NBA Star Tyrese Haliburton Seeks John Cena Appearance at SummerSlam 2025: WWE Insider | Times of India

Tyrese Haliburton, the guard for Indiana Pacers, had a dream of walking out at WWE event SummerSlam 2025 with John Cena. Even two months after the heated Game 7 of the NBA finals, Haliburton’s disappointment was still palpable, especially as he had suffered an injury during the finals.

At 25-years-old, Haliburton had a strong start in the finals, sinking three three-pointers and inspiring hopes for the Pacers’ first NBA championship. Unfortunately, an Achilles injury hindered his hopes. In addition to his aspiration for winning the NBA title, he also dreamt of ‘walking down’ the ramp at SummerSlam with Cena.

Haliburton expressed his desire on the Self Made podcast. He revealed his conversation with WWE’s Chief Creative Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, about his idea. His vision was to walk Cena out at SummerSlam if the Pacers won the championship and John Cena remained a ‘heel’ character in WWE. This vision, while grand, did not play out as planned due to Haliburton’s injury.

Despite the setback, Triple H was open to the idea and kept in touch with Haliburton during his recovery. They concocted a new plan for SummerSlam, where Haliburton on crutches assisted Cena, much to the hostility of the New York crowd. This moment was subsequently incorporated into the storyline.

Though the “what-if” of his injury still haunts Haliburton, his dream would have faced hurdles nonetheless due to Cena’s switch from a villainous character back to a good guy character. Thus, the crowd’s reaction would not be what Haliburton had initially envisaged. Even if Haliburton had been healthy, the New Jersey crowd was divided on cheering John and booing the Pacers. Consequently, it seems to be a silver lining that WWE changed its plans before SummerSlam and reinstated Cena’s real persona.