The event was originally conceived by a civil engineering student named Josh Swain from Tucson, Arizona, on April 24, 2020, due to boredom during COVID-19 lockdowns.
It gained popularity after a screenshot of a Facebook Messenger group chat involving several users named Josh Swain spread widely on the Internet.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that the event became a "global news phenomenon,"[1] while a technology writer for The Guardian called it "perhaps the ultimate response to an online Doppelgänger.
[4][6][8] In the same post, Swain encouraged attendees to bring pool noodles as mock weapons for the planned fight.
The field's owner, however, did not agree to host "such a ridiculous event,"[10] and as such the fight was relocated to Air Park, approximately 2.6 miles (4.2 km) away.
Vinson Jr. was crowned with a paper coronet from Burger King as well as a replica AEW World Championship belt.