Indiana Pacers point guard, Tyrese Haliburton is no stranger to the WWE. In the 2024 NBA offseason, Haliburton made several appearances in their programming. And in those, he played the role of a ‘heel’ like a fish taking to water.
And tonight, fresh off a victory against the Atlanta Hawks, Tyrese graced the WWE with his presence once more. The WWE is hosting their January pay-per-view, the Royal Rumble, at the Lucas Oil Stadium, only a few minutes from the Pacers’ home at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. And with the memory of victory fresh in his mind, Haliburton appeared in the crowd with some of his teammates during the Royal Rumble.
Joining him were T.J. McConnell, James Johnson, Issac Yacob, and one of his brothers. After he was spotted in the crowd, WWE legend and Chief Content Officer Triple H even made him an offer. Hyping up the crowd before the massive 30-man battle royale, he said, “Just about anybody could enter the Royal Rumble as a surprise. You never know who might show up.”
Haliburton has arrived with T.J. McConnell, James Johnson, Isaac Yacob, and one of his brothers#RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/h9B0BCBmnZ
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) February 2, 2025
He then scanned the crowd before acknowledging the Pacers’ guard stood on the stage. “You got a minute?” asked Paul “Triple H” Levesque with Haliburton casually replying, “Let’s talk, let’s talk.” Could we see Tyrese Haliburton as an entrant in the Rumble this year?
Tyrese Haliburton picks his 2025 Royal Rumble winner
Tyrese Haliburton promised Pat McAfee before this week’s episode of SmackDown that he would appear at tonight’s Royal Rumble. And as you can see, he lived up to his promise. But that wasn’t all he did during the interview with McAfee. Tyrese also announced his pick for this year’s winner and the person who will go on to headline Wrestlemania.
After Pat asked him for his prediction, the crowd went wild with chants of CM Punk. But Tyrese clearly did not feel the same way. “Does that mean I’m supposed to agree?,” he asked the crowd before exclaiming, “Give me John Cena!” Tyrese’s declaration sent the crowd into a frenzy as they popped loudly, hearing the name of the 16x WWE World Champion.
Tyrese is an avid fan of the WWE, there’s no questioning that. He most recently appeared on the January 31st edition of Smackdown. And even before that, he was setting up matches on NXT. Clearly, he loves the sport. After all, no one goes to another sports event minutes after winning an NBA game if they don’t.
And it’s probably because of his love for the sport that he chose John Cena to win this year’s Royal Rumble. After all, the ‘Suicide Squad’ star announced that he would retire from in-ring competition this year. So it’s no surprise that Tyrese wants Cena to break Ric Flair’s record at this year’s Wrestlemania after winning the Royal Rumble.
But John will need to get past 29 other men to win the match. Well, 28 if Tyrese ends up entering the match. And who knows, perhaps a career as a pro wrestler may be on the cards for Haliburton one day after he concludes his NBA career.
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