American Death Match is a series of portraits of wrestlers from a fringe of professional wrestling known as “Hardcore”. Having more in common with Shakespearean Revenge Plays than actual sport, they employ choreographed stunts to create the illusion of combat and recite dialogue to develop the character of the “Faces” and “Heels”. Independent promotions specializing in Death Matches and Ultraviolence perform at carnival like events searching for new audiences with ever increasing levels of real violence. Every fall into barbed wire and broken pane of glass elicits gasps and cheers from the crowd as the wrestlers show off their injuries.
