The Tribute to the Troops event is over and everyone seems physically, mentally and emotionally drained.
To me, the event felt like a combination of WrestleMania and an Orginal ECW pay-per-view. The enthusiasm of everyone at WWE and the Troops matched that of Wrestlemania and the intimacy of five thousand rabid fans where you can make eye contact with every soldier felt like the Original ECW.
In what seemed like only a few moments, the event rushed by and before we knew it, our Superstars were doing media interviews, the hardest working crew in entertainment was breaking down and loading tons of production equipment onto trucks that will transport the multimedia masterpiece to our C-17 cargo plane.
In the meantime, I am sending back this event recap and our phenomenal photographers Dave "Gunner" Gunn, Craig Ambrosio and Scott Brinegar are emailing photos back to WWE.com headquarters in Stamford, CT. Speaking of our photographers who are as important to WWE.com as anyone else, it is a special person that volunteers to enter a war zone carrying a camera while wearing a kevlar helmet and vest.
As a special thank you to you WWE.com visitors that helped transform the Web site into a multimedia mosiac this year, we will post the first ever Tribute to the Troops WWE Divas photo shoot featuring Lilian Garcia, Maria, Eve, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox dressed as Santa's Helpers to bring joy, happiness and visions of sugar plums (or whatever you dream up) dancing in your heads.
Just like five-year-old Joey Styles Jr., who is counting down the days until Christmas on the calendar, you too will have to wait for Santa's special offerings as these photos will not be posted until December 16 when we will post one gallery each day until December 20 when Tribute to the Troops air on NBC for the first time.
After hundreds of hot showers and hot dinner chow, team WWE will begin our journey home. Five hours from Baghdad to Germany, three hours to refuel and refresh and another eight hours to our nation's capital. Tribute to the Troops 2008 is in the books.
In the same way children around the world are counting down the days until Christmas, I am counting down the days until Tribute to the Troops 2009.
Editor's Note: The preceeding was relayed from e-mail message reports from the WWE's Tribute to the Troops mission. Names of the bases visited have been omitted at the request of the U.S. Army, so as not to divulge WWE's location in Iraq.
For complete coverage of Tribute to the Troops, visit the Tribute section on WWE.com. Also, Leave your holiday messages for the troops in the Forums on WWE Universe.
WWE's Tribute to the Troops special airs Saturday, Dec. 20, at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.




Thank you Joey..
JAM1919 [A Katie Lea...I loved the updates..
Thank you & Everyone who went to the Tribute to Troops Event.
You all showed you care.. So I show my appreciation to you all.. Thank you all..
Love James.
02:58 PM EST