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Tribute To The Troops has become an annual WWE tradition. This year, it was held at Fort Hood in Texas, and it was showcased as a 2-hour special. It wasn't a very important show in the larger scheme of things, but it was a fun show for sure. There was a lot of good and certainly a lot of 'not so good'.
The problem with Tribute To The Troops is that it's little more than a Live Event. No angles of importance really take place at such an event. And if nothing important is happening in the ring, will you care to find out the outcome of the said match, really?
That said, it was fun to see JBL return to the commentary desk once again. I was never the biggest fan of his announcing skills, but he's a welcome change, once in a while.
Here is what I thought of the rest of the event, or at least the portions of it that we got to see on the telecast.
#1 Best: A fast-paced clash
Finn Balor teamed up with Elias to take on Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley in a tag team match. This match was a lot better than I expected it to be, with Balor kicking things into high gear at a lot of times. All four men held their own. The crowd was invested in the match and that probably made it feel a lot more special.
All of these shows have the good guys standing tall at the end of the night, which is what happened here too. But for the duration it lasted, this was quite a fan match, in my opinion.
#1 Worst: The non-wrestling segments
I've always been critical of the musical performances at Tribute To The Troops, especially in the broadcast that fans outside the station get to see.
Ten minutes of country music could have easily been replaced by a great tag team match, from the actual tag teams in WWE. The audience seemed a lot more into Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch, than they were into Morgan Wallen.
I found the stand-up comedy bit from Jon Stewart even worse, if that's possible. And this is not a criticism of either performer, both of whom are absolute masters of their craft.
I just thought that the comedy segment and the musical performances did not really belong on a sports entertainment show. Especially when The New Day did not get to wrestle, but only cut a promo before the crowd.
#2 Best: The atmosphere
Like I said on the previous page, the audience that came out in droves to watch the show seemed to know their WWE inside out. They did not hesitate in pulling out their phones, whenever a WWE superstar stepped out from behind the curtain. They were a hotter crowd than a lot of RAW and SmackDown Live shows are.
Ronda Rousey, in particular, was extremely over with them. When Ronda Rousey got the hot tag, the whole place just exploded. Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, AJ Styles and even Natalya received thunderous reactions from the live audience.
Often, WWE suffers from not having the crowd react positively to the good guys and negatively to the heels. This problem was not felt at all, at Fort Hood in Texas. I am glad that the armed forces, who sacrifice so much everyday, were entertained to the fullest by the WWE Superstars.
#2 Worst: Babyfaces winning every match
The whole point of Tribute To The Troops is that it's a feel good show. As a result, the bad guys lost to the good guys in every single match. While it was probably a treat for the live audience, it was a very drab and predictable affair for those watching at home.
Most of the drama in wrestling comes from the fact that the bad guy cheats to win. If the good guy stands tall in every match, sometimes the eventual product is not very interesting. Even in superhero movies, the said superhero suffers at the hands of his/her nemesis until the very end.
Anyone who has attended a WWE Live Event knows that it's just as much fun to boo the heels as it is to cheer for the babyfaces. Because everyone in the crowd seemed to be a fan, they'd be okay with seeing heels score a victory.
#3 Best: A dream team
Fans have wanted to see Rollins and Styles team up for the longest time now. They have also wanted to see them compete, but I'm glad such a match didn't take place on Tribute To The Troops. Both men here are incredibly popular with the entire WWE Universe. They are also two of the best in-ring performers in the entire company.
They took on Daniel Bryan and Dean Ambrose, in another dream team. How cool is it that we got to see an inter-brand match take place on this special show? I was absolutely thrilled at how the contest played out between the four men.
Yes, the dream match was just as good as one would expect the four men to put on. As mentioned previously, the babyfaces won.
This was an acceptable outcome because the match was really very good.
#3 Worst: Matches with no stakes
What makes NXT so intriguing? The fact of the matter is that you cannot afford to miss even one episode. Building blocks for storylines that culminate at TakeOver are laid out at almost every turn. RAW and SmackDown Live are also built on the same principle, at least.
Tribute To The Troops is not. This was a completely pointless show, purely from a storyline perspective. And this is a shame because the men and women that wrestled on the show, do put their lives on the line every time they compete.
Like I said on the previous page, the soldiers in the audience seemed familiar with the WWE product and the ongoing storylines. Having some kind of a storyline would have actually made the show a lot more interesting.
WWE just decided to treat it like a Live Event.
#4 Best/worst: New Day
The New Day are a great team inside the ring. But their gimmick has just become way too stale to be taken seriously anymore. While the crowd seemed into them, I wonder if the three men would not be better served branching off after what has been an incredibly successful run. It has certainly been quite a ride for all three men involved.
But then again, the Live Crowd seemed to enjoy them. So maybe my opinion is null and void, in this particular case. Maybe The New Day has not been separated because there are still people who dig the act the three men put on.
I personally do not, and I think some the jokes have gotten old. These three men could be doing far better than talking about cereal and pancakes.
Does 'The Man' agree?
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