WWE Friday Night Smackdown made its way to Indianapolis for the weekly programming, which was featured at the home arena of the Indiana Fever and Pacers. The first match of the night featured a cage match for the United States Championship between the Challenger Baron Corbin and the Champ Trick Williams, according to WWE.com.
Williams would come out victorious against the former champion Baron Corbin for the second time since capturing it from Willams at Summer Slam last month.
Speaking of Williams, he and Pacers two-time All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton recently graced the cover of the basketball bible known as Slam Magazine. The photoshoot took place at the Pacers practice facility, according to Slam’s Kazeem Famuyide.
Haliburton is a mega fan of WWE wrestling and had the opportunity to be part of a few storylines, including Saturday Night’s Main Event back in July at Madison Square Garden.
“I think everybody’s always, like—you can tell I’m a wrestling fan by the way I talk shit, the way I go on social media after games,” Hali says. “And if somebody said something in the past, I’d pull it up and all those things. So, I feel like I definitely have a wrestling mindset with a lot of things. And I love the idea of storylines. There’s nothing like it in wrestling, as well as the NBA. Like, how can we push those to grow our game even more? So that makes it fun for me. And yeah, I see that for myself a little bit. I would love it if I could be even a little bit more arrogant, but sometimes [I’m] like, Let me fall back.”
During his interview with Slam, Haliburton spoke about having fun whenever he gets to appear on WWE TV.
“Anytime I get to do anything on WWE TV, it’s fun, but it’s, like, weird. Me and [Lil] Yachty talk about this all the time when you’re, like, a ‘celebrity,’ right? Like, half the fans are excited, and half the fans are pissed that you’re there,” Haliburton says. “So, you just try to show, like, I’m one of y’all! I’m a fan of the product. I didn’t just get brought here for celebrity involvement. It’s because I actually just love it. So, when I go, I just try to be as organic and authentic as I can. And WWE has done a great job of allowing me to do that.”
A rival point guard
During his appearance in July, Haliburton was in a segment with Finals MVP, Jalen Brunson, Roman Reigns, and Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins. It was part of a storyline leading up to the WWE Championship battle between Reigns and Rollins at Summer Slam 2026. Haliburton shared how the opportunity presented itself and if Brunson was cool with it, he was down to participate.
“I just said like, Yo, if JB’s cool with it, then I’ll do it. But don’t just insert me for no reason,” Haliburton says of his infamous run-in on Brunson. “Like, if that’s what he wants to do, cool.
[And] he was cool with it. Roman [Reigns] and Seth [Rollins] were cool with it because it’s kind of just added to their story as well. There are interesting parallels between their relationship and me and [Jalen Brunson]’s relationship, so that made it fun.”
As for Trick Williams, he is ascending into a rare conversation similar to The Rock’s rise to stardom during the Attitude era in the late 1990s into the early 2000s.
Trick Williams poses on the turnbuckle before a match during the WWE Road to WrestleMania show, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in United Supermarkets Arena at Lubbock. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Williams praised The Rock for what he did in his time but wants to take it up a notch.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s just crazy to me because The Rock is the one person who, when I decided I’m going to pursue wrestling, I would watch his promos,” Trick says.
“I would watch and I would study. I was like, Man, if he can do it, I want to do it, and I want it to feel something like this. It has to have a certain type of feel to it where it’s cool, where [the] mainstream, artists, everybody around the world wants to be with us. It’s cool that [wrestling] is getting that crossover because that’s what The Rock was able to do. By all means that’s a compliment. But I still wanted to feel different…It’s 2026 now. So, what The Rock did in ’98 was beautiful. It was amazing. But how can I take it up a notch? How can we make it go crazier? That’s what I’m thinking about now.”
Williams also recently qualified for the Men’s Money in the Back Match at the Money in the Bank PLE [Premium Live Event] in New Orleans next month.
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