WWE's Tribute To The Troops Shines Again
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
WWE continued their yearly tradition of giving back to the men and women of our military on Sunday by presenting the 18th annual "Tribute to the Troops" show.
This year’s show emanated from the WWE ThunderDome, which gave WWE the ability to include servicemen and women from all over the country by featuring them on the LED screens in the crowd.
This included troops from Fort Hood in Texas, the Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina, the U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in Ridgecrest, California.
In a time where we're all forced to gather digitally, it was great to see WWE continue their traditon of celebrating those who fight for our freedoms – even if it had to be done virtually – as a reminder of all their sacrifices.
The immense appreciation from the troops for this gesture was just as evident digitally as it is in person each year, too.
The 2020 "Tribute to the Troops" show began with a 10-man tag match pitting Daniel Bryan, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio and Street Profits against Dolph Ziggler, King Corbin, Elias, Bobby Roode and Sami Zayn.
Things quickly fell apart though when each competitor got involved in the match at the same time.
Montez Ford, a former Marine, eventually picked up the win for his team after saluting his fellow troops from the top rope and launching himself off the turnbuckle for an epic frog splash.
This was a great way of kicking off the show.
There was lots of energy, everyone got their signature spots in and the good guys were victorious in the end. Simple and effective.
The ten-man tag match was followed by Jay Glazer hosting a push-up contest between Lacey Evans and a group of Marines at a base in San Diego.
Seeing the troops involved in the fun from an actual base was a nice touch, since COVID made it tough for WWE to do their usual visits to various bases with all of the troops this year.
Then there was a performance from country artist Hardy.
Next up, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair teamed up to face-off against Bayley and Natalya.
This one saw some awesome team maneuvering between Sasha and Bianca, including Belair lifting Banks with a Gorilla Press and tossing her onto their opponents.
Sasha ultimately won the match with the Bank Statement.
The team of Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair lived up expectations in the short time they were in the ring together and helped whet the appetite of fans looking to see more from the two wrestlers.
When they do eventually lock up in a singles match, it’s clear they have the potential to make some magic.
The Tribute to the Troops show also included messages to the servicemen and women from various celebrities/FOX personalities.
The patriotic messages did a fantastic job of emphasizing just how much the troops mean to so many people around the country.
In the main event, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre wrestled against current Money in the Bank holder The Miz.
McIntyre dominanted most of the match before hitting a Claymore Kick to earn the pinfall victory.
The show went off the air with Michael Cole thanking our military while Drew celebrated in the digital crowd with the troops.
All in all, this was an entertaining show that did its job in entertaining troops across the country as a way of giving back for their service.
This is an important task, and WWE does a fantastic job reminding people of that with every single "Tribute to the Troops" event.
The event this year was no different in the regard.