WWE Forced To Drop SummerSlam Plans For NBA Star And John Cena

John Cena’s SummerSlam nearly looked a little different.

At SummerSlam 2025, John Cena lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes in the main event of night two. The defeat ended his record-breaking 17th World Championship reign as he closed on retirement.

Just 48 hours earlier, John Cena turned his back on the heel character he’d been portraying since Elimination Chamber, ensuring he’ll be his regular babyface self when he retires. On SmackDown, Cena said that he’d been led down the wrong path and betrayed by others.

Although not named directly, this is believed to be a reference to The Rock and Travis Scott.

NBA Star Had John Cena Dream

During an appearance on Impaulsive with Logan Paul, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton dived into his lifelong love of WWE. The two-time NBA all-star recalled first being exposed to wrestling by watching WrestleMania 19 before becoming a fan of John Cena.

Fast forward to 2025, and Haliburton revealed that he spoke with Triple H about leading out Cena at SummerSlam. However, his plans came undone when he suffered an achilles injury, and the Pacers were beaten by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“The plan was, like, two months ago. And when I say plan, I mean very, very loosely, like I talked with H maybe about one time. I was like, if Cena’s a heel in New York and we win a championship, let me walk him out with the trophy.

When I got hurt, the first two things were, this game, next season, John Cena…

My trainer asked me, ‘What would be a bigger deal to you, winning the championship or walking out… John Cena, with the trophy?’… neck and neck, 1 and 2.”

John Cena will be back in action at Clash In Paris, where he’s set to face Logan Paul. From there, Cena is expected to continue his feud with Brock Lesnar, which will reportedly lead to a match at Wrestlepalooza in September.

H/t to WrestlingNews.Co