Jon Stewart is hosting 'SummerSlam,' so here are 5 other random celebs who've hosted past events.
What will Jon Stewart’s first post-The Daily Show gig be? Hosting this Sunday’s WWE PPV event SummerSlam! Yes, you read that correctly.
As I’ve mentioned before, it may come as a surprise to a lot of folks—both wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike—that Jon Stewart has had an interest in wrestling for years now. Some may assume this is just part of some cross-promotion agreement between WWE and, at the time, Comedy Central. But the truth is that Stewart (and his son Nathan) is a true wrestling fan.
How big of a fan is he? Well, let’s look at the facts for a second.
His hosting run on The Daily Show now over, Stewart has nothing to promote; if anything, he should be kicking back with a drink and enjoying his life/family for the next, oh, I don’t know... forever. He doesn’t need to work another day in his life ever again, yet he chose to take the hosting gig at the Barclays Center this Sunday in Brooklyn. Why? Because that’s how fucking big of a fan he is!
But fan or not, Stewart is still an odd choice. He’s not Larry the Cable Guy or Florida Georgia Line who, let’s be honest, fit the typical celebrity host mold a little better.
Over the years, wrestling has seen its fair share of interesting celebrity hosts. Here are five Raw hosts who gave fans pause and say: “Wait... what?”
Jon Heder & Don Johnson
On January 18th, 2010, Napoleon Dynamite and James “Sonny” Crockett entered the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee to host Raw. Why? Because they’re huge fucking wrestling fans! Just kidding, they were there to promote a movie. Specifically, the Kristen Bell/Josh Duhamel romantic comedy When In Rome that premiered in theaters later that week. (I know what you’re thinking: “What, they couldn’t get Bell and Duhamel?!?” No, apparently they couldn’t.) In the film, Johnson plays Bell’s father, and Heder plays a street musician who is trying to win her love. On Raw, they played two celebrities who appeared to be just as confused as everyone else as to why in the hell they were even there.
Al Sharpton
Why would Al Sharpton host the September 28th, 2009 episode of Raw from the Times Union Center in Albany, New York? What’s that? Oh, you thought I was asking a hypothetical question as a setup and would then give you the answer immediately after? No, I was asking you, the reader, why a Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and former presidential election candidate would host a live wrestling show. Yeah, I don’t know either.
Verne Troyer
When he’s not naked, drunk, and pissing on a reality show set, Mini-Me keeps busy hosting wrestling shows. On November 30th, 2009, Troyer hosted Raw from 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. He was there to promote his appearance in the upcoming Terry Gilliam film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which begs the question: Why do Terry Gilliam films need to be promoted?!? First, Troyer watched on as Mark Henry kills a woman by falling on her. Later in the show, he sits in a highchair and claps while Henry raps to the crowd. I couldn’t make this shit up, folks.
Jared Fogle
Subway spokesman Jared Fogle stepped away from the sandwich sneeze guard to host the September 12th, 2012 episode of Raw from the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Less than three years later, he would plead guilty to child pornography charges. To be read: The celebrity host WWE wishes they could forget.
Grumpy Cat
Internet meme sensation... fuck, did I seriously just type that out? Internet meme sensation? What has the world come to? Better question, what have I come to? Look, a year ago, a funny-faced cat ruined everything that is right and fair in the world by becoming more rich and famous than real human beings who have actual talent. WWE decided to capitalize on that fleeting fame by having said cat host the November 17th, 2014 episode of Raw from the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. As if all of this weren’t bad enough, she... wait, is Grumpy Cat a she? Fuck, who cares! She hosted numerous bits for the company including one on Raw with the Miz:
An online exclusive bit with Renee Young:
And she even made an appearance on Total Divas with Natalya and Tyson Kidd:
For this, she probably made enough to send a child to college for four years. Shortly after these aired, the rest of the human race questioned the meaning of life and if any of this shit is even worth it.
Which, let’s be honest, it’s not.
