The May 8 episode of WWE SmackDown featured one of the weirdest segments WWE has done in a long time, but not every fan enjoyed it. Instead of praising the over-the-top Gingerbread Man funeral, many viewers criticized WWE for using too many AI-generated visuals in the tribute video.
The storyline focused on the “death” of the Gingerbread Man mascot after Sami Zayn attacked him during his feud with Trick Williams. WWE fully leaned into the joke by holding a “funeral” on SmackDown with a choir, flowers, a casket, and even tribute videos where the mascot is digitally inserted into some famous wrestling moments from WWE history like Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant, Cody Rhodes beating Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar breaking Undertaker’s streak, and many more.
Williams then kicked off the final segment of the show and gave an emotional speech in the ring while a choir played in the background. WWE then aired a long tribute video honoring the Gingerbread Man.
The AI video included several digitally created scenes showing the Gingerbread Man water skiing, climbing mountains, DJing, and relaxing with Williams and Lil Yachty.
But the heavy use of AI visuals became the biggest talking point online.
Fans criticize WWE’s AI-generated Gingerbread Man video on SmackDown
Many fans complained that WWE relied too much on what they called “AI slop” instead of the high-quality video packages the company is usually known for. A few days ago, the company got similar backlash for what they did with NXT star Zaria’s promo.
Fans pointed out that WWE has created some legendary promo videos and even Photoshop edits over the years, making this tribute feel cheap in comparison.
One fan even suggested to “fire” whoever thought of this.
Many felt the whole storyline was too silly.
Even with the criticism, the segment still created huge buzz online, which may have been exactly what WWE wanted ahead of Backlash 2026.
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