Jalen Brunson Walks Into MSG With Roman Reigns, Crowned “King of New York” in WWE Crossover

One month after the New York Knicks ended a 53-year championship drought, Jalen Brunson walked into Madison Square Garden like he owned the place — because, for one night, he did. The NBA Finals MVP entered alongside WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns for the main event segment of Saturday Night’s Main Event, the first time the WWE broadcast had emanated from MSG since 2007.

Reigns, one of Brunson’s favorite wrestlers — the point guard does a Reigns-inspired handshake with a Knicks trainer before every game — acknowledged him as the “King of New York” and presented him with a custom championship belt striped in Knicks blue and orange. The Garden crowd, getting its first chance to celebrate the title in person, erupted.

Then the script flipped. As the segment appeared to wind down, Seth Rollins’ entrance music hit — but it wasn’t Rollins who stepped out. Indiana Pacers guard and Knicks rival Tyrese Haliburton emerged instead, reprising a feud with Brunson that had already spilled into a WWE ring once before. The distraction opened the door for Rollins to jump Reigns from behind. Brunson stepped in front of his friend, buying Reigns enough space to land a Superman punch and a spear, leaving both champions standing tall as the show went off the air.

Earlier in the night, Karl-Anthony Towns got his hands dirty. WWE’s Danhausen — who had become a Knicks good-luck charm during the title run after famously “uncursing” the franchise just before New York won 15 of its final 16 regular-season games — was getting swarmed by JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio in a no-disqualification match. The pair had stolen and destroyed a Knicks jersey gifted to Danhausen during the Finals. Towns hit the ring and delivered chokeslams to both McDonagh and Mysterio, clearing the path for Danhausen to pick up the win. He closed the segment holding up five fingers: Knicks in 5.