�Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com

On Tuesday, July 19, 2005 at 3:06 PM EST

The following press release was issued by WWE today:

WWE and American Forces Network Partner To Provide The Great American Bash Pay-Per-View Free To Troops

July 19, 2005

RIVERSIDE, CALIF. July 19, 2005 – The American Forces Network (AFN) announced today that World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. will offer its upcoming SmackDown!® Pay-Per-View, The Great American Bash, free for broadcast on AFN as WWE’s way of thanking the troops and their families for their service to America.

The Great American Bash will be broadcast from the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY, live on Pay-Per-View in the United States on Sunday, July 24, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. AFN will carry The Great American Bash on AFN Spectrum on July 25 at 9 p.m. viewer time in Japan/Korea and Central Europe.

“While our men and women of the Armed Forces are serving throughout the world, we know they are away from their homes and their families, so we are pleased to provide them with a little “piece of home” as a token of our thanks for all they are doing during this challenging time,” said Kevin Dunn, Executive Vice President, Television Production. “The Armed Forces have shown WWE great support during our base visits and hospital visits so we look at this broadcast as one way we can honor all of them for their bravery and courage.”

American service men and women, Department of Defense civilians, and their families stationed in over 177 countries and U.S. Territories around the world will get the opportunity to see The Great American Bash, just as they see WWE Raw® and WWE SmackDown! each week on AFN.

“For over 60 years AFN has been dedicated to bringing our military men and women serving overseas the most popular American broadcasts,” said Larry Marotta, AFN Television Chief. “Thanks to the continuing generosity and support of WWE, our wrestling fans will be able to enjoy even more WWE – and they’ll be able see it free on AFN Spectrum almost as soon as they would if they were watching at home.”

WWE has a long history of supporting America’s troops. WWE Superstars were some of the first celebrities to visit wounded soldiers as they returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. WWE has sent millions of dollars worth of t-shirts, videos and DVDs, promotional items, magazines and CDs to military personnel operating on the front lines. For the past two years, WWE SmackDown! Superstars have performed a televised holiday special from Iraq that was broadcast to Americans and troops around the globe. WWE received the Legacy of Hope Award from the USO of Metropolitan Washington for its efforts in support of the troops and to raise funds in support of USO Operation Care Package.

About American Forces Network
The Defense Media Center, located near Riverside, California, distributes stateside radio and television news, entertainment and sports programming, along with Department of Defense (DoD) information messages, via satellite to approximately 800,000 DoD military and civilian employees, and their families, stationed overseas in 177 countries and U.S. territories, and aboard more than 180 U.S. Navy ships at sea. Their American Forces Network TV services includes three regional AFN Prime services (i.e. Atlantic, Pacific and Korea), AFN News, AFN Sports, AFN Spectrum, AFN Family, AFN Movie, the Pentagon Channel and the AFN Program Guide. AFN Radio services include seven music channels, two sports/talk channels, three news/information channels and NPR worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.afrts.osd.mil. View AFN radio and TV schedules at http://www.myafn.net.

Credit: corporate.wwe.com