Jon Stewart to Host WWE’s ‘SummerSlam’
Jon Stewart has lined up his first post-Daily Show hosting gig: WWE‘s SummerSlam. Stewart, a longtime wrestling fan, will serve as master of ceremonies when the annual summertime showcase comes to a sold-out Barclays Center in Brooklyn this Sunday, August 23rd. The four-hour special will air on pay-per-view and the WWE Network.
Stewart entered the fray earlier this year when he and soon-to-be-WWE Champion Seth Rollins feuded over whether the wrestler was capable of taking over The Daily Show hosting duties. “Seth Rollins, you’ve made a lot of mistakes in your life: Being a turncoat to the Shield, being a toady for the Authority, not being able to choose which color your hair should be – but this is the biggest mistake you ever made,” Stewart said in a February video. “You just stepped in a world of hurt, my friend. I’m coming for you Rollins, and you’re gonna see it: 160 pounds of dynamite.”
A few weeks later, Rollins hijacked the Daily Show set and ruined Stewart’s Moment of Zen. “I hope you are prepared for a world of hurt,” Rollins warned Stewart. The host and the wrestler then agreed to meet in the ring on the March 2 edition of WWE Raw in Stewart’s native New Jersey, at which point this happened:
Following WrestleMania in March, amid the Trevor Noah tweet scandal, Stewart used one of his first episodes after announcing his Daily Show departure to address the “elephant in the room”: Rollins winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after cashing in the “Money in the Bank” briefcase.
Rollins will put that belt on the line against John Cena – WWE’s United States Champion – at SummerSlam. Expect Stewart to conspire against his nemesis in some capacity.