Summary
A newly released animated film on the Netflix streaming service,Leo, features the surprise appearance of a classic WWE licensed game,Smackdown vs. Raw.Leois a Netflix exclusive movie that stars Adam Sandler, who plays the film’s titular character, Leo the Lizard. It is a coming-of-age musical comedy that features the last year of an elementary school class, which is witnessed through the eyes of the class pet. While Leo is the central character of the film, the students are also a big part of the cast, who all have their own interests, like watching streamers playclassic WWE video games.
TheSmackdown vs. Rawwrestling gamesare a series of officially licensed WWE video games that started in 2004. It was developed by Yuke’s, even when the games were eventually re-branded toWWE 2K. Yuke’s would continue working on the series up until the release ofWWE 2K20, with development duties being taken over by Visual Concepts. Nowadays, many fans have nostalgia for theSmackdown vs. Rawseries, praised for the arcade-like action and simulation of the entertainment sport. The second game in the series,Smackdown vs. Raw 2006, was briefly shown inLeo.
This was discovered by Reddit user gogrizz, who posted a photo of a still frame from the film on the r/WWEGames subreddit. According to the poster, this moment shows up very quickly inLeo, halfway through the film at the 53-minute mark. While they initially guessed it was the 2007 iteration, other savvy WWE fans were able to pinpoint that it wasSmackdown vs. Raw 2006specifically. User Rockin-Reedmeister noted that they could tell it was the 2006 game due to the outfit thatwrestler Kurt Anglewas wearing in the footage. InSvR 2007, he wore a black singlet, while inSvR 2006, he wore his classic stars-and-stripes-themed singlet.
The appearance of this classicWWEvideo game made some fans nostalgic, with some users reminiscing about how they would watch Twitch streamers play these games. This is replicated in the film itself, with the viewer watching a streamer play this game as Ric Flair against Kurt Angle. This is evident by the facecam of the streamer in the bottom-right corner, while the right column has a Twitch chat room, complete with people leaving their comments.
This isn’t the only video game reference inLeo, as Bill Burr’s character is named afterthe fan-favorite Kanto Starter Pokemon, Squirtle. The reception ofLeois mostly on the positive side, with many praising its voice work and animation, with criticisms leveled at its inconsistent tone. Regardless, it seems likeLeois a film that tickles the nostalgia of some fans with these classic references and premise.
