WWE Tribute to the Troops 2021: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

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Credit: WWE.com

WWE presented its annual Tribute to the Troops show Sunday with a stacked card featuring both the WWE and Universal champions.

Roman Reigns battled Intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura while Big E battled former teammate and mentor Dolph Ziggler. New No. 1 contender to the Raw women’s title, Liv Morgan, battled former SmackDown women’s champion Bianca Belair to round out the card.

Who emerged victoriously in those bouts on a show WWE considers one of its most important of the year?

Find out with this recap of the celebration of America’s bravest.

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Credit: WWE.com

WWE champion Big E kicked off the special event, battling the man that introduced him to the main roster way back in 2012, Dolph Ziggler. Robert Roode accompanied his Dirty Dawgz teammate to the squared circle, to a chorus of boos from the fans in attendance.

Big E frustrated his opponent early but a superkick heading into the commercial break turned the tide in Ziggler’s favor.

Back from the timeout, the WWE champion mounted a comeback that saw him toss his opponent around, the deliver a big splash. Ziggler answered with a fameasser for two. He followed up with a rake to the eyes and a Zig-Zag moments later for another strong near-fall. 

The Showoff made the mistake of soaring through the air with a crossbody and Big E made him pay, catching him and putting him away with the Big Ending for the win. Roode tried another attack but met a similar fate as the champ celebrated.

     

Result

Big E pinned Dolph Ziggler

    

Grade

C

     

Analysis

Too much of the match took place during the commercial, leaving just the shift in control and the babyface comeback. Of course, the in-ring quality of these shows is hardly the point.

Big E and Ziggler have strong in-ring chemistry, as should be the case considering how long and often they have worked with each other over the years. Their work was seamless, effortless even, and served as a solid showcase for the WWE champion as he continues to find his footing in that role.

A solid enough start to the special.

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Credit: WWE.com

Liv Morgan may have a date with Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship in the near future but she battled former blue brand titleholder, “The EST” Bianca Belair Sunday.

Belair controlled the action coming out of the commercial, dropping Morgan with a spinebuster for a two-count. Morgan recovered and answered with a step-up enzuigiri that stunned her opponent. The No. 1 contender attempted a headscissors but Belair dumped her into the turnbuckle. The Kiss of Death followed and Belair earned the victory.

After the match, the competitors embraced in a show of respect.

    

Result

Belair defeated Morgan

    

Grade

C+

     

Analysis

This was actually a more competitive match than you would expect for this show.

Morgan brought the fight to Belair, who is the current frontrunner for any Women’s Wrestler of the Year honor, and The EST did a great job of putting her over.

There is an argument to be made that the short-sighted booking of these matches presented a scenario in which the new No. 1 contender just lost clean in the middle of the ring to Belair, but things change very quickly in the WWE Universe. 

Who really knows what the creative plans called for when the match was taped back in the middle of October.

Belair is the bigger star and was undoubtedly booked to get exposure in a show that will play after afternoon NFL games in different markets. It was a smart move. That Morgan also gets that exposure only helps her stature within the company, too.

It’s a win-win.

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Credit: WWE.com

A champion vs. champion bout headlined this year’s special as Intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura (accompanied by Rick Boogs) battled Universal champion Roman Reigns (seconded by Paul Heyman). 

Nakamura, with the assistance of Boogs’ quality shredding, frustrated The Head of the Table early. A fed-up Reigns rocked the IC champ and seized control of the bout heading into the commercial break.

Reigns planted The Artist with a uranage following the timeout, earning a two-count from referee Jessika Carr. The Tribal Chief set up for the Superman Punch but Boogs shredded again, producing a momentary distraction. 

Nakamura ducked a Superman Punch and set up for his own finisher, the Kinshasa, when The Usos attacked Boogs at ringside.

Nakamura made the save but ate the Superman Punch on the floor. Back inside, the Universal champion added the spear for the pinfall victory.

    

Result

Reigns defeated Nakamura

   

Grade

C

    

Analysis

This was a CliffsNotes version of a much better Reigns-Nakamura match to be had.

There was nothing inherently wrong with it but the formatting of the show, which saw a video package highlighting one of the US servicewomen stuck directly in the middle of the match, did not help matters.

Reigns is the biggest star on the roster so it made absolute sense that WWE would want him in this spot. He is the star around whom everything revolves. What was interesting, though, was watching him defeat a babyface in the main event of a holiday tribute show.

Typically, that is a spot WWE would book a good guy into. Not unlike Big E, who started the show. Switch the two, have Reigns hit the ring following the football lead-in and wrap-up with the babyface champion standing tall and you have a show that makes more sense than the one we got.