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The 17th of November edition of Monday Night Raw broadcast on Netflix featured Cena's last performance on the show as an competing wrestler. Moreover experienced the reappearance and showdown between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns as they joined their individual groups for the approaching 5-on-5 match at WarGames. Amidst the excitement were shockers like AJ Lee assisting Maxxine Dupri win the women's Intercontinental Championship, and Dolph Ziggler reappearing. In such a jam-packed Madison Square Garden spectacle, the attention was grabbed by Lil Yachty, when he showed off his silver PSP for the camera, demonstrating he was playing SmackDown! vs Raw 2006.

Viral Incident: The Rapper and His Handheld Device

Despite everything that happened on this historic Raw, it was Lil Yachty and his PSP that trended online. Is it because of society's enduring love for Sony's mobile device? Might it be because people fondly remember the excellence of the SmackDown! vs. Raw franchise? Alternatively, because WWE fans have little enthusiasm for the more recent 2K games?

Examining SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006: A Classic Release

For those who don't know, SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 marked the franchise's introduction on the PSP and was the last entry in the SmackDown! vs. Raw line to remain PlayStation-exclusive. The game moved the franchise toward greater realism and authenticity, steering clear of the arcade-style feel of earlier titles. It added a new momentum bar that controlled the flow of a match, taking the place of the previous "clean/dirty" and "SmackDown!" meters. Players could decide 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 top-selling PlayStation 2 release in the entire series.

Development of the Line

The line commenced 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 additional platforms. In 2013, the series was renamed as WWE 2K, starting with WWE 2K14.

Features and Special Modes

In the past, the SmackDown! vs. Raw games were top-tier and felt like an evolution of titles from the N64 era, due to upgraded graphics. When the franchise moved to PlayStation 2, that impression only intensified 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 exclusive side games 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, at times 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 special needs wrestling savant) around the ring as quickly as possible.

Sentiment and Legacy

The older SmackDown! vs. Raw games were very zany, even when they aimed for more realistic gameplay. The franchise transitioned toward full-on simulations with the 2K games, devoid of the out-of-the-box ideas of their predecessors. But the older titles also acted as reminders of some of our cherished eras of wrestling.

Maybe fans are nostalgic for a alike, more "fun-based" time in their wrestling games. Maybe the joy of seeing a celebrity honoring the greatness of the PSP, like the rest of the internet does, is what made folks cheer for Yachty. Or perhaps SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 was genuinely outstanding, and represents an just as great era of wrestling, one that was ruled by John Cena, who will retire from in-ring competition on Dec. 13, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.