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The Nov. 17 episode of Monday Night Raw aired on Netflix featured John Cena's final appearance on the show as an competing wrestler. Additionally saw the return and confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns as they aligned with their individual groups for the approaching 5-on-5 match at WarGames. Amidst the excitement were shockers like AJ Lee supporting Maxxine Dupri win the women's Intercontinental Championship, and Dolph Ziggler reappearing. In such a jam-packed Madison Square Garden show, the attention was stolen by Lil Yachty, when he displayed his silver PSP for the camera, revealing he was playing SmackDown! vs Raw 2006.

Trending Incident: The Rapper and His Portable Console

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 handheld console? Could it be because people fondly remember the excellence of the SmackDown! vs. Raw franchise? Or perhaps, because WWE fans don't care for the newer 2K games?

Exploring SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006: A Classic Release

Uninitiated fans, SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 signified the series' first appearance on the PSP and was the ultimate entry in the SmackDown! vs. Raw line to remain exclusive to PlayStation. The game transitioned the franchise toward more realism and authenticity, departing from the arcade-like feel of earlier titles. It introduced a new momentum meter 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 finally became the best-selling PlayStation 2 release in the entire series.

Development of the Series

The line commenced 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 brought the franchise to other platforms. In 2013, the series was renamed as WWE 2K, beginning with WWE 2K14.

Features and Exclusive Modes

Back in the day, the SmackDown! vs. Raw games were top-tier and appeared as an progression of titles from the N64 era, because of improved graphics. When the franchise transitioned to PlayStation 2, that feeling only heightened as titles with clear visuals, new gaming modes, and role-playing storylines were gradually introduced.

The PSP version of SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 features features not found on its PS2 version, including three special mini-games available from the start. The first, "WWE Game Show," quizzes 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 direct Eugene (whose gimmick is being an intellectually challenged wrestling savant) around the ring as quickly as possible.

Nostalgia and Heritage

The older SmackDown! vs. Raw games were very eccentric, even when they sought more realistic gameplay. The franchise moved 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 snapshots of some of our beloved eras of wrestling.

Perhaps fans are sentimental for a similar, more "fun-based" time in their wrestling games. Maybe the joy of seeing a celebrity celebrating the greatness of the PSP, like the rest of the internet does, is what made folks clamor for Yachty. Or perhaps SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 was genuinely outstanding, and reflects an equally great era of wrestling, one that was led by John Cena, who will retire from in-ring competition on the 13th of December, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.