Not everyone is a professional wrestling fan like Tyrese Haliburton, but the WWE mega-fan gave a message to Logan Paul about his detractors.
Plenty of people dismiss wrestling for being “fake.” Like many fans, Haliburton gets into debates over the topic, as he told Paul on Impaulsive.
“I'm like, ‘I'm going to SummerSlam,' [and] they're like, ‘You watch that s**t?' Yeah, motherf****r! You watch movies, don't you? You think Spider-Man [is] real? He ain't coming to save you, bro,” Haliburton said. “[Have] you been to a musical before? People go out there and they have to perform, and if they f**k up, everybody's gonna see it and laugh. That's the same thing here, except these guys are putting their bodies f*****g everything.”
Haliburton has many interests, but WWE is his “second favorite” thing besides basketball, as he said to Paul. “This is like my second favorite thing in the world behind basketball,” Haliburton revealed.
His love for the game dates back to his childhood. Haliburton's uncle would watch wrestling with him — the first event he remembers watching was WrestleMania 19. From then on, he only played basketball and wrestling video games.
However, Haliburton acknowledged that he could never be a wrestler. He has tried running the ropes at the WWE Performance Center, but it was not for him. He also went to the top rope and realized how high it was.
In turn, Haliburton further appreciates what the Superstars do in WWE. “I could never get in the ring because my pain tolerence is nothing, and you guys f*****g do some crazy stuff,” Haliburton conceded. “I could never do what you guys do, and I think that causes more of an appreciation. And I just love storytelling and what goes into it.”
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton's WWE fandom
Haliburton is a known WWE fan. He has attended several events, most recently SummerSlam. During the main event between John Cena and Cody Rhodes, the 17-time world champion used Haliburton's crutch as a weapon.
He also attended the same episode of Friday Night SmackDown as New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson in 2024. It foreshadowed the Eastern Conference Finals series in 2025, which featured the Knicks and Pacers.
Haliburton is currently recovering from a torn Achilles injury that will keep him on the shelf for the 2025-26 regular season. He suffered it in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
