Millions of social media users were duped by a viral image appearing to show WWE legend John Cena meeting his lookalike, who was, in fact, UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena.
The incident occurred following WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Australia, where Cena competed against AJ Styles. This spectacle took place at RAC Arena in Perth, coincidentally the same venue that recently hosted UFC Perth.
During his time backstage, Cena interacted with Della Maddalena, and the two posed for a photo. This original picture was then cunningly edited and widely circulated across various online platforms by fans.
The Bizarre AI Edit Behind John Cena and Jack Della Maddalena’s Viral Photo
The official UFC Australia and New Zealand Instagram page initially posted the genuine photo of Della Maddalena and John Cena together backstage. However, mischievous fans seized the opportunity, editing the image to replace Della Maddalena with a digitally altered second image of Cena, complete with his hat removed using AI technology.
An X (formerly Twitter) user then shared this fabricated picture with the caption, “John Cena with his lookalike backstage last night,” which quickly garnered over 4 million views. Hundreds of commenters fell for the prank, making humorous remarks such as, “When the John Cena look alike looks more like John Cena then John Cena himself.” Another commented, “Imagine being able to call in the clone instead of sick,” while some even found the altered image “scary.” Eventually, a Community Note was added to the tweet to clarify the deception, and eagle-eyed users began sharing the original photo to set the record straight.
In upcoming events, Jack Della Maddalena is slated to defend his welterweight title against Islam Makhachev at UFC 322 in Madison Square Garden next month. Meanwhile, John Cena is preparing for his final four WWE appearances before his retirement, with one of these emotional farewells also scheduled at the same iconic venue just days after UFC 322.
