Tyrese Haliburton suffered an Achilles injury in the NBA Finals that ended his dream of winning a championship this summer. Haliburton left the arena on crutches in despair after Game 7 ended in Oklahoma. No one could have predicted that his crutches would now, weeks later, be used to help John Cena smack Cody Rhodes at the WWE Summerslam.
The Pacers’ star is a major WWE fan, and he is often seen ringside at their events. He was attending the SummerSlam event in New Jersey, which is close to New York, and we know New Yorkers, especially Knicks fans, don’t like Haliburton. Therefore, he was welcomed with boos by the crowd when he was shown on the big screen at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
Just shortly after this happened, the main event of the SummerSlam began, which was a fight between the WWE legends John Cena and Cody Rhodes. During the fight, Cena went over to Haliburton in the front row of the crowd, did his famous ‘You Can’t See Me’ taunt on him, and stole his crutches to beat up Rhodes.
Tyrese Haliburton with the indirect assist! 😅 pic.twitter.com/OYPBBs8UdB
— WWE (@WWE) August 4, 2025
Haliburton just seemed to be in awe that his favorite wrestler of all time is using his iconic taunt on him. The crutches, however, seem like a prop that had been kept there from before in a planned move, as Haliburton can be seen walking into the arena with a different set of crutches than what Cena took from him at the fight.
Nonetheless, this moment was iconic for WWE fans in New York and New Jersey. Considering how close New Jersey is to New York, it is assumed that the crowd was full of New Yorkers as well.
Tyrese Haliburton receives boos. 👀
pic.twitter.com/jEocnXCWI9 https://t.co/FJLbfA6kAO
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 3, 2025
Since Haliburton averaged 21.0 points, 10.5 assists, and 6.0 rebounds in the series against the Knicks, to end their championship hopes, this is no surprise that the local NBA fans of that region do not like him.
Unfortunately for Haliburton, his favorite wrestler, John Cena, ended up losing via pinfall against Cody Rhodes in the street fight.
Tyrese Haliburton’s History With WWE
Haliburton is close friends with Pat McAfee, the renowned WWE commentator, and often appears on the set of “The Pat McAfee Show.” There, Haliburton has admitted how much he loves watching WWE.
During the offseason last year, Haliburton and Jalen Brunson also appeared on WWE, where they had their moment of hype in the spotlight. This day gave us the iconic staredown moment between the duo that went viral on social media.
Jalen Brunson stared down Tyrese Haliburton at WWE SmackDown 😭 pic.twitter.com/T5WjLohmDs
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) June 29, 2024
When Haliburton tried to hand Logan Paul a gold brass knuckle, Jalen Brunson did not let him intervene. Then, Brunson proceeded to get a metal chair into the ring when Haliburton did not budge.
JALEN BRUNSON VS. TYRESE HALIBURTON. 👀
(via @BWAMatt)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 29, 2024
Brunson later, in a press conference hilariously also admitted that he should’ve hit him with the chair when he had the chance. Haliburton has now found himself to become a prominent figure in the WWE world.
