It is 2 am. You’re hunched over a PS2 controller. The blue light of the CRT TV is basically searing your retinas, but you don't care because you just booked a five-star Iron Man match between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. If you grew up in the mid-2000s, this wasn't just a game. It was a lifestyle. Honestly, WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2006 is probably the peak of the entire franchise, and I’ll fight anyone at a local Buffalo Wild Wings to prove it.
The game dropped in late 2005, right when the Ruthless Aggression era was at its absolute fever pitch. We had John Cena and Batista as the new faces of the company, but the roster was still packed with absolute legends like Eddie Guerrero, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. It was a weird, magical transition period.
The GM Mode That Ruined Our Friendships
Look, we have to talk about General Manager Mode first. It’s the reason most people still keep a dusty PS2 or a PSP in their closet. Before we had "Universe Mode" or the watered-down versions in the 2K era, we had the raw, uncut stress of being Vince McMahon’s favorite child.
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The premise was simple: you pick Raw or SmackDown and try to beat the other brand in the TV ratings. You had a budget—$10 million, usually—and you had to draft a roster. I remember spent hours just restarting the draft because I didn't get the first pick and Randy Orton got snatched up by the computer. That AI was a dirty player, too. It would book title changes every week just to juice the numbers while you were trying to build a long-term storyline between Chris Benoit and Booker T.
The beauty of it was the micromanagement. You had to worry about superstar morale, injuries, and contracts. If you overpushed Triple H, your midcarders would start sending you angry emails. If you didn't give someone enough airtime, they’d jump ship to the other brand. It felt like a real business simulation buried inside a fighting game.
- Draft Strategy: You’d go for high-popularity stars first, obviously.
- Rivalries: Keeping a feud going for months without it getting "stale" was a literal art form.
- Fatigue: If you booked Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell every week, he’d be out for 10 weeks with a broken back.
Why the Gameplay Felt So "Real" (For 2006)
Yuke’s and THQ decided to take a hard turn toward simulation with this one. Before this, the SmackDown games were basically arcade brawlers where you could jump off a 20-foot ladder and be fine two seconds later. WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2006 changed the vibe completely by introducing the Stamina System.
Man, did people hate that stamina bar at first. You couldn't just spam the same high-flying move over and over. If you did too much, your wrestler would literally double over, gasping for air, leaving you wide open for a Pedigree. It forced you to actually think like a wrestler. You had to pace yourself. You had to use rest holds. You actually used the "Select" button to manually breathe and regain energy.
Then there was the Momentum Bar. It replaced the old clean/dirty meters with something more fluid. If you played as a "Clean" face, you got a boost for doing taunts and technical moves. If you were a "Dirty" heel, you’d get a surge of momentum for poking your opponent in the eye or using a chair when the ref wasn't looking. It gave the characters personality beyond just their moveset.
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The Match Types We Still Miss
We finally got the Buried Alive match. It was terrifying and awesome. You had to beat your opponent down near a literal grave and then win a mini-game to shovel dirt on them. It felt heavy. It felt like the stakes were actually high.
We also got the "Fulfill Your Fantasy" match, which was basically the Divas match from Taboo Tuesday. Looking back, it’s a total relic of that specific 2005 era of wrestling—pillows, costumes, and all that—but at the time, it was a huge selling point for the "bra and panties" match enthusiasts.
That Soundtrack Is Burned Into My Brain
If I hear the opening riff of "Symphony of Destruction" (the Steve Tushar Remix) or "Start a War" by Static-X, I am instantly transported back to the main menu. The soundtrack for WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2006 was arguably the best in the series. It was that perfect mix of nu-metal, post-grunge, and hip-hop that defined the era.
- Dark New Day - "Pieces" (The ultimate "sad wrestler" song)
- The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Unretrofied"
- Bumpy Knuckles - "Bang Bang"
- Fireball Ministry - "The Broken"
Every time you navigated the menus to change your CAW’s (Create-A-Wrestler) eye color, these tracks were blasting. It created this aggressive, high-energy atmosphere that modern sports games just can't seem to replicate with their curated Spotify playlists of lo-fi beats and indie pop.
The Season Mode: Voice Acting and Chaos
One thing that makes WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2006 stand out is that the wrestlers actually talked. This wasn't just text boxes. John Cena, Triple H, and JBL all recorded actual lines for the Season Mode.
The stories were wild, too. One minute you’re fighting for the US Title, the next you’re getting framed for a crime or joining a stable you hate. While it didn't have as many branching paths as Here Comes the Pain, the production value was top-tier. It felt like you were playing through a year of WWE television. If you played as a SmackDown superstar, you dealt with Teddy Long’s "Holla Holla" energy. If you were on Raw, you had to deal with the wrath of Eric Bischoff.
The PSP Version Was a Technical Miracle
Let’s be real for a second: the fact that they got this entire game onto a PSP UMD disc is insane. It wasn't some watered-down mobile port. It was the full game. Same roster, same GM mode, same season mode.
Sure, the loading times were long enough to go make a sandwich, but you could play a Buried Alive match on the bus. That was revolutionary in 2006. They even added exclusive mini-games for the PSP like a WWE trivia challenge and some weird card games. It made the handheld version feel like a "Definitive Edition" in some ways, especially since you could link it to your PS2 to transfer data.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Roster
Some fans complain that the roster was "smaller" than previous years, but that’s a misconception. It wasn't smaller; it was just more focused. This was the first game to feature the video game debuts of guys like Carlito, Chris Masters, and Joy Giovanni.
Plus, the Legends roster was stacked. You had:
- The Rock (Classic and 2000s)
- Bret "The Hitman" Hart
- Andre the Giant
- Hulk Hogan (80s, nWo, and 2005 versions)
- Mankind
It was the first time we really saw the "Legends" concept fully integrated into the game’s economy. You had to earn cash in Season Mode to buy them in the shop. It gave you a reason to keep playing.
Why We’re Still Talking About It 20 Years Later
Modern wrestling games are great. The graphics are photorealistic and the physics are "better." But they often feel like they’re missing a soul. WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2006 had a grit to it. It wasn't afraid to be a little clunky if it meant being more immersive.
The GM Mode wasn't perfect—the computer definitely cheated on the ratings—but it was addictive. The stamina system was annoying until you realized it made the matches feel like a struggle. The graphics were stylized in a way that made the wrestlers look like action figures come to life.
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It’s the gold standard for a reason. It balanced the fun of the arcade era with the depth of a simulation, and we’ve been chasing that high ever since.
How to Play WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2006 Today
If you’re feeling nostalgic and want to jump back in, you’ve basically got three real options:
- The Original Hardware: Dust off the PS2 and find a copy on eBay. It usually goes for about $20-$30 depending on the condition.
- PSP on a Vita: If you have a modded PS Vita, playing the PSP version on that OLED screen is actually the superior way to experience the handheld version.
- Emulation: Using an emulator like PCSX2 on a modern PC allows you to upscale the game to 4K resolution. It looks surprisingly good—the textures on the wrestlers' gear hold up better than you’d expect.
If you go the emulation route, look for "save files" online that have all the legends and attributes already unlocked. It saves you about 40 hours of grinding through Season Mode if you just want to jump straight into a GM Mode draft with your friends.
Once you’re in, try turning the "Stamina" setting to 'On' and the difficulty to 'Legend.' It’s a completely different game when every move matters and the AI actually knows how to reverse a finisher. Just don't blame me when you lose the World Heavyweight Title to a random roll-up by Gene Snitsky.