WWE has an obsession with mainstream attention. The company craves the elusive entertainment news headlines and relishes every time any program or celebrity so much as vaguely references WWE or has any interest in participating. See Snooki at WrestleMania XXVII. So when Seth Rollins makes an offhand remark about taking over the Daily Show when host Jon Stewart leaves and Stewart responds in a video, what does WWE do? They have Rollins respond in a video and then play both during Fastlane. Ooh, look! WWE is so edgy! They can have their young main-eventer go toe-to-toe with a 52-year-old political satirist. That will drive up ratings and WWE Network subscriptions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER_sG8SVDSI In defense of WWE, the company has been chasing the proverbial white whale for decades, ever since striking gold with the Rock n Wrestling Connection and again with Mike Tyson at WrestleMania XIV. And Jon Stewart is brilliant and connects with young people, so this is not WWEs worst celebrity connection attempt, far from it. (See Snooki at WrestleMania XXVII.) But WWEs constant celebrity-chasing wears thin on fans after a while. This one might work, but either way, were sure to see plenty more occasions for celebrities to make the wrestlers look foolish on their home turf.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
