Former WWE executive John Laurinaitis has been on the receiving end of widespread mockery this week from the wrestling community after being accused of posting an AI-generated image.
Laurinaitis recently made his first public appearance since being dropped from Janel Grant’s civil lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE. The former wrestler, who performed for a lot of his career as “Johnny Ace,” signed autographs on Saturday (March 14) for fans at an event for an Ohio-based independent wrestling promotion.
Following the meet-and-greet, Laurinaitis shared a photo on X (Twitter) that showed a sizable crowed around his autograph table. However, social media users quickly noticed some details were off in the photo.
People noted that a man in the image was wearing a Hulkamania t-shirt, but other writing on the shirt appeared to be gibberish. Other people picked up on the telltale AI sign of mangled fingers and faces in the crowd looking like underwater sea creatures.
Eventually, Laurinaitis removed the photo from his X account without comment.
“Did this signing take place at a Star Trek convention?” one X user wrote while including a close-up of one of the unusual-looking faces in the image.
“I like how even the ai people don’t look happy to be getting his signature,” an X user who goes by the name Jon Retro said.
Another X user said the size of the crowd gathered around WWE’s former Executive Vice President of Talent Relations tipped him off that the image could be fake, writing: “Did he really want us to believe that the entire convention floor gravitated to his signing table like some pro wrestling messiah?”
“So John ‘Sad Sack’ Laurinaitis posted an AI-generated image of his recent signing to make it look fuller than it was, then deleted it when people called him out for it,” Jason Solomon, host of the Solomonster Sounds Off wrestling podcast, posted on X. “The fake Hulkamania shirt is a nice touch.”
Some of Laurinaitis’ peers also got in on the taunting
John Bradshaw Layfield posted a clip of himself signing autographs that appeared doctored with a massive crowed chanting his name and holding up “We Love JBL” signs.
Rhino also shared a photo made using AI on his Facebook account. In the image, the TNA Hall of Famer is seen amidst a huge crowd that includes The Pope.
What do you think of Johnny Ace’s AI image? Share your opinion—or AI-generated pic—in the comments.
