The War on Theis continued in entirely new ways in Game 5 of the second round playoff series between the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors on Monday night, in ways that resembled a cage match in more than just a rhetorical way.
The ‘war’ refer to how Boston center Daniel Theis has found himself unjustly under siege by the referees of the 2020 NBA Playoffs throughout the first two rounds of the postseason.
In Game 5, things took a more aggressive turn for Theis as Raptors wing Pascal Siakam planted his foot in the face of the German big man.
Siakam turned into Shawn Michaels 😅 pic.twitter.com/rZoYmN1Fwi
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 7, 2020
More than a few fans of both teams who happened to also be aficionados of professional wrestling took note of the fact that Siakam seemed to be invoking his inner Shawn Michaels.
Pascal Siakam = Shawn Michaels pic.twitter.com/QZkrbCY3zG
— Leb 🦋 (@PlayboiClaxton) September 7, 2020
For the unfamiliar, Michaels is a WWE wrestler known for connecting the soles of his feet to the jaws of his opponents in the ring.
And it wasn’t just run-of-the-mill NBA fans making the connection, either.
THE SHAWN MICHAELS BE PROUD OF THE PASCAL BUBBA pic.twitter.com/Cic81l0WAR
— The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) September 8, 2020
Well-known professional wrestlers such as the Iron Sheik made a point of commenting on the similarities between Siakam’s (we’re pretty sure) inadvertent roundhouse and Shawn Michaels’ go-to move.
Sooner or later it had to get to the eyes of the man himself, who said, “Well, while I APPRECIATE you’ve been watching my old WWE tapes, you may run into issues hitting sweet chin music on an NBA basketball court!! Toronto Raptors”.
Well, while I APPRECIATE you’ve been watching my old @WWE tapes, you may run into issues hitting sweet chin music on an @nba basketball court!! 🤣 @Raptors https://t.co/QeWYXA6WPf
— Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) September 8, 2020
Little does Michaels know that the Celtics just so happen to have a pro-wrestler in training on the roster already for just such a purpose — Celtics center Enes Kanter spent last summer training with wrestler Diamond Dallas Page, after all.
Should Siakam try getting cute with a flying elbow off the top off the backboard, don’t be surprised to see the Turkish Shark appear out of the tunnel with a steel chair and the knowledge of how to use it.
Okay, that last part is probably never happening in an NBA game, but you can’t blame us for letting our imagination run with it a little.
