Madison Square Garden has seen plenty of big men throw their weight around. Saturday night it got one who usually does it in shorts and a tank top.
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns walked out of a prop cloning machine mid-match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, wearing a “Championhausen” shirt and proceeded to plant two opponents with chokeslams — one on JD McDonagh, another on Dominik Mysterio through a table — helping the cult-favorite Danhausen win a no-disqualification bout that had been slipping away from him.
The setup was pure sports-entertainment barnyard. Danhausen, the self-described “very nice, very evil” cult-favorite who wrestles in blue and orange Knicks colors, had been getting dismantled by McDonagh and Mysterio for most of the match. They’d ripped his Knicks jersey off him. A swarm of Mini-Hausens — mini-me versions of Danhausen — rushed the ring and got tossed around for their trouble. Then Danhausen stuffed a cat into the cloning machine. The crowd in the Garden knew what was coming.
Out stepped Towns. Seven feet, 250-plus pounds of NBA All-Star, now christened “KATHausen” by the broadcast. He hit McDonagh with a chokeslam that would’ve made any old-school defensive line coach nod. Then he scooped up Mysterio and sent him crashing through a table. McDonagh managed an inverted DDT afterward, but Danhausen landed his Death Drop and got the pin.
Towns, Danhausen, and the Mini-Hausens celebrated in the ring together. The Yahoo Sports live coverage graded the match 91 out of 100 and noted, “KAT isn’t known for assists, but he handed one out there.”
Towns wasn’t the only Knick in the building. Point guard Jalen Brunson was also shown at the event, seen interacting with the “Tribal Chief” — WWE’s nod to its Bloodline storyline. The card also featured CM Punk and Cody Rhodes teaming up against Gunther and Sami Zayn in the main event, plus a women’s tag title match where Fatal Influence dethroned Paige and Brie Bella.
For Towns, the appearance plays off a natural overlap. He plays home games at MSG. His nickname is KAT. Danhausen’s whole bit involves cats and cursed objects. The WWE creative team didn’t have to reach far to find the connection — they just needed a big man willing to pick up another big man and drop him on his back.
Towns has never been accused of being soft on a basketball floor, but there’s a difference between boxing out for a rebound and hoisting a grown man by the throat. The form on the chokeslams was respectable. Base was wide. Followed through. Drove the hips.
The film doesn’t lie.
Sources:
- Yahoo Sports — WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event results, live coverage
- Yahoo Sports — How to watch WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event
- Streamable — Karl-Anthony Towns arrives at Saturday Night’s Main Event