WWE Tribute to the Troops 2017 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

WWE's annual Tribute to the Troops special is always a fun event because the stands are full of members of the United States military and their families.

This makes for a lively and appreciative crowd, especially when the show is held outdoors as opposed to in an arena like any regular episode of Raw or SmackDown.

The Shield vs. Samoa Joe and The Bar opened this year's event, which was a little surprising. You would usually expect WWE to have the biggest Raw stars on the card to close the show.

We also saw two women's matches, with Charlotte Flair vs. Ruby Riott vs. Carmella, and Absolution going up against Bayley, Sasha Banks and Mickie James.

The tag team division was well-represented with The Usos teaming up with The New Day to face Rusev, Aiden English, Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin.

The big match from the SmackDown Superstars featured Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles taking on Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Jinder Mahal.

Machine Gun Kelly was on hand to perform for the troops, and several celebrities recorded messages of thanks and support for everyone in the U.S. Armed Forces. JBL returned to the commentary table to help celebrate the 15th anniversary of the concept he helped create.

Let's take a look at everything from this year's WWE Tribute to the Troops.

The Shield vs. Samoa Joe and The Bar

Former WWE star Lilian Garcia returned to sing the national anthem at the top of the show. Her performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner" have always been beautiful, and this time was no exception.

The Shield got the action going against Samoa Joe and The Bar in the first match. These six performers represent some of the best and brightest in WWE, so it was no surprise when they produced a fun match.

The Hounds of Justice have as much chemistry as a team as any other trio in WWE history, and The Bar worked well with fellow veteran Samoa Joe to put up a good fight.

After everyone got a chance to shine—literally in Sheamus' case—Roman Reigns picked up the win for his team with a Spear to Cesaro.

Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose gave a promo thanking the men and women in the crowd for their service to loud "USA" chants after the match was over.

This bout was everything it needed to be. Storyline progression didn't matter as much as simply putting on a fun performance, and all six men rose to the occasion. 

Grade: A-

Notes and Highlights

• Some people may not realize Garcia was born in Spain due to her father's work with the American embassy, so she went to school on a U.S. military base. She has a unique connection to Spain, America and the military.
• The Shield basically wears riot gear, which isn't much different from some of the attire the military wears. The group should have worn camo Shield attire as a special tribute to the military. The troops would have loved it, and it would have given WWE an excuse to make a special set of action figures with Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose in fatigues. 
• It always feels weird to see an outdoor wrestling event in the daytime. Sheamus' pale skin was especially white under the California sun.
• There was no reason for Rollins to dive toward Reigns for a tag near the end of the match, but he did it anyway.
• The first celebrity tribute video of the night featured Star Wars: The Last Jedi actors Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Laura Dern and Oscar Isaac thanking the troops.

Carmella vs. Ruby Riott vs. Charlotte

The SmackDown women's division took center stage in the second match when Charlotte faced newcomer Ruby Riott and "Ms. Money in the Bank" Carmella in a Triple Threat match.

Naomi accompanied Charlotte to the ring, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan were there to support Riott, and Carmella had Tamina and Lana in her corner. Natalya eventually came down to scout Charlotte before they collide at Clash of Champions on Sunday for the women's title.

Riott and Carmella ganged up on Charlotte early in the match, but the Princess of Staton Island turned on Riott shortly after the commercial break.

The Queen was able to secure the win with a Figure Eight to Carmella. Like The Shield before her, Charlotte addressed the troops after the match to express her love and gratitude for their sacrifices.

This could have been a throwaway match, but it ended up being better than expected because it was given enough time for each Superstar to have a few moments in the spotlight.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• It was a bit of a surprise not to see Becky Lynch with Charlotte. They are usually there to support each other. 
• Carmella mocking Charlotte with a strut was great. She might be better at strutting than Charlotte.
• Riott's gear is reminiscent of when Zack Ryder used to wear his half tights/half trunks right after La Familia broke up and he became a singles star on the revamped ECW. 
• The tribute video after the match showed WWE Superstars reflecting on 15 years of doing TTTT shows in the U.S. and abroad.

The Usos and New Day vs. Chad Gable, Shelton Benjamin, Rusev and Aiden English

Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E gave another speech thanking everyone in the U.S. military before the other competitors made their entrance for the big eight-man tag match.

