WWE Issues Apology For Using Auschwitz Image In WrestleMania Video Package

WWE had a lot going on as they rounded the last turn on the road to WrestleMania. Their production team also put together plenty of incredible video packages, but one image slipped through and it was huge mistake. Now, WWE is owning up to the mistake.

In the lead-up to the Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio match on WrestleMania Saturday, WWE aired a video package featuring Dominik discussing his time in prison. This fell in line with his Prison Dom gimmick.

The package sparked controversy as it included a photo of Auschwitz, which was not a “prison” at all. This drew considerable criticism from the Auschwitz Memorial Museum. While WWE edited the video, which removed the image entirely, it was shown during the live event.

The museum called out WWE, stating that they believed the use of the image was not an accidental mistake. In a tweet sent out by the Auschwitz Memorial Museum, they called WWE using this image “shameless.”

The fact that Auschwitz image was used to promote a WWE match is hard to call “an editing mistake”. Exploiting the site that became a symbol of enormous human tragedy is shameless and insults the memory of all victims of Auschwitz.

WWE issued a response to this controversy. Through a statement made to the Washington Post, WWE made it very clear that this was a mistake. They did not realize where the image came from when editing the Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio video package together.

“We had no knowledge of what was depicted. As soon as we learned, it was removed immediately.”

This was a giant mistake on somebody’s part, but it’s also very possible that even the editor who put the video package together had no idea where that image came from. Files are mislabeled all the time online, but getting an image like this one incorrect is a very big error.

What’s your take on this situation with the WrestleMania video package? Do you think someone was fired for this? Sound off in the comments!