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Inside The Celtics

Joe Mazzulla Play Fighting With Derrick White is the Happiest You'll Ever See Him

The Boston Celtics were well represented at WWE Monday Night Raw, and Mazzulla gave into the moment for a hilarious exchange with his star guard
John Karalis|
Mar 18, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla watches from the sideline as they take on the Golden State Warriors at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Mar 18, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla watches from the sideline as they take on the Golden State Warriors at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

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The WWE was in town, taking over TD Garden for Monday Night Raw. And as happens from time to time, players from local teams will head over to the arena to take in whatever event is going on, be it a concert, another game, or something like this. 

Derrick White and Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics did that on Monday night, getting prime seats for the WWE show. And of course, they were shown on the jumbotron. 

First up was White, who did the usual stand and acknowledge the crowd thing. But when he turned back at Mazzulla, who was seated and introduced next, Mazzulla did maybe the most Joe Mazzulla thing possible, and launched into a play fight. 

Have you ever seen Mazzulla smile like he did in this video? I haven't. This might be the happiest Mazzulla has ever been in public. I thought the time Pat Riley ended the speech he gave at his statue unveiling with “The time has come to kick some ass. To kick some Boston ass” made Mazzulla happy, but that's nothing compared to this. 

Mazzulla would fit right in with the WWE superstars with a heel turn like this. Raining forearms on White is a sure way to set up a Wrestlemania main event, maybe with Sam Cassell running in from the back to hit one of them with a chair. 

I’m actually surprised Mazzulla didn’t ask to take a chair shot during the show just to see how it felt. He’s the same guy who once told Jayson Tatum to hit him. 

Mazzulla is a regular at MMA events, and as a practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he’s always interested in combat sports, apparently even the choreographed ones. 

Mazzulla spent some time backstage and was given a Boston Celtics championship belt by former WWE champion and Chief Content Officer, Triple H. 

A pair of WWE superstars, Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez, took in the Celtics game, a loss to the Timberwolves, in courtside seats Sunday night. 

Mazzulla and White are just the latest in a long line of NBA/WWE crossovers. Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson were actually part of a show in New York a couple of years ago, threatening to go at it, but mostly just interrupting a match. 

We can go way back and find other connections, like Karl Malone teaming up with Diamond Dallas page for an actual tag team match against Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman. 

In fact, it was just announced a few days ago that Rodman would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. 

So if Mazzulla really wants to make his mark, he’s going to have to work on some of his moves and actually get into the ring next time. 

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John Karalis
JOHN KARALIS

John Karalis is a 20-year veteran of Celtics coverage and was nominated for NSMA's Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year in 2019. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016 and has written two books about the Celtics. John was born and raised in Pawtucket, RI. He graduated from Shea High School in Pawtucket, where he played football, soccer, baseball, and basketball and was captain of the baseball and basketball teams. John graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism and was a member of their Gold Key Honor Society. He was a four-year starter and two-year captain of the Men’s Basketball team, and remains one of the school's top all-time scorers, and Emerson's all-time leading rebounder. He is also the first Emerson College player to play professional basketball (Greece). John started his career in television, producing and creating shows since 1997. He spent nine years at WBZ, launching two different news and lifestyle shows before ascending to Executive Producer and Managing Editor. He then went to New York, where he was a producer and reporter until 2018. John is one of Boston’s original Celtics bloggers, creating RedsArmy.com in 2006. In 2018, John joined the Celtics beat full-time for MassLive.com and then went to Boston Sports Journal in 2021, where he covered the Celtics for five years. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016, and it currently ranks as the #1 Boston Celtics podcast on iTunes and Spotify rankings. He is also one of the co-hosts of the Locked on NBA podcast.

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