Even though this was just a one-time partnership, it's interesting to note WWE booking Benjamin and Gable to team with Rusev and English. Maybe this is another sign of a heel turn for Benjamin and Gable in the near future. 

Kingston was the odd man out for The New Day, but he is a great hype man, so he was able to keep the crowd's energy up throughout the match. 

There was no logical pace to this bout and it was a few minutes too short, but nobody in the crowd seemed to care because The New Day and The Usos are so exciting to watch when they start gaining momentum.

For the third time in a row, the babyfaces prevailed when Jimmy Uso hit a 619 to set up Benjamin to be taken down by Woods and Big E with the Midnight Hour. 

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Luke Bryan and Stephen Colbert paid tribute to the armed forces in another video package before MGK performed "Home" alongside Bebe Rexha and X Ambassadors. Another video played after the performance with actors Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson and John Lithgow. 
• A backstage segment played before the match with Sgt. Slaughter, Mark Henry, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler in his Colonel Sanders outfit. 
• We rarely get to hear English's new entrance music. It's a little jarring to hear such a high-pitched voice out of nowhere. 
• The Usos throw a better superkick party than The Young Bucks. There, I said it.
• Fun fact: Benjamin is the only Superstar to wrestle at the first TTTT in 2003 and 2017. Rhyno, JBL, Big Show and John Cena also appeared in 2003, but none of them wrestled this year.

Absolution vs. Sasha Banks, Bayley and Mickie James

The Raw women's division put its biggest feud on display with a six-woman tag match when Absolution faced the team of Bayley, Banks and James.

This was another example of WWE trying to put too many people in the ring without giving them enough time to tell a coherent story, but it was also another case of the crowd not caring one bit about that.

Everyone in attendance was screaming and chanting from bell to bell. The action was fast-paced and allowed each performer to hit a few good moves. 

This exact same match might not have received as much praise on a regular episode of Raw, but the crowd's enthusiasm made it more enjoyable.

This is not to say the six women in the ring didn't do a good job. Everyone looked great, but they would have looked even better with as little as three more minutes.

In a change of pace from the first three bouts, the heels picked up the victory when Paige pinned James following her trademark Rampaige DDT.

Grade: B-

Notes and Highlights

• Commentator Byron Saxton talked about Paige and Rose being on Tough Enough together, but he made it seem like Paige thought she would succeed when she was openly critical of Rose on numerous occasions. 
• This was technically Sonya Deville's in-ring debut on the main roster. This exact matchup was supposed to happen on November 27, but it never started due to Absolution taking out Bayley and James backstage before attacking Banks in the ring.
• Bayley looked like she was paying tribute to Hulk Hogan with the red-and-yellow attire. That combination will always be associated with The Hulkster.
• MGK performed "Let You Go" after the match was over. WWE missed an opportunity for a callback to when Owens powerbombed him through a table. KO could have made his entrance right after the song, and the band could have pretended to hold MGK back while Owens laughed at him. 

Owens, Mahal and Zayn vs. Orton, Styles and Nakamura

The blue brand headlined the show with a six-man tag team match that combined two different feuds we will see come to a head at Clash of Champions.

Styles teamed up with Orton and Nakamura to take on Mahal, Zayn and Owens. All six competitors have a lot of history together, so they already had good chemistry to work with.

While everyone got a chance to fight at one point or another, Styles and Owens spent the most time in the ring for their teams. 

The Singh Brothers tried to interfere, so The Viper took them out with a double rope-hung DDT. Nakamura pinned Zayn with the Kinshasa to end the match and the entire show on a high note.

Michael Cole signed off with a perfectly worded message of thanks to everyone who serves in all branches of the United States military. He has worked most of these shows over the years, and you can always tell he is a little more excited when calling the action at these events.

Grade: B+

Notes and Highlights

• Clint Eastwood appeared in another tribute video after MGK's second performance. 
• Mahal didn't get the kind of heat you might expect from a military crowd. Owens and Zayn were booed much louder. 
• It's easy to forget how big Mahal is compared to other wrestlers because we usually see him standing next to The Singh Brothers, who are quite short even for cruiserweights. 
• The final sequence had a lot of moving parts and everyone did a great job making sure they were in the right place at the right time.
• A final slideshow of moments from the entire TTTT special closed the broadcast.