Tribute to the Troops WWE Tribute to the Troops is an annual event held by WWE together with Armed Forces Entertainment in December around Christmas since 2003 as a way of honoring the men and women of the United States armed forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan . Selected WWE wrestlers and employees travel to the said countries and interact with the members of the US Military for at least three days . The WWE Superstars regularly visit military camps , bases and hospitals , including Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital , during their travels to bolster the morale of the troops . WWE then holds a special wrestling show in an open field , with the troop members in attendance for free . The show features matches involving selected Superstars and Divas from both " Raw " and " SmackDown " . The company then airs the matches , as well as videos highlighting their interaction with the members of the military , in a special televised program of the same title . History . JBL interacting with soldiers , the idea of honoring and entertaining the American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is credited to wrestler John " Bradshaw " Layfield , who suggested it to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon . WWE first held the event in December 2003 . Select WWE Superstars ( including Layfield and McMahon ) held a wrestling show at Camp Victory , Baghdad , Iraq and was aired on Christmas Day as a special episode of WWE Smackdown . The main event of the show saw John Cena defeating The Big Show , with Stone Cold Steve Austin coming out after the match , hitting a Stunner on both men , and finally inviting all the talents and Vince McMahon to the ring to celebrate . In December 2004 , WWE traveled to Camp Speicher in Tikrit , Iraq . The wrestling show , dubbed " Christmas in Iraq " , aired on December 23 as another special " SmackDown " episode . Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio defeated Kurt Angle and Luther Reigns in the main event . Chris Jericho hits an Enzuigiri on Randy Orton during the 2007 Tribute to the Troops ] ] In 2005 , Superstars held the event in Bagram , Afghanistan . The wrestling show taped there on December 9 , 2005 was dubbed " Tribute to the Troops " and was aired on December 19 on " WWE Raw " . For the main event , Shawn Michaels beat Triple H in a Boot Camp match . In 2006 it was another " Raw " episode that aired on Christmas Day . The show was taped in Baghdad , Iraq , and had Carlito pin Randy Orton for the win at the main event . A day before the show ' s taping in Camp Victory , a mortar attack happened near the camp . Michael Cole reported from the scene minutes after the attack , which injured 14 soldiers . In 2007 , they returned to Tikrit , Iraq . D - Generation X members Triple H and Shawn Michaels defeated Umaga and Mr . Kennedy in the main event of the wrestling show , which aired on Christmas Eve on " WWE Raw " . 2008 ' s Tribute to the Troops was not aired on any regular WWE programming . Instead , for the first time , the wrestling show in Camp Liberty , Baghdad , Iraq aired on NBC on December 20 as a one - hour special . In its main event , John Cena , Batista and Rey Mysterio defeated Chris Jericho , The Big Show and Randy Orton in a six - man tag team match . WWE once again traveled to Iraq in 2009 , and hosted its seventh Tribute to the Troops . In the main event , John Cena retained his WWE Championship against Chris Jericho . The event aired on December 19 , 2009 on NBC . WWE previously announced that there would not be a 2010 Tribute to the Troops . However , it was later noted that a 2010 Tribute to the Troops will , in fact , be done and was taped on December 11 , at Fort Hood in Texas , USA . It aired on NBC on Saturday , December 18 , at 9 / 8 CT for one hour . WWE also announced on the December 13 , 2010 airing of WWE Raw that a 2 - hour version of the 2010 Tribute to the Troops would air on Wednesday , December 22 , 2010 at 8 / 7 CT on USA Network .