Jon Stewart Turns Heel, Hits John Cena with Chair at SummerSlam

The WWE announced Jon Stewart would host SummerSlam earlier this August, marking a return to the ring for the recently retired host of The Daily Show.

Stewart, a longtime pro wrestling fan, punched up his first appearance in March by igniting a rivalry with Seth Rollins and subsequently planting a boot in his groin.

This set up a SummerSlam showdown between Stewart and Rollins—a faceoff that quickly heel-turned into coercion and a shot to the ribs for one John Cena.

In lieu of going after Rollins again, Stewart climbed in the ring and smashed Cena in the gut with a folding chair, helping his former nemesis win the World Heavyweight and U.S. Championship belts:

JP Yim/Getty Images

The sages will spill ink on this Ides of March-esque turn for years, some say:

Of course, seeing their champion dispatched by a comedian made some young Cena fans sad (h/t the Washington Post's Des Bieler):

But almost every other wrestling fan liked it: 

Apparently leaving The Daily Show wasn't a retirement from television entertainment for Stewart as much as it was a transition into the rich world of scripted beatdowns and groin-mashing.

Stewart will be back, I'm sure. But it's only a matter of time until he gets crushed off the top rope.

Dan is on Twitter. Good luck with that, Jon.