Limping Tyrese Haliburton Sees Personal Belonging Taken Away After Merciless Reception at Offseason Event

Fresh off announcing his engagement to his partner of six years, Jade Jones, Tyrese Haliburton chose a unique location for the celebration. Their recent trip included no restaurants, no beaches, and not even Netflix and chill, but they chose to be part of the biggest party of the summer. The 2x All-Star was part of the action at the WWE SummerSlam, and it was the first time in the company’s history that this PLE was taking place over two nights. And Haliburton did not miss a chance to show out.

The company announced 113k fans were in attendance across both nights, with 60,651 fans for Night 2. As you may recall, Tyrese Haliburton has already made a few appearances for WWE, including a stare-down against the Knicks star Jalen Brunson. That time, too, he wasn’t the crowd favorite, and even today in MetLife Stadium, the situation was the same. Despite him wearing a walking boot and using crutches amid his recovery from the Achilles injury he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. The crowd gave a very chilly reaction when Haliburton was featured on the big screen.

He received boos from a crowd that apparently hasn’t yet forgiven him for his role in eliminating the New York Knicks from consecutive playoffs. The 25-year-old embraced all the hate and heckling and even said, “I love you too!” in response to the booing–a true heel behavior, as he had no probably being the bad guy. But when you turn up at a WWE event, expect the unexpected. And no, the Pacers guard did not start competing in the ring, but in some capacity, he still did.

Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and former champion Cody Rhodes were fighting in the main event, which was also a rematch from WrestleMania 41. That night, it was the Grammy-nominated artist, Travis Scott, who helped Cena beat Rhodes. This time, WWE’s GOAT sought help from Tyrese Haliburton. After the booing from the fans, it was Cena’s time to troll the Pacers guard. The 17x World champion is on his retirement tour and did his signature taunt, ‘You can’t see me’, and took away the 2x All-Star’s crutch.

Yes, Cena made sure to use one of Haliburton’s crutches to beat down Rhodes. Since it was a Street Fight stipulation, it was all legal, and that’s why it became an indirect assist from Haliburton.

The time when Tyrese Haliburton’s assist was neutralized in Madison Square Garden

We all remember the moment when the point guard dissed out Reggie Miller’s ‘choking’ celebration after a game-tying shot in Indiana’s comeback win in the ECF game 1. It was just another moment in the Pacers-Knicks rivalry for the fans to remember. But long before the 2024-25 season and win in the Big Apple, Haliburton squared off against Jalen Brunson in WWE’s squared circle.

It was after the 2024 playoffs, when the Pacers were victorious against the Knicks, and WWE cashed in on the rivalry. They called Tyrese Haliburton and asked about him making an appearance on the June 28, 2024, episode of SmackDown. Since the location was the iconic Garden and he was a WWE fan, there was no hesitation from Haliburton to attend the arena where he ended the Knicks’ season. During the show, the Pacers guard was aligned with Logan Paul–another heel in the WWE universe.

That time, the 2x All-Star was not injured and was ready to hand off the brass knuckles to help Paul. But the Knicks captain came in and saved the day. Brunson made sure to first thwart any attempt from the Pacers guard to pass the knuckles. But their staring contest was not done. After the match, the duo of Haliburton and Paul tried to attack the victor of the match, LA Knight, a perennial crowd favorite. This time, JB made sure not only to help but also to bring a weapon of his own and came to the ring with a steel chair.

Even though the two NBA stars did not actually fight, that instantly became a hit. Who thought that moment would lead to this year’s ECF between the Pacers and the Knicks? Both young guards are even part of the WWE 2K25 roster as part of the Dunk & Destruction DLC Pack. Who knows, there might be another showdown in the future, with Tyrese Haliburton already ruled out of next season due to his injury.