Jalen Brunson Reveals How 6/28 WWE SmackDown Appearance Came Together

New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson made a memorable appearance at WWE SmackDown on June 28th at Madison Square Garden and has now revealed how his appearance on the show came together.

During the June 28 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Jalen Brunson made a surprising appearance, intervening during a triple threat match involving LA Knight, Logan Paul, and Santos Escobar. When Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton attempted to interfere, Brunson stepped in to prevent it. He later entered the ring with a chair to maintain order as Paul and Haliburton were threatening Knight. Ultimately, LA Knight emerged victorious in the triple threat bout, advancing to the Money in the Bank ladder match.

While speaking on the latest episode of the Roommates Show with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, Brunson shared his thoughts on his WWE SmackDown appearance. He noted that fans were worried when it seemed like he had hurt his left hand while using a chair, especially since he had surgery on that hand in May after injuring it in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Haliburton’s Pacers.

Brunson explained that his reaction to his hand was spontaneous, fully engaging with the moment. He recalled his conversation with WWE Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque about the opportunity, and how he insisted on calling him Triple H instead of his real name. Brunson admitted that stepping into the SmackDown ring made him more nervous than playing in a basketball game, though he tried to stay calm while talking to Levesque.

Brunson jokingly added that he would have hit Haliburton with the chair if he hadn’t been worried about a lawsuit from the Pacers. He also praised the person who came up with the segment involving him and Tyrese, saying they deserved a raise for their creative work.

”I did freestyle a little bit (during my WWE SmackDown appearance) and the part I freestyled, everyone freaked out over (he laughed) … When I got up and I pushed off my hand and I looked at my hand and then — it was all fun and games and then, my sister sends me this screenshot of like — or tweet — of a person screenshotting the video and looking at my hand being bent, and so it was just like a broken heart, it was a bunch of broken hearts and everyone’s like, ‘Just stay home. Stop playing around. Wrap him in bubble wrap.’ I’m just like, I can’t live out my dream? 

That was all freestyled. Yeah, it was no pain. At this point, there’s no pain, there’s no strength. There’s just no pain. But, yeah, it was cool and got a call. I got a call from a guy named Paul and Paul’s talking to me. I’m like, ‘Wait. I can’t call you Paul. Your name is not Paul, your name is Triple H. I’m not calling you Paul. This is not how it’s gonna go’ and we’re on the phone and yeah, it came up with an idea just to get me out there and flew back from Chicago that morning and then, yeah, made my way to The Garden. It was definitely something that I was like — it was more nerve-racking than playing a basketball game. It’s way more nerve-racking to do that, for me. But it was fun. It was worth it, 100 percent worth it… We (Brunson & Levesque) were in a group chat and then he called me and then and I got off the phone. You know when you get off the phone, you try to act cool, like, ‘Yeah, yeah man. Sounds good, sounds good.’ Then get off the phone and I was like, ‘I was just on the phone with Triple H!’ I was hype. I’m not gonna lie, I was hype… He’s a cool dude and everyone there was great.

Meeting L.A. Knight too, that was great too. Everyone a part of that, that whole experience for me was awesome… I did, I did meet Logan Paul. I met this guy named, um, what’s his name? Uh, Tyrese. Tyrese Haliburton. Great, great fellow. Great fellow. I had a chair. I was gonna smack him with a chair but, you know, I probably would have got sued by the Indiana Pacers… I saw Tyrese, I’m like, ‘Dude, what are you wearing?’ He said, ‘Nah, you see my shirt? It says Tyrese 3:17 so I’m trying to be like Austin 3:16 so I had to bring the jean shorts and the boots out.’ So you can’t be your own person? The shorts was not it. The belt he had on too. Just go throw on some sweats man. Just go throw on some sweats. Oh my God, dawg… (The person who came up with the idea for myself & Tyrese to be out there together) Deserves a raise. Deserves a raise… I should’ve just did it bro (tackled Tyrese). If my hand was good, I’m throwing hands, I’m sorry.”

It remains to be seen whether Jalen Brunson will make more appearances on WWE television somewhere down the line, as it is clear more and more professional athletes are making their presence felt on WWE television.

Do you want to see more of Jalen Brunson on WWE television? Let us know in the comments section below!