WWE used Auschwitz footage to hype a WrestleMania match

The world of wrestling is no stranger to controversy, but one match invited huge upset before it had even begun thanks to a deeply offensive segment in a video advertisement.

The WWE’s hotly anticipated WrestleMania 39 event kicked off on Sunday, with the likes of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley and Logan Paul among the headliners.

One of the event’s most hyped clashes saw legend Rey Mysterio take on his son Dominik Mysterio, following the youngster’s adoption of a new and hardier persona.

The 25-year-old presented himself as “Prison Dom” after spending a few hours in jail for attacking his famous father at Christmas, according to The Sportster.

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Dominik admitted in an interview with Mail Online that the character was a “joke”, but that hasn’t stopped him and the WWE from capitalising on it.

To promote the match between the two Mysterios, the WWE created a video montage showing an impassioned Dominik telling the camera: “You think this is a game to me? I served hard time, and I survived. Prison changes a man.”

His brief monologue was accompanied by an intense, ominous soundtrack and cuts to jail scenes, including barbed wire fences and the inside of a barred cell.

The video also included a snapshot of what an ignorant viewer might take to be a prison building and yard.

However, as scores of horrified Twitter commentators pointed out, it was, in fact, part of the Auschwitz concentration camp, in which millions of people died during World War Two.

WWE has not yet released a statement about what we can only assume was a hideous slip-up, but eagle-eyed wrestling fans spotted that the harrowing image was swiftly removed from the advert.

Indy100 has contacted WWE for comment.

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