A few people have asked me “what time does WWE Monday Night RAW start at FedExForum tonight?” Although the TV show itself starts at 7:00, the live event starts at 6:30. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, they want the arena to be full and the crowd fired up for the start of the show. It doesn’t look good if the arena is half full and people are still finding their seats in the opening shot.
The second reason is that they tape a couple of matches for the B-shows. Superstars and the like, the syndicated shows that no one cares about much. This is “Hey, Fandango still has a job!” time. Also, the emcee for the pre-show may introduce special guests. Last time I went to RAW two years ago they introduced Lance Russell, which I thought was nice.
Radio host Kevin Cerrito and local wrestler Dustin Starr will be hanging out at Jerry Lawler’s bar on Beale this evening starting around 5, if you are looking for a place to pre-game. That is also my most likely guess as to where the wrestlers will be post-RAW. I wonder if five-time, five-time, five-time, five-time, five-time WCW World Champion Booker T will join his pre-show broadcast colleague Lawler at the bar.
Back in the ’90s they usually went to Platinum Plus post-RAW. Wonder how much money Shawn Michaels dropped at that place. Or Kevin Nash. Wonder how much booze Scott Hall and Jake The Snake drank there. A couple of days before RAW in Memphis, The Godfather (who had a pimp gimmick, for those not familiar) would go to Platinum to scope out girls to be his hoes on RAW.
Some of the wrestlers were at 152 last night, so you might want to check that place too post-RAW (it’s across the street from Lawler’s, not a far walk). I can just see Viktor from the Ascension and DJ Woo Woo partying it up big time tonight.
On to the news…
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been announced for a January 12 date at FedExForum.
The 5K and alley party were last month, but today is Bardog’s real 8th birthday. It would be a good day to stop by, because they usually do some good specials on the real birthday. Due to RAW I will miss my usual Melissa Monday visit tonight, though.
Historian Jimmy Ogle will conduct his famous manhole cover tour tomorrow, Tuesday, September 20, at lunchtime. The tour is free to attend. Meet at the Cotton Museum, at the corner of Front and Union, at 11:45.
The El Paso Chihuahuas play the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the Triple-A National Championship Game. Wow is Triple-A ball fixed so that the teams with the worst names have the best records? I have no real reason to root for one team or the other, but I guess I will pull for El Paso because the Blind Bear patio is chihuahua-friendly. The Flyer’s Frank Murtaugh has a list of reasons why you should go to the game.
Tonight is MNF, or MN MF’N F as I like to call it. The Brass Door is rolling out some sweet new specials for the game. You can get wings, fries and a PBR for $10. Loaded chicken BBQ nachos for two and two PBRs are $12. Also $12 is Loaded Shepherd’s Chips and two PBRs. Loaded Shepherd’s Chips? Gonna have to try those sometime soon, sounds interesting. I’m guessing these specials will be in the pub side (former Mad Earl) since that’s the sports bar part of the Brass Door.
News you can use, from Thrillist: Memphis’ best taco trucks, ranked
Memphis-Ole Miss for October 1 has been announced for a 6 PM kickoff. My Hogs have the early game against Cupcake State that day, so I guess my plan will be to go straight to Max’s Sports Bar after the Farmers Market. It’s about time I got a PBjaRni visit on the calendar! This is a Little Rock game for the Razorbacks. It’s nice to see Arkansas getting to a point where they are good enough that they don’t need the cupcakes to get bowl-eligible.
I love my job but this is a “4:45 can’t here fast enough” day. I am ready to go watch The Realest Guys in the Room and KO and Seth Rollins and the new cruiserweight division! This is going to be a lot of fun!