If you grew up with a PlayStation 2 controller glued to your hands, you probably remember the purple-hued cover of Smackdown vs Raw 2006. John Cena and Batista were staring you down, looking like the absolute titans of the Ruthless Aggression era. It was a massive moment for wrestling fans. Honestly, looking back at it now, it feels like the peak of a specific kind of magic that modern games struggle to replicate.
The game didn't just iterate; it overhauled everything.
While Here Comes the Pain usually gets the crown for pure arcade chaos, SvR 2006 was the one that tried to make wrestling feel like a professional sport while keeping the fun intact. It was the first time we saw GM Mode. It introduced the stamina system. It gave us the Buried Alive match. For a game released in 2005, the depth was staggering.
The Mode That Changed Everything: General Manager
Let’s talk about GM Mode. Seriously.
If you ask any die-hard fan why they still boot up an emulator or dust off their PS2 for this specific title, they’ll say two words: GM Mode. It was the first time the series let us step behind the curtain. You weren't just the guy hitting the 619; you were the guy paying Rey Mysterio’s salary.
The loop was addictive. You'd draft a roster, manage a budget, and try to beat the rival brand in the TV ratings. It was basically "Fantasy Football" for wrestling nerds. You’d get emails from Triple H complaining about his booking, or you'd realize you accidentally bankrupted Raw because you signed too many legends like Hulk Hogan or Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The strategy was surprisingly deep.
- You had to balance popularity with match quality.
- Rivalries actually mattered for ratings.
- You had to watch for "fatigue" or your top stars would get injured for three months.
- Promoting a "Bar Brawl" might get you a 5-star rating, but it cost a fortune.
Most people don't realize that later versions of GM Mode in SvR 2007 and 2008 actually added more complexity that arguably made the mode less "pure." In '06, it was simple, fast, and incredibly rewarding to see that ratings bar climb past the competition.
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Why the Gameplay Felt Different
THQ and Yuke's made a controversial choice back then: they slowed things down. Before this, wrestling games were "button-mashers." You could spam the same grapple five times in a row without a second thought.
Then came the Stamina System.
If you tried to sprint around the ring and hit five consecutive Powerbombs with Batista, your wrestler would literally double over, clutching their stomach. You had to catch your breath. You had to press 'Select' to manually recover stamina. It forced you to wrestle like a human being. Some fans hated it because it broke the flow, but it added a layer of psychology.
The Momentum Shift
The "Clean/Dirty" system was another huge tweak. If you played as a "face" (the good guy), you got momentum by playing fair and performing high-flying moves. If you were a "heel," you got rewarded for poking the referee in the eye or using a chair.
Building up that meter was the only way to hit your finisher. It meant you couldn't just end a match in 30 seconds. You had to "work" the crowd. It felt authentic to the TV product in a way that modern simulations sometimes over-complicate.
A Roster Caught Between Two Eras
The roster in Smackdown vs Raw 2006 is a fascinating time capsule. You had the established veterans like Undertaker, Kurt Angle, and Shawn Michaels, but you also had the rising stars of the mid-2000s.
It was the video game debut for guys like Chris Masters, Carlito, and Bobby Lashley. But it also featured the return of legends that had been missing for years. Getting Hulk Hogan back into a Smackdown game was a huge deal at the time.
The game also included "Fulfill Your Fantasy" matches, which replaced the old Bra and Panties matches. It was very much a product of its time—the Divas era—featuring Stacy Keibler, Trish Stratus, and Lita in various themed costumes. It’s a part of the game that feels very "2005," for better or worse.
The Technical Wizardry of the PS2
By 2005, the developers knew exactly how to squeeze every drop of power out of the PlayStation 2. The character models were incredible. When you look at the sweat on John Cena’s skin or the way the lights reflected off the entrance ramp, it was easily one of the best-looking games of its generation.
They even added a 3D crowd. In previous years, the fans in the background were basically flat cardboard cutouts. In SvR 2006, they were fully rendered polygons. It made the arenas feel alive.
The PSP version was also a minor miracle. It was almost a 1:1 port of the console game, which was unheard of at the time. Usually, handheld versions were stripped-down garbage, but this one let you take the full GM Mode experience on the bus. It even had exclusive mini-games like WWE Trivia and a card game.
What Most People Forget
One thing that often gets lost in the nostalgia is how the Season Mode worked.
It wasn't a "sandbox." It was a voice-acted, scripted narrative. The cool part? The storylines changed depending on which brand you were on. If you were on Raw, you might deal with a Triple H-led evolution of the brand. If you were on Smackdown, you might be chasing the US Title.
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Every superstar was fully voiced. Hearing the actual wrestlers record lines specifically for these weird, sometimes nonsensical storylines (like the "Legends Tour") made the world feel tangible. It wasn't just text on a screen; it was a digital version of the Monday Night Wars.
Final Practical Tips for Playing Today
If you're looking to jump back into this classic, keep a few things in mind.
- Turn off Stamina if you hate it. Seriously, there’s an option in the menu to disable the stamina bar if you just want to go back to the fast-paced arcade style of the older games.
- Watch the Hometowns. In GM Mode, wrestlers get a ratings boost if they perform in their actual hometown. Put Kurt Angle in a main event in Pittsburgh, and watch the stars fly.
- The Pre-match Mini-game matters. The "Stare Down" or "Test of Strength" at the start of matches actually gives the winner a massive momentum boost. Don't just skip through it.
- Emulate if you can't find a disc. The game looks surprisingly sharp when upscaled to 1080p or 4K via PCSX2. The textures hold up remarkably well.
Smackdown vs Raw 2006 wasn't perfect. The AI could be brain-dead, and the collision detection would occasionally send a wrestler flying through the floor. But it had soul. It was a game made by people who clearly loved the "theatre" of wrestling as much as the sport itself.
To get the most out of your next playthrough, try starting a GM Mode draft with the "Budget" set to the lowest level. It forces you to find "value" in lower-card guys like Shelton Benjamin or William Regal, making the eventual rise to the top of the ratings feel earned.