Tribute to the Troops is one of WWE's annual traditions that the company has been hosting since 2003. While the promotion usually offers free tickets to all US Military personnel to its live events all over the globe, the Tribute to the Troops is the only event where the entire arena is filled with brave soldiers.
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WWE holds the event in December of every year in time for the holiday season so the soldiers who work tirelessly for the country can have a day of entertainment. With that said, let's take a look at nine things you might not know about the WWE Tribute to the Troops events.
9 JBL Came Up With The Idea
WWE Hall of Famer and former WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield can take credit for coming up with the idea for the Tribute to the Troops event. JBL revealed how he pitched the idea to Vince McMahon during an interview on WWE's The Bump in November 2020. The former WWE Champion said that he couldn't remember if he emailed or called Vince McMahon about the idea, but the former Chairman immediately liked the idea and told him he'd come up with something to formulate the show.
JBL has competed in two editions of the show in 2003 and 2008, and following his retirement, he worked as a commentator on the show on seven instances between 2012 and 2020.
8 The 2005, 2006 & 2007 Events Aired As Episodes Of Raw
While WWE holds Tribute to the Troops as an exclusive event most of the years, they aired the 2005, 2006, and 2007 events as part of episodes of Monday Night Raw. The 2005 edition of the show emanated from the Air Base in Bagram, Afghanistan. It had seven matches on the card, with Shawn Michaels defeating Triple H in a Boot Camp match in the main event.
The 2006 event aired on Christmas night and took place at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq. It saw John Cena and Edge compete in the opening contest and had other superstars like CM Punk, Randy Orton, and The Undertaker in the mix. Chris Jericho and Randy Orton opened the 2007 event, which came from Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq, and DX defeated Umaga and Mr. Kennedy in the main event.
7 The 2008 Event Had Only Two Televised Matches
The 2008 Tribute to the Troops event emanated from Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, and aired on December 20. It is the only event in the show's chronology that had the lowest number of matches aired on television. The card only had two matches on the televised show, which saw two six-man tag team contests. The first match saw the team of CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, and R-Truth defeat JBL, John Morrison, and The Miz.
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The second match was between the team of Big Show, Chris Jericho, and Randy Orton, taking on Batista, John Cena, and Rey Mysterio, with the latter team picking up the victory.
6 2010 Event Was The First Not To Take Place In Iraq or Afghanistan
Since its inception in 2003, the WWE Superstars used to travel to US Military bases in Iraq or Afghanistan to host the annual Tribute to the Troops events. However, the 2010 event was the first installment in the show's history to take place in the USA. The change came due to scheduling conflicts as WWE had packed dates across the country during the time when the superstars traveled to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Instead, the company planned to host the event at a stateside military base, and they formulated the plan by taping the show in Fort Hood, Texas.
5 WWE Started Giving Custom Belts To The Military Personnel In 2015
WWE usually presents lots of souvenirs to the military personnel who attend the show every year, but in 2015, the company gave custom championship belts to the servicemen and women who helped in hosting the event.
The custom championship belts include side plates that commemorate the show's year. Since 2015, it has become an annual tradition as the company continued to present custom-made title belts to certain members of the US Military personnel.
4 John Cena Has The Most Consecutive Appearances
The former 16-time WWE Champion John Cena was the face of the company throughout the ruthless aggression and PG eras. He's always established himself as a patriotic character and was the right person to represent WWE in the Tribute to the Troops events.
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He understood the responsibility and made consecutive appearances at the event between 2005 and 2014. He competed in the first-ever Tribute to the Troops event in 2003 but missed the 2004 event, but managed to appear the following ten years.
3 The 2019 Edition Wasn't Televised
WWE taped the 2019 Tribute to the Troops event at the Marine Corps Air Station New River and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, on December 6.
However, unlike the previous occasions, WWE didn't air the 2019 Tribute to the Troops event on television. The company didn't reveal the reason for not airing the show on tv, and reports from Dave Meltzer and other sources also stated that they didn't get the reason behind WWE's decision as well.
2 Earned WWE Various Awards Over The Years
WWE gained tons of appreciation for their patriotic effort to host the Tribute to the Troops event every single year since 2003. Apart from the appreciation, WWE has also received many accolades for the show over the years.
Some of the notable awards received by WWE include the first-ever Legacy of Hope award from the United Service Organizations of Metropolitan Washington, the Three-Commander Coin Award from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, and the Corporate Patriot Award at the annual GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C in 2007.
In 2006, the Director of Air Force Morale, Welfare and Recreation Art Myers, presented Vince McMahon with the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award. However, McMahon immediately handed the award to John Bradshaw Layfield, who came up with the idea for the event.
1 WWE Aired Messages From Two US Presidents On The Event
WWE has aired messages from two US Presidents over the years on the annual Tribute to the Troops shows so far. The first President was George.W.Bush, who sent a message to WWE thanking the company for giving US troops the gift of entertainment every Christmas in 2008 and, once again, in 2010.
WWE also aired a message from the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, on the 2011 and 2012 editions of the event. The former President directed the message to the US Armed Forces, honoring their dedication and sacrifice, and also wished them for the holiday season.
