John Cena. Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

John Cena gets unlikely assist from Tyrese Haliburton at SummerSlam

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Renzo Pocholo Salao | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 11:21 PM ET

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 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 stare down, 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.