Tonight, the Roanoke Civic Center will host WWE Friday Night SmackDown from Roanoke, Va. Also known as the Star City of the South, Roanoke is located in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains in the Roanoke Valley between Tennessee and Maryland.

At the last WWE appearance in March 2005, Kurt Angle destroyed Mike Haywood in a Kurt Angle Invitational Ladder Match on SmackDown. In the main event, Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero defeated JBL & Orland Jordan by DQ. Mysterio went for the 619, but JBL smashed him in the knees with a steel chair. After the ref called for the bell, the Bashams assaulted Eddie & Rey until John Cena appeared from the crowd and jumped into the melee.

Before SmackDown in March 2005, RAW was at the Civic Center in 1997, when Triple H pinned Jim Neidhart after Shawn Michaels came to ringside to distract the referee.

In 1994 the Civic Center hosted the WCW Fall Brawl pay-per-view. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to become the new U.S. Champion.  Sting, Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, William Regal and Cactus Jack—who lost a Loser Leaves WCW match—all made in-ring appearances.

Two editions of WCW Monday Nitro were also held in Roanoke. One in November 1998, when Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio battled to a time limit draw, and another edition in March 1997, when the Steiner Brothers took on High Voltage in the main event.

Built in 1971, the Civic Center was once home court for the American Basketball Association's Virginia Squires (1967-1976) and seats nearly 10,000. It's now used for a variety of events ranging from industrial trade shows and business gatherings to major concerts and touring Broadway shows

Tonight's edition of SmackDown is bound to be an explosive one. Will King Booker and U.S. Champion Bobby Lashely survive their Steel Cage match? Can Super Crazy take the Cruiserweight Championship from Gregory Helms? Can anyone stop the wrecking ball that is the Great Kahli? There's one place to go to find out: Friday Night SmackDown, 8/7 CT on UPN.