My Take: WWE Tribute to the Troops (December 14, 2017)

WWE Tribute to the Troops

15th Annual

San Diego, CA

Naval Base San Diego

On: USA Network

Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton & John "Bradshaw" Layfield

Match #1

Six-Man Tag Team Match

The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) & Samoa Joe vs The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose)

Winners: 

My Take: I love out-of-the-ordinary arena settings like this. It makes an entrance like Sheamus and Cesaro's really stand out in its simplicity. Roman gets the Spear on Cesaro for the pinfall. Fun little match.

Match #2

Non-Title

Triple Threat Match

Charlotte Flair (w/Naomi) vs Carmella (w/Tamina & Lana) vs Ruby Riott (w/Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan)

Winner by submission: Charlotte Flair (Figure Eight Leg Lock on Carmella)

My Take: Another simple, fun match here. Very house show-ey.

Match #3

Eight-Man Tag Team Match

Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable, Rusev & Aiden English vs The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) & The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E)(w/Xavier Woods)

Winners: The Usos & The New Day (Midnight Hour from New Day on Benjamin)

My Take: Another fun house show-esque match here.

Match #4

Six-Man Tag Team Match

Absolution (Paige, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville) vs Bayley, Sasha Banks & Mickie James

Winners: Absolution (Ram-Paige from Paige on Mickie)

My Take: I don't know what it is about the RAW women but I just check out whenever they're on. The match itself was fine.

Match #5

Six-Man Tag Team Match

AJ Styles, Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

Winners: AJ Styles, Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura 

My Take: The finish saw Nakamura hit the Kinshasa on Zayn for the win. Good main event match here. Tribute to the Troops is a lot like WrestleMania in that it's usually a feel-good show with a lot of babyface victories. Interesting note at the end of the show, there was a still shot of the roster all lined up with their hands over their hearts. Everyone except Nakamura. I wonder what that's about. There was also a brief video of the Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi cast shouting out the troops. As a hardcore Star Wars and WWE fan, it's always weird to see whenever these two worlds collide.