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The 17th of November installment of Monday Night Raw aired on Netflix included John Cena's last performance on the show as an competing wrestler. Moreover experienced the return and confrontation 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 unexpected moments like AJ Lee assisting Maxxine Dupri secure the women's Intercontinental Championship, and Dolph Ziggler returning. In such a jam-packed Madison Square Garden event, the attention was taken by Lil Yachty, when he showed off his silver PSP for the camera, indicating he was playing SmackDown! vs Raw 2006.

Popular Moment: The Rapper and His Portable Console

Regardless of everything that happened on this landmark Raw, it was Lil Yachty and his PSP that went viral. Is it because of pop culture's lasting love for Sony's mobile device? Might it be because people cherish the memory of the brilliance of the SmackDown! vs. Raw franchise? Or is it, because WWE fans have little enthusiasm for the more recent 2K games?

Delving Into SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006: A Classic Game

For those who don't know, SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 marked the series' introduction on the PSP and was the final entry in the SmackDown! vs. Raw line to remain PlayStation-exclusive. The game transitioned the franchise toward more realism and authenticity, steering clear of the arcade-style feel of earlier titles. It introduced a new momentum bar that dictated the flow of a match, replacing 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; more elaborate moves meant faster fatigue. SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 finally became the best-selling PlayStation 2 entry in the entire series.

Development of the Line

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

Features and Exclusive Modes

Back in the day, the SmackDown! vs. Raw games were top-tier and seemed like an advancement of titles from the N64 era, due to enhanced graphics. When the franchise transitioned to PlayStation 2, that sensation only strengthened as titles with crisp visuals, new gaming modes, and role-playing storylines were consistently introduced.

The PSP edition of SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 features modes not found on its PS2 version, including three special mini-games available from the start. The first, "WWE Game Show," challenges players with 500 wrestling questions encompassing 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 guide Eugene (whose persona is being an developmentally disabled wrestling savant) around the ring as quickly as possible.

Nostalgia and Legacy

The earlier SmackDown! vs. Raw games were very eccentric, even when they targeted more realistic gameplay. The franchise moved toward full-on simulations with the 2K games, missing the innovative ideas of their predecessors. But the older titles also served as reminders of some of our beloved eras of wrestling.

Maybe fans are sentimental for a similar, more "fun-based" time in their wrestling games. Perhaps the delight of seeing a celebrity paying tribute to the excellence of the PSP, like the rest of the internet does, is what made folks clamor for Yachty. Otherwise SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 was really that great, and mirrors an equally great era of wrestling, one that was ruled by John Cena, who will step away from in-ring competition on Dec. 13, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.