Add as a preferred source on Google The New York Knicks’ NBA championship celebration took up a large part of WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event this past Saturday, July 18, at Madison Square Garden. But it reportedly didn’t sit well with everyone backstage.
The show returned to the Garden for the first time since 2007. Ahead of the event, WWE had announced Jalen Brunson alongside Roman Reigns and built the match between Danhausen and JD McDonagh around the wrestler’s tie to the Knicks’ championship campaign.
However, according to WrestleVotes Radio, via Fightful Select, WWE’s day-to-day decision-makers understood the special atmosphere in New York City but felt the integration had gone too far.
“The day-to-day decision-makers at WWE weren’t ‘exactly enthusiastic’ about the amount of New York Knicks integration throughout Saturday Night’s Main Event. Those that WrestleVotes spoke to understood the atmosphere surrounding the event at Madison Square Garden and the Knicks’ NBA Championship win, but there was a feeling internally that the presentation went further than many would have preferred.”
For example, Karl-Anthony Towns hadn’t been previously announced for the show. During the No Disqualification Match, he emerged from Danhausen’s cloning machine, chokeslammed both McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio, and helped Danhausen win.
Later, Brunson took part in the show’s closing segment. Reigns presented him with a custom World Heavyweight Championship in Knicks colors before Seth Rollins and Tyrese Haliburton showed up to start a brawl.
The possibility of more players getting involved, however, had already been floated before the show. Michael Cole revealed that several Knicks players had been invited.