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

Fresh off announcing his engagement to longtime partner Jade Jones, Tyrese Haliburton skipped the usual celebration playbook. No fancy dinners, no beach getaways — not even a quiet night in. Instead, the 2x NBA All-Star chose to celebrate at the biggest party of the summer: WWE SummerSlam.

And it wasn’t just any SummerSlam. For the first time in company history, the premium live event spanned two nights, drawing a massive crowd of 113,000 fans across the weekend — including 60,651 for Night 2 at MetLife Stadium. Despite wearing a walking boot and getting around on crutches following his Achilles injury in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Haliburton was very much in the spotlight.

Haliburton wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms — especially by the New York crowd. When he appeared on the big screen, the boos rained down hard. Still, the 25-year-old embraced the chaos with ease. Unbothered, he fired back at the jeers with a confident, “I love you too!” A true heel move — and one the WWE Universe surely recognized. But Haliburton’s playful defiance was only the start of the fireworks in New York—because inside the ring, the intensity was about to reach a whole new level.

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.

Of course, this wasn’t his first WWE rodeo. Fans may recall his previous appearance where he had a brief face-off with Knicks guard Jalen Brunson. Just like that time, Haliburton wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms — especially by the New York crowd. When he appeared on the big screen, the boos rained down hard.

Whether it’s ending the Knicks’ playoff hopes or playing the villain in front of tens of thousands, Haliburton isn’t shying away from the moment. He didn’t step into the ring, but he didn’t need to — the Pacers star made his presence felt, proving once again that he knows how to own the stage, whether it’s hardwood or squared circle.

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.