This was one of the first games where wrestler size mattered. Small cruiserweights couldn't easily lift super-heavyweights, forcing players to use strategy.
The Season Mode was a branching narrative masterpiece. You could betray your tag partner, join the nWo, or randomly have Triple H book you in a 60-minute Iron Man match for no reason. It respected player agency in a way that modern "MyCareer" modes, with their voiced cutscenes and linear paths, do not. thmyl-wwe-smackdown-here-comes-the-pain