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The 17th of November installment of Monday Night Raw broadcast on Netflix featured Cena's last appearance on the show as an competing wrestler. It also saw the return and confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns as they joined their individual groups for the forthcoming 5-on-5 match at WarGames. Amidst the action were surprises like AJ Lee assisting Maxxine Dupri claim the women's Intercontinental Championship, and Dolph Ziggler returning. 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 Moment: The Rapper and His PSP

Despite everything that went down on this landmark Raw, it was Lil Yachty and his PSP that became a sensation. Is it because of pop culture's enduring love for Sony's handheld console? Could it be because people fondly remember the excellence of the SmackDown! vs. Raw franchise? Or is it, because WWE fans aren't interested in the newer 2K games?

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

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 PlayStation-exclusive. The game moved the franchise toward increased realism and authenticity, moving away from the arcade-like feel of earlier titles. It added a new momentum gauge that dictated 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 diminished as matches grew more intense; more elaborate moves meant faster fatigue. SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 eventually became the best-selling PlayStation 2 entry in the entire series.

Evolution of the Franchise

The line began with WWF SmackDown! on the original PlayStation and continued as an annual 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 rebranded as WWE 2K, beginning with WWE 2K14.

Features and Special Content

Back in the day, the SmackDown! vs. Raw games reigned supreme and felt like an advancement of titles from the N64 era, because of enhanced graphics. When the franchise shifted to PlayStation 2, that sensation only intensified as titles with crisp visuals, new gaming modes, and RPG storylines were steadily introduced.

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

Sentiment and Legacy

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

It's possible fans are longing for a similar, more "fun-based" time in their wrestling games. Perhaps the delight of seeing a celebrity celebrating the excellence of the PSP, like the rest of the internet does, is what made folks cheer for Yachty. Or perhaps SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 was truly exceptional, and reflects an equally great era of wrestling, one that was led by John Cena, who will step away from in-ring competition on December 13, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.