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The November 17 edition of Monday Night Raw streamed on Netflix included John Cena's last performance on the program as an competing wrestler. It also witnessed the return and showdown between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns as they teamed up with their individual groups for the approaching 5-on-5 match at WarGames. Amidst the action were shockers like AJ Lee assisting Maxxine Dupri secure the women's Intercontinental Championship, and Dolph Ziggler reappearing. In such a jam-packed Madison Square Garden event, the focus was grabbed by Lil Yachty, when he showed off his silver PSP for the camera, revealing he was playing SmackDown! vs Raw 2006.

Trending Incident: The Rapper and His PSP

Despite everything that happened on this landmark Raw, it was Lil Yachty and his PSP that went viral. Might it be because of the public's lasting love for Sony's handheld console? Is it because people nostalgically recall the brilliance of the SmackDown! vs. Raw franchise? Or perhaps, because WWE fans don't care for the newer 2K games?

Examining SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006: A Iconic Game

For those who don't know, SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 marked the series' introduction on the PSP and was the last entry in the SmackDown! vs. Raw line to remain exclusive to PlayStation. The game shifted the franchise toward more realism and authenticity, departing from the arcade-style feel of earlier titles. It brought in a new momentum bar that governed the flow of a match, substituting for the previous "clean/dirty" and "SmackDown!" meters. Players could choose to wrestle “clean” as a face or “dirty” as a heel, with a endurance feature that decreased as matches grew more intense; flashier moves meant faster fatigue. SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 finally became the top-selling PlayStation 2 entry in the entire series.

Evolution of the Series

The franchise started with WWF SmackDown! on the original PlayStation and carried on as an regular release, aside from in 2021. It remained a PlayStation exclusive until WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, which introduced the franchise to additional platforms. In 2013, the series was renamed as WWE 2K, beginning with WWE 2K14.

Innovations and Special Elements

Back in the day, the SmackDown! vs. Raw games dominated and felt like an evolution of titles from the N64 era, because of upgraded graphics. When the franchise shifted to PlayStation 2, that feeling only heightened as titles with crisp visuals, new gaming modes, and role-playing storylines were consistently introduced.

The PSP version of SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 adds features not found on its PS2 counterpart, including three unique minigames available from the start. The first, "WWE Game Show," challenges players with 500 wrestling questions covering 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 special needs wrestling savant) around the ring as quickly as possible.

Retro Appeal and Impact

The older SmackDown! vs. Raw games were very zany, even when they aimed for more realistic gameplay. The franchise shifted toward complete simulations with the 2K games, devoid of the innovative ideas of their predecessors. But the older titles also acted as reminders of some of our beloved eras of wrestling.

Perhaps fans are sentimental for a comparable, more "fun-based" time in their wrestling games. Perhaps the pleasure of seeing a celebrity honoring the brilliance of the PSP, like the rest of the internet does, is what made folks applaud Yachty. Otherwise SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 was truly exceptional, and mirrors an equally great era of wrestling, one that was dominated 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.