Haliburton Talks Cena Angle, WWE and AEW Rumors on Becky Lynch, Ozzy, Orange Cassidy

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Haliburton Talks Nixed Idea for Cena Angle

Indiana Pacers star and longtime WWE fan Tyrese Haliburton revealed this week that there were discussions about him participating in a major angle with John Cena while Cena was in the midst of his heel run.

During an appearance Tuesday on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Haliburton said he spoke with WWE head of creative Triple H about accompanying Cena to the ring for an appearance in New York City.

"The plan was like two months ago, and when I say plan, I mean very, very loosely," Haliburton said. "Like I talked with Triple H maybe about it one time and was like, if Cena is a heel in New York and we win a championship, let me walk him out with the trophy. And I was like, bro, when I got hurt, the first two things I thought about were like this game, next season, John Cena."

Haliburton led the Pacers to the NBA Finals, and in order to get there, Indiana beat the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals, marking the second straight year that the Pacers eliminated the Knicks in the playoffs.

Over the past two postseasons, Haliburton made numerous clutch shots to sink the Knicks, making him the most hated villain in the Big Apple since Pacers legend Reggie Miller.

Had Haliburton been in Cena's corner with the Larry O'Brien Trophy in tow, he and Cena would have undoubtedly gotten nuclear heat from the New York crowd.

Unfortunately for Haliburton, he tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers went on to lose the game and the series, and Haliburton must now sit out the entire 2025-26 season.

Despite that, Haliburton was still able to play a role in a major WWE match amid his recovery.

During the WWE Championship match between Cena and Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam earlier this month, Haliburton was seated in the front row, and Cena took his crutch to use as a weapon.

It was a fitting nod to the NBA superstar and a fun way to include him even though the bigger idea he had never saw the light of day.

WWE Reportedly Considering Apology for Lynch's Ozzy Line

Following Kelly Osbourne's negative reaction to a comment Becky Lynch made about her late father, rock and roll legend Ozzy Osbourne, on this week's episode of Raw, WWE reportedly may offer an apology to Kelly and the Osbourne family.

Monday's Raw took place in Ozzy's home of Birmingham, England, and given her status as a heel, Lynch took a shot at the city by mentioning Osbourne, saying: "The only good thing that came out of here died a month ago. But in fairness to Ozzy Osbourne, he had the good sense to move to L.A., a proper city. Because if I lived in Birmingham, I'd die too."

The line received the desired reaction from the live crowd, but Kelly Osbourne seemingly felt Lynch and WWE took things too far.

In a post on her Instagram Stories, Kelly called out Lynch, calling her a "disrespectful dirtbag."

According to Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Kelly's anger was legitimate, and WWE is "embarrassed" over the way things have gone down.

Alvarez added that WWE is "probably going to do an apology," although it isn't known if the company plans to apologize publicly or privately to the Osbourne family.

Ozzy, who died last month at the age of 76, is part of the WWE Hall of Fame's celebrity wing.

He made several appearances for the company over the years, including accompanying The British Bulldogs to the ring for their match at WrestleMania 2 and serving as a guest host of Raw with his wife, Sharon.

WWE has long held Ozzy in high regard, opting on multiple occasions to use his songs as themes for premium live events as well.

An apology may be an easy way for WWE to smooth things over, but Lynch's heel comment was relatively mild within the fabric of pro wrestling and what has been said by villainous characters over the years.

Orange Cassidy Reportedly Cleared to Return

AEW star Orange Cassidy has been out of action for more than five months, but his absence reportedly may soon come to an end.

According to BodySlam.net (h/t Carrier), Cassidy has been cleared to return and is expected to be back in action "sooner than later."

The exact nature of Cassidy's injury has never been confirmed, but Fightful Select (h/t Jack Atkins of Cultaholic.com) reported in April that he was believed to have suffered a torn pectoral muscle.

Cassidy, 41, was among the original AEW signees in 2019, and he has consistently been among the company's most popular stars since then.

Although he has not been able to parlay that into an AEW World Championship, OC is a two-time international champion.

Prior to getting injured, Cassidy was part of a group known as The Conglomeration, which had a rivalry with Jon Moxley and The Death Riders.

Cassidy was also vying for the International Championship, losing a title match to Konosuke Takeshita back in February.

It is unclear how Cassidy will be positioned when he returns, but with Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland seemingly both being written off AEW programming with injury angles at Forbidden Door, there is room for a popular babyface like Cassidy to receive a significant push.