rhodes, Dean Ambrose, Fandango, Jack Swagger, and Wade Barrett. Randy Orton won the other briefcase in the main event.

Damien Sandow winning the Money in the Bank briefcase came as a surprise then, but it is even more shocking in retrospect given that most of his career in the company came as a comedy figure. He ultimately failed the cash in attempt later on, but Sandow remains part of history thanks to his win.

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#1. Brock Lesnar cashed in at Extreme Rules on July 14th, 2019

The final entry on this list is Extreme Rules. WWE held the Premium Live Event live from the Wells Fargo Center once again, but this time in front of under 13,000 fans. This was during an era when business was steadily dropping for the Sports Entertainment titan.

While Extreme Rules had several big matches, the main event was notable. WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins teamed up with RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch. The real-life couple successfully defended their titles in an Extreme Rules Winner Takes All Match against Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans.

While the two were likely thrilled to have won the match, things took a sudden turn post-match. Brock Lesnar showed up with his boombox Money in the Bank briefcase and cashed in, defeating Seth Rollins and winning the Universal Title in a matter of seconds.