The 17th of November edition of Monday Night Raw broadcast on Netflix featured Cena's final performance on the show as an active wrestler. Additionally experienced the comeback and showdown between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns as they aligned with their individual groups for the upcoming 5-on-5 match at WarGames. Amidst the action were unexpected moments like AJ Lee supporting Maxxine Dupri win the women's Intercontinental Championship, and Dolph Ziggler reappearing. In such a jam-packed Madison Square Garden event, the spotlight was grabbed by Lil Yachty, when he presented his silver PSP for the camera, demonstrating he was playing SmackDown! vs Raw 2006.
Despite everything that transpired on this historic Raw, it was Lil Yachty and his PSP that became a sensation. Could it be because of pop culture's lasting love for Sony's mobile device? Might it be because people cherish the memory of the greatness of the SmackDown! vs. Raw franchise? Or perhaps, because WWE fans have little enthusiasm for the newer 2K games?
If you're unfamiliar, SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 signified the series' introduction on the PSP and was the final entry in the SmackDown! vs. Raw line to remain exclusive to PlayStation. The game shifted the franchise toward more realism and authenticity, moving away from the fast-paced feel of earlier titles. It brought in a new momentum bar that governed the flow of a match, taking the place of the previous "clean/dirty" and "SmackDown!" meters. Players could opt to wrestle “clean” as a face or “dirty” as a heel, with a endurance feature that drained as matches grew more intense; more elaborate moves meant faster fatigue. SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 eventually became the best-selling PlayStation 2 installment in the entire series.
The series began with WWF SmackDown! on the original PlayStation and continued as an yearly release, except in 2021. It remained a exclusive to PlayStation until WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, which expanded the franchise to additional platforms. In 2013, the series was renamed as WWE 2K, starting with WWE 2K14.
In the past, the SmackDown! vs. Raw games were top-tier and felt like an progression of titles from the N64 era, due to enhanced graphics. When the franchise shifted to PlayStation 2, that sensation only heightened as titles with crisp visuals, new gaming modes, and RPG storylines were gradually introduced.
The PSP release of SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 features features not found on its PS2 equivalent, including three exclusive mini-games available from the start. The first, "WWE Game Show," challenges players with 500 wrestling questions including everything from music and finishers to history and feuds, sometimes using audio clips or video snippets. The other two minigames are a poker game and "Eugene’s Airplane," where players steer Eugene (whose gimmick is being an intellectually challenged wrestling savant) around the ring as quickly as possible.
The older SmackDown! vs. Raw games were very whacky, even when they aimed for more realistic gameplay. The franchise moved toward full-on simulations with the 2K games, lacking the out-of-the-box ideas of their predecessors. But the older titles also functioned as time capsules of some of our cherished eras of wrestling.
Maybe fans are longing for a comparable, more "fun-based" time in their wrestling games. Maybe the pleasure of seeing a celebrity paying tribute to the brilliance of the PSP, like the rest of the internet does, is what made folks clamor for Yachty. Alternatively SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 was genuinely outstanding, and reflects an just as great era of wrestling, one that was ruled by John Cena, who will step away from in-ring competition on the 13th of December, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
A tech enthusiast and gaming aficionado with over a decade of experience in digital media and content creation.
