Tyrese Haliburton would’ve loved the chance to compete in the Men’s Royal Rumble match, but it wasn’t meant to be thanks to Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque. Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, the Indiana Pacers star shared that he had hoped to be in the 30-Man contest with a World Title opportunity at WrestleMania 41 on the line.
“Me and Triple H talked about it. He was like, ‘A lot of people are asking if you’re going to be in the Rumble. I just laughed in their face.’ ‘What the f**k?’”
Haliburton speculated that Triple H was “a little scared” about letting him get physical, especialy in the middle of the NBA season. The NBA star referenced Jalen Brunson’s appearance in 2024 with a broken hand, to which “Triple H kind of had a heart attack.” While Haliburton didn’t compete this year, the Rumble did see celebrity involvement from IShowSpeed, who had a brief, painful, and viral interaction with Bron Breakker.
Though Haliburton didn’t appear in the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble, his WWE standing can’t be denied. The Indiana Pacer has already appeared for WWE NXT and WWE SmackDown, meaning fans can’t count out a future role at a WWE PLE. With plans already in place for the 2026 Royal Rumble, a show IShowSpeed is already preparing for, perhaps Haliburton will get his spot in the iconic match stipulation next year.