WWE Criticised For Allegedly Using AI To Create El Grande Americano Raw Video Package

WWE have been criticised for allegedly using generative AI to create the video package for El Grande Americano which aired on the March 24 edition of Monday Night Raw from Glasgow, Scotland.

El Grande Americano made his debut in recent weeks and a video package explained the wrestler's origins, noting they were a lucha libre star on the same level as Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras who hailed from the 'Gulf of America'. El Grande Americano disappeared, though, after he was blackballed from the industry by his jealous enemies until resurfacing on WWE TV.

While not confirmed, the video package appeared to have been produced using generative AI as it featured many of the trademarks of those videos, including human hands having more than five fingers, as can be seen on the right-hand side in the image above. This drew criticism on X/Twitter from WWE fans tuning into Monday Night Raw.

El Grande Americano - a wrestler with a striking resemblance to Chad Gable - made their WWE in-ring debut on Monday's Raw, defeating Dragon Lee after unmasking their fellow luchador and applying an ankle lock.

El Grande Americano being billed from the 'Gulf of America' was also criticised by many as a blatant example of WWE using current political issues on their televised product. Issues arose over the Gulf of Mexico after WWE Hall of Famer and US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The likes of Google Maps have since adopted the 'Gulf of America' for users in the United States, while the marginal sea is referred to as the 'Gulf of Mexico' in Mexico and as the 'Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)' for international users. The name 'Gulf of Mexico' first appeared on a world map back in 1550.

Ernesto Ocampo of Super Luchas criticised the video package, tweeting (translated): "This is an insult on many levels, both to Mexican wrestling and to Mexico. They could have left out the 'Gulf of America' part and tried to write the character's name in proper Spanish."

William Beltran also told Dave Meltzer for the F4WOnline Daily Update: "While many fans found it entertaining - especially those in the United States - numerous fans from Mexico and Latin America have voiced their discontent on social media. Fans on both sides have also expressed frustration over the use of AI-generated images."

Elsewhere on Monday Night Raw, one fan paid tribute to Newcastle United's Joelinton.

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