Tyrese Haliburton is still dishing out assists despite nursing an Achilles injury.
The Indiana Pacers point guard was watching ringside Sunday as John Cena and Cody Rhodes faced off in the WWE SummerSlam 2025 main event at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The NBA All-Star was wearing a vintage John Cena T-shirt.
With Rhodes reeling in pain, Cena spotted Haliburton by the barricade and decided to walk toward him. After a brief staredown, Cena directed his signature “You Can’t See Me” taunt to Haliburton before swiping one of the latter’s crutches. Cena broke it off Rhodes’ back.
Tyrese Haliburton with the indirect assist! 😅 pic.twitter.com/OYPBBs8UdB
— WWE (@WWE) August 4, 2025
Given that the WWE event was held not too far from New York Knicks territory, choosing Haliburton to help Cena, even indirectly, felt like a calculated move. Haliburton was seen heckling Knicks fans just hours prior.
The dirty blow was perfectly legal, given that the match was under “Street Fight” rules. All weapons — even crutches — were fair game.
Rhodes was able to shake off the blow and beat Cena to become the WWE Undisputed Champion, a title he had lost to Cena at WrestleMania 41.
After half a year of Cena playing heel, the two shared an emotional passing of the torch moment. Cena, who is set to retire later this year, handed Rhodes the belt and raised the latter’s arm to congratulate him.
Cody Rhodes just dethroned John Cena at SummerSlam! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/e1XkSZ8qZC
— WWE (@WWE) August 4, 2025
Haliburton has become a recurring guest at WWE events. He famously feuded with Knicks rival Jalen Brunson in the ring last year.
