LOS ANGELES – World Wrestling Entertainment apologized Friday for using an image from the Auschwitz concentration camp to promote one of its matches on the first night of WrestleMania 39 last weekend.
The image was used in a promotional package for the match between Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio in a preview show on April 1st.
“We had no knowledge of what was depicted. As soon as we found out about it, it was removed immediately. We apologize for this error,” WWE said in a statement.
The father-son storyline involved Dominik Mysterio going to jail after being involved in an incident with his father over Christmas. The picture of Auschwitz appeared when Dominik said in the promo: “You think this is a game for me? I’ve served hard time. And I survived.”
The photo from the concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland, where 1.1 million people were murdered by the Nazis during World War II, was replaced with stock footage of barbed wire and an empty prison cell in the pre-game promo and in replays.
Some wrestling fans noted the use of the Auschwitz photo. After the Auschwitz Memorial Museum, it attracted more attention posted on Twitter on Wednesday that the use of the image “is hard to call an editing error.”
“The exploitation of the site, which has become a symbol of an enormous human tragedy, is shameless and an insult to the memory of all 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 161,892 and set daily records in the stadium on both evenings. It was also the most-streamed event on Peacock since last year’s Super Bowl.
The two-night show also came on the eve of the McMahon family agreeing to a merger with the company that operates Ultimate Fighting Championship.
On Monday morning, Endeavor and WWE announced plans to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company.
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