Tyrese Haliburton asked WWE executive for a favor that included John Cena at SummerSlam 2025
Nearly two months after the thrilling Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the disappointment still lingers for the Indiana Pacers. More so for their guard Tyrese Haliburton, who even suffered an injury from those finals.
The 25-year-old started strong, sinking three early three-pointers and fueling hopes of the Pacers' first NBA championship. However, an Achilles injury crushed his dream. One might say the moment was winning the NBA title, but also a later opportunity to 'walk down' the ramp at SummerSlam with
John Cena
!
Tyrese
Haliburton
pitched
Triple H
his walk-out spot with John Cena
Haliburton revealed on the Self Made podcast an untold story about his conversation with
WWE
's CCO, Paul 'Triple H' Levesque.
He pitched an ambitious idea: if the Pacers won the championship and John Cena remained a heel, Haliburton wanted to walk Cena out at SummerSlam. In front of thousands of fans, Cena with his WWE and Haliburton with his NBA title would have been iconic. Even though the vision was great, the leadup to it fell short and did not see either of those stars leave the MetLife Stadium with the gold.
Self Made Sessions #1: Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers
HHH was open to the idea, responding with a tentative 'we'll talk about it.' However, Haliburton's injury derailed the plan. Despite this, Levesque stayed in touch, checking on Haliburton during his recovery, which led to a new plan for SummerSlam. At the event,
Haliburton, on crutches, aided Cena
, earning boos from the hostile New York crowd, a moment they leaned into for the storyline.
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Still, Haliburton remains haunted by the 'what-if' of his injury.
Tyrese Haliburton's dream would have been hindered one way
or the other
The fact that Tyrese wanted to wanted to walk out with John was due to his heel run. The Indiana Pacers' guard would've been the villain for New Jersey crowd, who had broken the New York Knicks in the ECF. Same situation would be for Cena, who was on his villainous side since the last four months.
However, that shtick fell off and the Greatest of All Time was back to being a babyface. So anyways the reaction for Cena would have not been what Haliburton expected going into it.
FULL SEGMENT: The real John Cena returned in face-off with Cody Rhodes: SmackDown, Aug. 1, 2025
However if Tyrese was healthy and flexed in front of the New Jersey crowd, the stadium would be split on cheering John and
booing the Pacer
. It seems like a silver lining that WWE things pivoted before SummerSlam and saw the 17th time World Champion embrace his real persona. While Haliburton sat in the crowd, who did not accompany him but cheered and helped him out.
Also read:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/nba/top-stories/indiana-pacers-player-tyrese-haliburton-and-fiance-jade-jones-return-from-their-romantic-getaway-in-cabo/articleshow/123204827.cms
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
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