Earlier today, WWE announced their annual Tribute To The Troops event will return on Friday, December 8 at 8/7c. The release did not make clear whether this would be a Tribute-themed episode of SmackDown, which airs at that time, or if it would air in place of SmackDown.
Haus of Wrestling reached out to WWE for clarification and was told that this would be a Tribute-themed episode of SmackDown. The event began airing annually in 2003, with this year’s installment being the twenty-first presentation of it. The inaugural Tribute To The Troops occurred from Fort Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, and aired on Christmas Day as a SmackDown special.
The show has continued to air around the holidays, sometimes as a standalone event. In the past, it has also been used as a WWE Raw or SmackDown special, with only the 2019 edition not being airing on television. WWE recently flew a giant United States flag over their new headquarters and offered free tickets to Veterans throughout the month of November.