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The 17th of November edition of Monday Night Raw aired on Netflix included John Cena's last appearance on the show as an active wrestler. Additionally experienced the reappearance and showdown between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns as they aligned with their individual groups for the upcoming 5-on-5 match at WarGames. Among the excitement were surprises like AJ Lee helping Maxxine Dupri win the women's Intercontinental Championship, and Dolph Ziggler returning. In such a jam-packed Madison Square Garden show, the spotlight was grabbed by Lil Yachty, when he presented his silver PSP for the camera, demonstrating he was playing SmackDown! vs Raw 2006.

Trending Event: The Rapper and His Handheld Device

Regardless of everything that happened on this historic Raw, it was Lil Yachty and his PSP that trended online. Could it be because of society's undying love for Sony's portable system? Is it because people nostalgically recall the brilliance of the SmackDown! vs. Raw franchise? Or is it, because WWE fans aren't interested in the newer 2K games?

Examining SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006: A Classic Release

Uninitiated fans, SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 marked the franchise's debut on the PSP and was the last entry in the SmackDown! vs. Raw line to remain exclusive to PlayStation. The game transitioned the franchise toward increased realism and authenticity, departing from the arcade-style feel of earlier titles. It added a new momentum bar that governed 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 top-selling PlayStation 2 release in the entire series.

Development of the Series

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

Innovations and Special Elements

Back in the day, the SmackDown! vs. Raw games reigned supreme and appeared as an advancement of titles from the N64 era, because of enhanced graphics. When the franchise transitioned to PlayStation 2, that sensation only heightened as titles with crisp visuals, new gaming modes, and role-playing storylines were gradually introduced.

The PSP version of SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 includes features not found on its PS2 version, including three special side 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, at times using audio clips or video snippets. The other two minigames are a poker game and "Eugene’s Airplane," where players direct Eugene (whose character is being an developmentally disabled wrestling savant) around the ring as quickly as possible.

Sentiment and Legacy

The previous SmackDown! vs. Raw games were very eccentric, even when they aimed for more realistic gameplay. The franchise moved toward complete simulations with the 2K games, missing the out-of-the-box ideas of their predecessors. But the older titles also served as snapshots of some of our favorite eras of wrestling.

Maybe fans are sentimental for a comparable, 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 applaud Yachty. Alternatively SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 was truly exceptional, and mirrors an equally great era of wrestling, one that was led by John Cena, who will retire from in-ring competition on December 13, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.