SummerSlam: The real reason Jon Stewart left ‘The Daily Show,’ obvs

It’s so clear now. The real reason Jon Stewart stepped down from his 16-year-long gig as host of “The Daily Show”? To devote more time to his true passion: professional wrestling. Stewart made his first post-“Daily Show” appearance at WWE’s annual SummerSlamSunday night, but “appearance” is putting it mildly.

Building off of his March appearance during which Stewart stoked a rivalry with new champ Seth Rollins by booting him in the groin, Stewart surprised wrestling fans this time around by turning heel and going after Rollins rival John Cena — with a folding chair to the gut. Bet he didn’t see that coming.

This also totally explains Stewart’s reticance to host an upcoming GOP debate: He was looking for something a little more high-brow.

So why the allegiance switch? Why go after Cena instead of Rollins? Maybe Stewart was looking for some payback for Cena doing such a good job crossing over into the comedy world with “Trainwreck.” Or maybe it was just a “how to spell my first name” dispute. Those things will never be settled.

Clearly it’s only a matter of time before we see Trevor Noah in the Octagon, right?

Follow Ned Ehrbar on Twitter:@nedrick