WWE Accused Of Using Nazi Imagery During A Premium Live Event Again

Gunther and Imperium's schtick is that they give off an air of authority and order, but in a bad way, because they're heels. WWE seems to be struggling with representing that without crossing the line into making the group out to be Nazis. The latest example being the AR banners shown for Gunther's entrance at Night of Champions which appear to be inspired by banners used by the Nazis.

Gunther's Banners

The banners were long and red with black and white versions of Gunther's face on them. As picked up on and pointed out by a lot of fans as soon as they were shown on screen, they looked very similar to the banners used by Nazis during World War 2 which had swastikas where you'd find the Intercontinental Champion's face in the WWE versions.

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The use of banners that appears to be based on ones used by the Nazis comes less than two months after WWE included an image of Auschwitz in one of its WrestleMania promo videos. The image was shown during the kickoff show to generate hype for Rey vs. Dominik Mysterio, used in a montage of images and clips showing prisons.

Gunther Stark

Clearly, whoever was in charge of putting the package together just Googled prison pictures and didn't know one of the images they used was of Auschwitz. The image had been removed by the time the package ran again on the main show, but the damage was already done. Nothing involving Gunther on that occasion, but there is previous in this arena when it comes to the Imperium leader.

When reports circulated suggesting Walter was getting a name change, the plan was to go with Gunther Stark. A quick Google search reveals an infamous Gunther Stark was a Nazi U-boat captain during WW2. WWE had filed a trademark for the full name but thankfully realized the mistake it was about to make before ever making the name official, sticking with just Gunther instead.