WWE Tribute to the Troops does surprisingly well in the ratings, draws over two million views
While many consider WWE's Tribute to the Troops special to be a much-deserved recognition of the Armed Forces, others don't think of it as "must-see TV." WWE often books it to be highly predictable, with babyfaces almost always coming out on top.
However, this year's special has proven to be highly successful from a ratings standpoint. According to reports from Wrestlenomics, the holiday special drew almost 2.030 million total viewers with a 0.51 rating (663,000 viewers) in the 18-49 demographic.
Interestingly, WWE taped Tribute to the Troops at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA on October 15th, airing it a month later on November 14th on FOX.
The beautiful tradition continues for @WWE.
This is the 19th annual WWE Tribute to the Troops! 🇺🇸
#WWETroops
@TributeToTroops https://t.co/vpN5LKnNnT
Judging from the stats, it seems that the one-hour holiday special drew more views than this past week's Monday Night RAW, which averaged 1.585 million views with a 0.42 in the 18-49 demographic. These numbers are RAW's 7th lowest viewership in the program's history, according to Wrestling Observer.
It was an honor to have these brave servicemen take part in the opening ceremonies of the 19th annual WWE Tribute to the Troops.
@TributeToTroops
#WWETroops https://t.co/U6oZIPiQdQ
According to Fightful, this year's Tribute to the Troops event outperformed previous holiday specials. The 2018 Tribute to the Troops (airing on USA Network) averaged 1.127 million viewers with a 0.32 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The event did not take place in 2019 and 2020s numbers were unavailable.
What happened at WWE Tribute to the Troops?
The one-hour special had three exciting match-ups featuring three champions, along with Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan.
Kicking off the show, WWE Champion Big E faced off against Dolph Ziggler. The big man would come out victorious, despite underhanded tactics by The Dirty Dawgs.
Champions are set to collide for WWE's Tribute to the Troops this Sunday on @FOXTV! #WWETroops
wwe.com/shows/tributet… https://t.co/2OT0WaL3Be
Then, Bianca Belair took on fan-favorite Liv Morgan in an unusual face-vs-face match. The former SmackDown Women's Champion defeated Morgan in a highly competitive bout, with both competitors embracing post-match.
Finally, Roman Reigns took on the Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a Champion vs. Champion bout. While WWE traditionally likes to have only faces win at these feel-good events, the Universal Champion stood tall at the end of the match.
What do you think of these ratings? Do you think WWE should put on more "specials" like Tribute to the Troops? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!