World Wrestling Entertainment has apologized for using an image of the Auschwitz concentration camp to promote one of its matches during the first night of WrestleMania 39 last weekend.
THE ANGELS — World Wrestling Entertainment apologized Friday for using an image of the Auschwitz concentration camp to promote one of its matches during the first night of WrestleMania 39 this past weekend.
The image was used in a promotional package for the match between Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio on a preview show on April 1.
“We had no knowledge of what was represented. As soon as we found out, she was immediately removed. We apologize for this error,” WWE said in a statement.
The father-son storyline included Dominik Mysterio going to jail after being involved in an incident with his father during Christmas. The image of Auschwitz appeared when Dominik said in the promo “Do you think this is a game for me? I had a hard time. And I survived.
The photo of the concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland, where the Nazis murdered 1.1 million people during World War II, was replaced with archival footage of barbed wire and an empty cell in the pre-match promo and in the repetitions.
Some fight fans noted the use of the Auschwitz photo. It drew further attention after the Auschwitz Memorial museum posted on Twitter on Wednesday that using the image “is hard to call it an editing error.”
“To exploit the site that became a symbol of a huge human tragedy is shameless and insults the memory of all the victims of Auschwitz,” the memorial said in a statement.
Rey Mysterio, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last week, defeated his son in the match.
WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium drew a crowd of 161,892 and set single-day stadium records on both nights. It was also the most streamed event on Peacock since last year. Super Bowl.
The two-night show also came on the eve of the McMahon family agreeing to a merger with the company that runs the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
On Monday morning, Endeavor and WWE announced plans to create a $21.4 billion sports-entertainment company.
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