— JenniferKeene (@JenniferKeene) November 4, 2020While it seemed like a brutal fight or a desire for human contact, the truth was rather different. In fact, the entire event was planned in advance, and was a pre-planned professional wrestling show.The show was hosted and organized by underground wrestling promoter Casanova Valentine, known among underground wrestling fans as the "King of the No Ring Death Match." It was even advertised on Valentine's Instagram account in advance, though the flyer did specify that all those who attended the "PRESIDENTIAL DEATH MATCH" and "ELECTION FRAUD CELEBRATION" would be required to wear a mask.He also implied further shows would take place until November 10.
Due to the pre-planned nature of the event, the entire show was a "work" (wrestling parlance referring to a pre-scripted and choreographed show). However, as it was a death match, which typically sees wrestlers engage in more hard-hitting, gruesome and bloody spots in the match, all the cuts and marks are real.This, however, was less gruesome than fights in other states, as New York has stricter laws regarding violence in professional wrestling, compared to New Jersey which has laxer laws. This is why independent hardcore wrestling promotion Combat Zone Wrestling hosts its annual Tournament of Death show outside of New York, with the last two shows being in New Jersey.Despite being billed as "ELECTION FRAUD CELEBRATION" and "PRESIDENTIAL DEATH MATCH," the show did not have any political motives. Rather, as avid fan Jamie Ciccone told the New York Post, it was simply a way to break the tension of the elections.“That was just the theme of the night, kind of let people have a little bit of fun since everything sucks right now,” he told the New York Post.The Jerusalem Post has reached out to Valentine for comment.