Christmas is here and one WWE broadcast which was synonymous with spreading the Christmas cheer did not make it on the air this time around, and that’s the annual Tribute to the Troops.
Since 2003, WWE has held a Tribute to the Troops show every single year although the 2019 edition did not air on television. Since its inception, there were 20 television broadcasts with WWE Superstars sharing the screen with various armed forces of the United States.
It’s a concept that was floated by former WWE champion John “Bradshaw” Layfield to then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, and McMahon ran with it, holding the first seven Tribute to the Troops events in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, before moving the event Stateside in 2010. Since 2010, WWE held it at major arenas and military bases depending on the location, with hundreds of U.S. service members surrounding the ring in uniform.
But the 2024 holidays came and unlike previous years, there were no mention at all of Tribute to the Troops and it looks like the event, although popular with the military, will not continue moving forward.
The event got WWE several awards along the years, with the USO Legacy of Hope awarded in 2004, the Three-Commander Coin Award from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award which was awarded to Vince McMahon who then gave it to JBL for the idea of the show, and the Corporate Patriot Award at the GI Film Festival.
Both President George W. Bush and Barrack Obama also recorded custom messages which aired in the 2008, 2011, and 2012 episodes of the show.
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