The pop culture connection between the WWE and the rest of the entertainment world continues to grow, and it’s going in another exciting direction. Arguably the second biggest pay-per-view event of the pro wrestling year, SummerSlam is coming later this month, and none other than former Daily Show front-man Jon Stewart has signed on as the event’s host. That’s quite possibly the coolest and strangest post-retirement gig that one could land.
One might have expected Stewart to take it easy in the weeks after stepping down from the Daily Show desk, but he apparently wanted to take on one of the most high-profile jobs of his life. Beyond the title of “host,” it’s not exactly clear how much Stewart, a big fan of the WWE, will be doing for SummerSlam, which has been extended to a four-hour telecast this year. Hopefully he’ll come out in a Donald Trump costume at some point and do some stand-up routines.
This isn’t the first time that Stewart will be mixing it up with pro wrestlers, either. Earlier this year, the comedian found himself on the opposite end of a feud with Seth Rollins in the weeks before Rollins won the WWE World Heavyweight belt at Wrestlemania 31. Check out a clip from a Monday Night Raw episode below, in which the two men were in the ring together, though sadly without Stewart making a backflip off of the top turnbuckle.
Still too soon with those Oscars and Rosewater jokes, Rollins! I’m guessing something will have to happen between those guys during SummerSlam, but probably later in the evening, as not to interrupt Stewart’s hosting with a neck injury or something.
And Stewart won’t be the only non-wrestler celeb getting some screentime on SummerSlam. Arrow star Stephen Amell will finally get his chance to shut Stardust up after months of back-and-forth taunting, and the men will face off in a tag team match. They already had a little rumble on Raw last week, at which point Amell demanded a match from Triple H. We’re hoping Team Arrow shows up in full force.
SummerSlam will air live on pay-per-view on Sunday, August 23, at 7 p.m. ET, with a match between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar as one of the more anticipated fights that night. Before that, though, a live one-hour pre-show will air on WWE Network at 6 p.m. ET. Maybe Craig Kilborn can host that one.
