NBA star Tyrese Haliburton has revealed he almost had the chance to walk out with John Cena at WWE SummerSlam.
During an appearance on Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE podcast, the Indiana Pacers guard explained that he and WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque had spoken about the idea. The plan would have seen Haliburton, fresh off an NBA Championship win, accompany then-WWE Champion John Cena to the ring at MetLife Stadium for his SummerSlam main event against Cody Rhodes.
Haliburton explained how the talks came about.
“The plan was like two months ago, and when I say plan, I mean, like, very, very loosely. I talked to H [Levesque] about it maybe one time. It was like, if Cena is a heel in New York and we [the Pacers] win a championship, let me walk him out with the [NBA Finals] trophy.”
The scenario never materialized, as the Pacers were defeated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals after previously eliminating the New York Knicks. To make matters worse, Haliburton went down with a devastating Achilles injury in the deciding game, an injury that is expected to sideline him for the entirety of next season.
Reflecting on the timing of the setback, Haliburton admitted his first thoughts extended beyond basketball.
“When I got hurt, the first things were like [this cost me]– this game [Game 7], next season, John Cena.”
The full IMPAULSIVE episode featuring Haliburton can be viewed below.