Some of the wrestling action, however, needed more work. The collision detection is iffy, forcing you to hit someone you didn't intend to strike (like, for instance, the referee) or passing through your opponent and landing face first on the mat. Furthermore, the game automatically does something for you at the most inopportune times, a real annoyance. Say you're a sideline observer for a friend's match. You run into the ring and interfere, but then you automatically head back out to the floor, forcing you to go back in manually. Furthermore, if a superstar begins a pre-set move, you can't stop them. Let's say Lashley is ready to plow Rey Mysterio with a spear. Rey gets up and our Mr. Kennedy character stands in the way. He attempts to kick Lashley but doesn't affect him whatsoever. Lashley runs over, moves oddly past Mr. Kennedy without touching him and nails Mysterio. It's enough to make you pull a Stone Cold Steve Austin and say, "What?"

The roster contains over 50 wrestlers. These include current favorites like the Undertaker, Triple H and Rey Mysterio, along with legends including Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Rowdy Roddy Piper and even The Rock. However, like previous games, Smackdown Vs. Raw doesn't include an entirely updated roster. The current line-up includes dismissed wrestlers such as Cryme Tyme, Chris Masters and recent TNA defector King Booker. In addition, there's no sign of Chris Jericho – you'll have to create Y2J from scratch.

WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2008 has over 50 match types. Many of the new ECW additions are noteworthy, especially when sending Johnny Nitro through a burning table (he had it coming) or trying to escape from Hell In a Cell. Several WWE pay-per-view brands are also available, along with the standard ECW, Raw and Smackdown settings. However, the real draw for wrestling fanatics is the new 24/7 mode. This is a combination of last year's Season and General Manager Modes. You can either choose the fate of a General Manager, hiring writers for the programs and putting together your dream roster, or take on a legendary or rookie WWE superstar, wrestling your way up the ranks to an eventual WWE career, filled with title shots and promo ops. It's cool, though you'll run into repeat actions quite often. Workouts are mostly the same; comments and situations often leave you thinking you're experiencing deja vu; you'll have to keep rebalancing your fatigue or risk wrestling with an injury; and storylines go out of whack. One minute you party with an ally and his escort and the next he turns on you. Oddly enough, there's also no option here to nurse an injury on the sidelines, only to "take it like a man" and wrestle with it – which makes no sense. If John Cena has a problem with his shoulder, for example, something simple like an arm bar will finish him.