J.J. Watt stays cool in Hot Ones with Jimmy Fallon and Sean Evans

J.J. Watt’s performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is a good sign for his upcoming hosting gig on Saturday Night Live.

As a dominating player in the National Football League, J.J. Watt is used to pain. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Watt had his tolerance tested by a round of Hot Ones with Sean Evans.

The Hot Ones YouTube show, in which celebrities are interviewed while eating increasingly spicy chicken wings, has found itself a late night partner in The Tonight Show. The pairing has been beneficial to both sides as Hot Ones host Sean Evans gets to sit down with Tonight Show guests like Priyanka Chopra and Selena Gomez. Jimmy Fallon gets a new game to play that comes with a built in audience of millions. It’s a win-win.

J.J. Watt was the latest guest/victim to play around of Hot Ones on Thursday night. The Houston Texans star was on The Tonight Show to promote his turn hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend. Watt is looking to join Peyton Manning and Eli Manning on the list of successful NFL players turned SNL hosts.

Watt was given a warm, then hot, then hotter welcome to 30 Rock by Fallon and The Tonight Show. But to his credit, Watt proved once again that he can perform under pressure.

Hot Ones fans were quick to credit J.J. Watt for his performance here. Not only did he refuse the glass of milk but Watt cleaned the wing each time. Some visitors to Hot Ones only go for one bite and a small one at that. Here Watt goes all out no matter the degree of difficulty with the sauces.

This is a good sign for anyone curious or worried about how Watt will perform as host of Saturday Night Live. Fans of SNL who don’t follow the NFL probably aren’t all that familiar with Watt. And there is no guarantee that an athlete can pull off sketch comedy as well as an actor or singer used to being on stage.

But Watt didn’t shrink under the Tonight Show lights. He showed that he is willing to do whatever is asked in order to entertain the audience and get a laugh. That attitude will serve him well this week as SNL looks to continue the momentum started  last week by Adam Driver.

For his part, Jimmy Fallon may be making slow but steady progress in building up his hot sauce immunity. Da Bomb once again gave Fallon a little trouble. Hopefully once his mouth cooled down Fallon was able to give Watt some actual advice ahead of Saturday Night Live because it didn’t exactly happen during their interview.

Did J.J. Watt’s Hot Ones performance change your expectations for him as host of Saturday Night Live? Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to check back with Last Night On for all the highlights from SNL, The Tonight Show, and the rest of late night.