Tribute To The Troops is an annual event held by WWE to honor & entertain the members of the US Armed Forces. The company has been conducting this event since 2003 during the holiday season, which makes it extra special as most of the troops will not be able to spend the holidays with their families. The early years saw the WWE superstars traveling to the U.S. military bases in countries like Iraq & Afghanistan. In recent years, WWE is doing the shows in the U.S. promoting the event across the military bases within the country.
WWE has been doing a great job entertaining the real heroes with the show for the past 15 years with countless memorable moments. With that said, let's take a look at ten of those best moments from WWE Tribute To The Troops.
10 Kane Has An Arm Wrestling Contest
The Big Red Monster Kane has annihilated his opponents over 20 years in the WWE, but he faced his toughest challenge at the 2010 Tribute To The Troops. Maj. Gen. William Grimsley laid out an open challenge to the WWE superstars to compete against him in an arm-wrestling contest. Kane answered the challenge, and both men locked arms with referee Mike Chioda officiating the contest.
The contest never looked like ending as both men continued to put on a fight. The match ended in a no-contest after Edge came out to take out Kane with a spear and stood tall with Gen. Grimsley.
9 Mr. McMahon Gets An Attitude Adjustment
The armed forces have been laying the smackdown on bad guys for a long time, so they know exactly how it feels to take down a big villain. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was the antagonist that went down on the 2007 Tribute To The Troops show, and he was taken down by none other than Santa Claus.
McMahon confronted a superstar dressed as Santa and ordered him to reveal his identity. John Cena revealed himself as Santa and took down the chairman with an Attitude Adjustment with the troops erupting in cheers.
8 The Troops Make A Grand Entrance
The entire show takes place to honor the US armed forces, so it’s fitting, in giving them a moment in the spotlight. Rusev received his US citizenship last September after trying for 14 years, but he was showing no signs of his pursuit during his run as a foreign heel in 2014. Rusev & Lana were doing their usual heel stuff at the 2014 Tribute to the Troops, and Daniel Bryan came out to play babyface. However, Bryan didn’t come alone as he had some friends to drive the foreign heel away.
Rusev had some unpleasant visitors as some members of the US Armed Forces surrounded the ring after making a grand entrance from the roof of the arena.
7 Batista & John Cena Double Finishers
John Cena and Batista took their places as the two faces of the company from 2005, so any moment involving the two of them were big on all aspects. The troops had the opportunity to witness the two superstars in the same ring at the annual event in 2008.
Batista and Cena teamed up with Rey Mysterio to take on Randy Orton, Chris Jericho & The Big Show in a six-man tag team match. The ending saw Mysterio hitting a double 619 on Orton & Jericho, driving them towards a double finisher from Cena & Batista.
6 A Mini Shield Reunion
The year 2014 saw the end of the iconic stable The Shield when Seth Rollins betrayed his brothers Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose to join the authority. The stable re-united after three years in 2014, and after disbanding for one more time in 2018, they had their last match as a team in March 2019 owing to Dean Ambrose leaving WWE for AEW.
But WWE gave us a short preview of a Shield Reunion at the 2016 Tribute to the Troops. The trio confronted the New Day & The O.C., who were claiming themselves as the greatest team of all time. It was a short moment, but the troops had the privilege of witnessing a Shield reunion before it happened a year later.
5 Hulk Hogan Proudly Waves The Flag
Throughout the years, multiple WWE superstars have asserted themselves as a proud American, but they don't get as big as the Immortal Hulk Hogan. His iconic theme song alone is enough to rouse the patriotism from even the most modest Americans.
Hulk Hogan came out to a guard of honor from the US Armed Forces at the event, waving the US flag. The Miz, Damien Sandow & The Big Show walked out to play the heels. John Cena, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler & Eric Rowan came out to make the save and stood tall with Hogan to end the segment.
4 The Shield Entrance In A Tank
The Shield was on the top of their game in 2013 dominating the landscape of the WWE. The fans were behind them despite them being heels at the time, and the reaction to their grand entrance at Tribute to the Troops 2013 lived up to the statement.
Reigns, Ambrose & Rollins were set to take on the Usos and Rey Mysterio in a six-man tag team match at the event, and they made sure they arrived in style. The trio made an entrance in a tank flaunted by military personnel at both ends. Though they ended up losing the match, their entrance lit up the crowd filling the entire arena with cheers.
3 The Entire Roster Salutes The Troops
Big Show took on Damien Sandow in the closing match of the 2013 Tribute to the Troops. After the world's largest athlete picked up the win, John Cena, CM Punk, and Daniel Bryan came out to the ring, followed by the entire roster.
The WWE roster paid their respect to the US Armed Forces, walking out to Daniel Bryan's theme song. The entire arena erupted in Yes chants along with the superstars. John Cena, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan took turns walking into the crowd, and one young member of the armed forces had a lucky day, finding himself surrounded with the women superstars showering his face with kisses.
2 Vince McMahon Opens Up The First Event
The first-ever Tribute to the Troops event took place 16 years ago in 2003, with the WWE roster traveling to Baghdad, Iraq, to host the show. It was a new experience for the troops as they had a chance to get entertained by some of the elite stars in the planet.
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon walked out on the very first event to address the troops. He expressed the entire idea behind the company hosting the event was a way of thanking them for their service to the country. What started in 2003, became an annual tradition for the WWE and they continued to thank the forces with the event every single year.
1 Stone Cold Stuns John Cena
John Cena took on the Big Show in the main event of the first Tribute to the Troops event in 2003. The contest ended with John Cena picking up the win after landing a huge Attitude Adjustment on the Big Show.
After the match, the troops had the chance to witness a colossal past vs. present confrontation when Stone Cold Steve Austin came out to confront John Cena. Cena taunted Austin with his classic You Can't See Me gesture, and the Texas Rattlesnake responded by flipping Cena off and hit him with a Stunner.