WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 further refines THQ's formula. Expanded career modes, finer animations and an updated roster. A major step before the 2007 high.
Your verdict
Category
Sports2 players16+
Description
A Yuke's and THQ sports game released in 2005, the second Vs. Raw 2006 entry of the franchise and pre-2007 peak. Deepens the previous formula with roster of 70+ wrestlers (Batista, Edge, Randy Orton), new Stamina system regulating heavy attacks and multi-year Season mode with narrative branching. Most precise wrestling mechanics of the franchise, online multiplayer mode. Considered one of the best SD vs Raw entries.
WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
The art direction stages the wrestlers' triumphant entrance. This entry particularly tends the arrival ceremony to the ring: light plays, bursts of pyrotechnics, giant screens broadcasting the star's face, a choreography of signature gestures saluted by the crowd. Each wrestler gets his personal staging, a spectacle in its own right before even the first blow. The imagery makes this entrance ritual a moment of visual glory.
The soundtrack opposes two rival brands in two atmospheres. The title confronts the SmackDown and Raw universes, and the music declines this rivalry: each show keeps its signature theme, its sound dressings and its color, so that a wrestler's camp is heard in his accompaniment. To the entrances answer the stars' personal anthems, while the show jingles punctuate the transitions.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Captivating"
Difficulty
"Easy"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Fleshing out the season mode with deeper stakes and backstage drama revives an already hearty wrestling formula. Running the career, creating wrestlers and arenas and chasing the belts fills long hours, extended by multiplayer bouts. That density of modes sustains a longevity wrestling fans gladly cultivate.
The SmackDown vs. Raw 2006 entry, polishing the formula with a general manager mode and more wrestling styles, consolidating the series' new era. Still common in the West in localized editions, its interest lies in this rise in content of a beloved brand rather than scarcity. An affordable piece for fans of arcade wrestling of the PS2 era.
Better with friends
An expanded iteration of spectacle wrestling, richer in modes, wrestlers and creation options for endless multiplayer evenings. The competition keeps its cocktail of technique and staging, where chaining reversals and finishing on your signature raises the enthusiasm. Accessible and complete, it forges personalized rivalries and turns every ring into a theater of rematches you replay with passion.
Is WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2005 on PS2, Yuke's project clearly enriches the formula with a stamina management that paces the matches, new match types and a deepened career mode mixing schedule management and rivalries. The massive WWE roster, the very complete wrestler editor and the online play, now closed, made for a considerable offering. The readability of the combat and the generosity of the content have held up. The technical side shows its age and some additions divide. A solid entry of the line, recommended for wrestling fans and for fans of sports career simulation.
