New Bedford’s Purchase Street Records Gets a Nod on WWE ‘Monday Night RAW’

WWE Monday Night RAW had a New Bedford nod on tonight’s program, as a wrestling legend represented a legendary Whaling City record shop.

Early during Monday night’s edition of the program, WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus was seen in the backstage area checking on her best friend and fellow Hall of Famer Lita, who was mysteriously attacked from behind and found hurt by Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan.

Lita is currently one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions along with Becky Lynch, and the duo was scheduled to defend the tag titles against Rodriguez and Morgan later in the show.

We won’t give you any spoilers here, but let’s just say Stratus stepped in for the injured Lita to defend the tag titles alongside Lynch and figured heavily into the outcome.

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What caught the eye of SouthCoast wrestling fans, however, was the sweatshirt Stratus was wearing during the backstage segment. It was a Purchase Street Records hoodie, from New Bedford’s famous record store that recently moved from Purchase Street to Pope’s Island.

City resident Bob Mendell spotted the sweatshirt and grabbed a screenshot to share on social media and tagged Purchase Street Records owner Roger Chouinard in the post.

“I thought it was awesome. Love seeing the shop getting free advertising,” Mendell said with a laugh. “I also called Roger immediately.”

Chouinard is no stranger to seeing his stuff appear on WWE television. Former WWE superstar Paige – now known by her real name Saraya in All Elite Wrestling – has been seen and photographed sporting his ubiquitous hat with “scumbag” printed under the bill. That’s just one example.

“I always think it’s great when my gear is worn,” Chouinard said.

He said he gave the Purchase Street Records sweatshirt to Stratus last year at Rhode Island Comic Con.

“It must be her favorite if she’s wearing it,” he said.

New Bedford has been represented well on WWE programming as of late – and not just by Chouinard showing up on the broadcasts in ringside seats, as he is known to do.

Samantha Johnson, known as Samatha Irvin in WWE, is the regular announcer on Friday Night Smackdown and recently made history at WrestleMania 39 in a championship match that featured two women competitors, a woman referee and a woman ring announcer for the first time ever.

Also, Westport's Ted Bolduc, the co-owner of CoJo's Toy World in downtown New Bedford, recently appeared on Friday Night Smackdown in his pro wrestling persona Teddy Goodz, taking on Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER.

Not only is Chouinard getting attention on WWE television, he's also on the radio, too. The record store owner doesn’t just sell music, he also makes it. His band All Sinners is starting to break through on the national scene, recently releasing its new E.P. with a big party at the shop and having the single “The Hunted” played on SiriusXM.

Chouinard has also been featured on the A&E television program WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, with the wrestling company looking to buy some of his large collection of wrestling memorabilia as it seeks to build a physical Hall of Fame.

Chouinard has spent a lifetime collecting wrestling items, so it’s only fair that now wrestlers are collecting Purchase Street Records gear.