A Reporter Was Spotted Watching WWE Extreme Rules On Press Row At The NBA Finals

Game 2 of the NBA Finals was interesting for approximately 30 minutes of game time before the Warriors’ offensive onslaught became too much for the Cavaliers to handle in the third quarter and the floodgates opened on the way to a 132-113 final. Golden State, to this point, has dominated the first two games of the Finals, and it’s hard to find much in the way of optimism in the Cavs making this a competitive series.

For those on press row that have covered the Warriors in these playoffs, the second half was a Groundhog Day scenario. A once competitive game quickly turned into a blowout. The game stories were going to be less about the action on the court and more about how can the Cavaliers make this a series. So, in that scenario, the mind can wander a bit and look for entertainment elsewhere when the Warriors’ show has become the norm.

If it’s a Sunday night and you’re sitting on media row high above the Oracle Arena floor, there aren’t a ton of options, so maybe you decide to check in on how the WWE pay-per-view is going. That’s what one anonymous member of the Warriors media did, firing up the WWE Network on his laptop and checking out Extreme Rules to see what was happening in the world of professional wrestling. Someone snapped a picture and tweeted it out, and while they later deleted it, the picture lives on via other sources.

Look, I’ve been in this position on press row during the regular season where you’re there because it’s your job but you really aren’t interested in what’s happening on the court. It happens and sometimes you fire up something on the monitors — that are usually used for stats, but also get basic cable channels — to check in on something more interesting happening in the sports world. Now, at the NBA Finals you would think you’d be a bit more locked in, but it’s not like Game 2 was riveting to watch and once the Warriors began to pull away in the third quarter you could sense that it was going to be another one of those nights in Oracle Arena.

I am here to defend the WWE watching media man, because I’ve been there — although at Hawks regular season games and not the Finals. Unfortunately, it’s not as if Extreme Rules was a phenomenal pay-per-view, so it might not have helped scratch the fun, entertainment itch as well as he had initially hoped.