New York City was lit up in blue for Friday night's edition of "WWE SmackDown," which emanated from the historic Madison Square Garden. In addition to being the site of some of wrestling history's most memorable moments, the Garden is also home court for the NBA's New York Knicks, whose star player, Jalen Brunson, was in attendance. In fact, Brunson ended up jumping the ringside barricade during the men's Money in the Bank match qualifier, ultimately leading to an LA Knight victory.
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Knight took on Legado del Fantasma's Santos Escobar andUnited States Champion Logan Paul, whoantagonistically brought Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton with him to ringside but not without a tense glare between Haliburton and Brunson, who have very recent history. The Knicks and the Pacers clashed in this year's NBA Playoffs, meeting in the EasternConference Semifinals; the Knicks were favored to win the best-of-seven series and in fact won the first two games, but the Pacers ended up moving on to the Conference Finals after beating the Knicks in a win-or-go-home Game 7 in the Garden.
The tension between Brunson and Haliburton added to the pre-existing explosiveness of Knight vs. Paul vs. Escobar. At one point, Paul motioned for Haliburton to retrieve his brass knuckles, but before Haliburton could deliver Paul's signature weapon, Brunson jumped the barricade to stare down his Indiana-based opposition. Haliburton was distracted just long enough to allow a previously downed Escobar to recover, and the match ended shortly after, when Knight reversed a roll-up to pin Paul and advance to the men's Money in the Bank ladder match.
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