Shoot (professional wrestling)
Encyclopedia
A shoot in professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 is a term that refers to any unplanned, unscripted or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. Contrary to popular belief, the name does not originate from "shooting in" for a takedown
Takedown (grappling)
A takedown is a martial arts and combat sports term for a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing him or her to the ground, typically with the combatant performing the takedown landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is known...

, as in amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...

 - rather it is a carny
Carny
Carny or carnie is a slang term used in North America and, along with showie, in Australia for a carnival employee, as well as the language they employ...

 term shortened from "straight shooting" which originally referred to a gun in a carnival
Traveling carnival
A traveling carnival is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, animal acts or sideshow curiosities. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park, but is moved from...

 target shooting game
Carnival game
A carnival game is a game of chance or skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement park, or on a state and county fair midway....

 which did not have its sights fixed (terminology such as this reflecting the professional wrestling industry's roots in travelling carnivals). This term has come to mean a legit attack or fight in professional wrestling and its meaning has broadened to include unscripted events in general. The opposite of a shoot is a work.

Occurrences

Professional wrestling is scripted entertainment rather than a sporting spectacle. As such, virtually everything in pro wrestling is worked (a part of the show), and shoots rarely occur. Shoots in general are against the nature of the business, similar to an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 ad-libbing or dropping character during a performance. Performers who shoot during a wrestling event are often punished (often by lower pay or relegation to opening bouts) or even fired, since it is thought that they cannot be trusted to act according to the bookers' wishes.

Shoots can also occur when wrestlers stop cooperating in a match. This may occur to teach one of the wrestlers "a lesson" for whatever reason.

Fan interference

While the term technically applies only to wrestling performers, crowds also cause shoots by interfering in events, usually by assaulting or attempting to assault a wrestler. For many of the years when professional wrestling was out of the national spotlight and strictly adhering to kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...

, it was commonplace at wrestling events for fans to go after heels
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...

. Numerous wrestlers over many years, even prior to wrestling's current "tell-all" phase, have told of being shot at, stabbed and burned by fans. Fan interference and violence was prevalent in the northeast and southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

 United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 from the mid to late 20th century, where many territories became known for offering violent action to a rabid, fiercely loyal audience.

While not the earliest relevant examples, a couple from wrestling's territorial days do stand out. A number of performers in the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...

 during its heyday have since told stories about first meeting Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....

 as a fan who attempted to go after wrestlers at shows in Minneapolis, often while intoxicated. One instance of a fan physically interacting with a wrestler, which was caught on video tape in 1983, has figured prominently in the modern-day legacy of World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...

. During a match at the Dallas Sportatorium
Dallas Sportatorium
The Sportatorium, located in downtown Dallas, Texas , was a barn-like arena used primarily for professional wrestling events...

, Terry Gordy
Terry Gordy
Terry Ray 'Bam Bam' Gordy, Sr. was a professional wrestler who was best known in North America for being a member of the Fabulous Freebirds.-Career:...

 ran across the ringside floor after spotting a fan who had crossed the ringside rope. Even though the fan immediately starting begging off of the situation, Gordy kept coming after the man and shoved him, knocking him about 30 feet backward in the process.

In 1988, during a steel cage match between Randy "Macho Man" Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...

 and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...

 at New York City's Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

, a fan jumped the guardrail during a tense point in the match. DiBiase, recalling the incident in his autobiography, yelled for Virgil (DiBiase's bodyguard, who was attempting to interfere in the match) to knock the man down, which he did before security led the suspect away as the match played out as intended (Savage clonking the heads of DiBiase and Virgil together before escaping the cage).

For many years, in many venues throughout the United States, entering or leaving the ring could potentially be a life-or-death proposition. While improvements to venue security and the design of the ringside area have eliminated much of that danger, incidents can still occur. Oftentimes, they involve wrestlers standing outside the ring, while some in the audience were throwing objects towards the ring. An example of this involved a fan punching Mike Awesome
Mike Awesome
Michael Lee Alfonso , better known by his ring name Mike Awesome, was an American professional wrestler best known in America for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and in World Wrestling Federation and also in Japan for his work with Frontier Martial-Arts...

 during a crowd brawl at a World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

 event, causing both him and his opponent for the night (Vampiro
Vampiro
Ian Richard Hodgkinson , better known by his ring name Vampiro, is a Canadian professional wrestler currently working as a wrestler and a consultant for Juggalo Championship Wrestling. Hodgkinson is semi-retired and is a member of the citizen crime patrol organization Guardian Angels, acting as...

) to attack the fan. Another was a fan's attempt to attack Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

 shortly after his heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...

 turn in 1996, only to be foiled by Scott Hall
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...

, Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...

, and WCW security.

In 2002, during a ladder match between Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...

 and Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

, a fan jumped the guardrail, got into the ring, and knocked over the ladder while Eddie was climbing it. Eddie fortunately noticed what was going on, landed on his feet, and kicked the fan a few times while security took him away.

Worked shoots

Worked-shoot is the term for any occurrence that is scripted by the creative team to come off as unscripted and therefore appear as though it were a real life happening but is, in fact, still part of the show. This can be seen as an example of the writers breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...

 and attempting to court the fans who are interested in shoots (e.g. events outside of the traditional in-ring wrestling matchups). This community of "smart" pro-wrestling fans are sometimes referred to as "smarks".

Shoot interview

Some interviews or promos during wrestling shows are described as being a "shoot", when a wrestler will refer to something "real world" (such as a wrestler's real name or unscripted real incidents); these are portrayed as being unscripted and genuine. When the interviews are not genuine, this would be an example of a worked shoot.

A "true" shoot interview is generally conducted and released by someone other than a wrestling promotion. They are conducted out of character with a wrestler generally being interviewed about their career and asked to give their opinion on other wrestlers and specific events in their past. While some wrestlers used these as an opportunity to insult people or promotions they dislike, many are more pleasant. These shoots are often released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

, or end up on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

.

One example occurred on October 23, 1999, when Doug Gilbert
Doug Gilbert
Doug Gilbert is a professional wrestler from Memphis, Tennessee who wrestles on the independent circuit. He is the brother of "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and the son of wrestler/referee/promoter Tommy Gilbert....

, then with the Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

 independent promotion Power Pro Wrestling, turned a televised scripted interview intended to further a feud with Brian Christopher
Brian Lawler
Brian Christopher Lawler is a professional wrestler. He is the son of color commentator and professional wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler and brother of wrestling referee Kevin Christian...

 into a shoot that soon led to the demise of the promotion. Gilbert publicly exposed the fact that Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...

, previously the owner of another significant Memphis-based promotion
United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association or USWA was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded by former CWA owner Jerry Jarrett.-Foundation:...

, was Brian's father—a blatant violation of kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...

, the portrayal of events within professional wrestling as not being staged. He also made disparaging remarks about both Lawlers, as well as the promotion's booker Randy Hales.

Shoot fighting

Drawing from this related term, a shooter or shoot-fighter is not a wrestler with a reputation for being uncooperative but one who uses legit hooking
Catch wrestling
Catch wrestling is a style of folk wrestling that was developed and popularised in the late 19th century by the wrestlers of traveling carnivals who incorporated submission holds, or "hooks", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents...

 skills as a gimmick. A prime example of this tactic is Dean Malenko
Dean Malenko
Dean Simon is a retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Dean Malenko. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling , New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...

, who used "The Shooter" as a nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

. These wrestlers often gain their skills from martial arts (Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...

), or amateur wrestling (Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...

). These kinds of shooters are sometimes referred to as stretchers (from their ability to use legit holds on their opponents to stretch them).

Despite the worked nature of the spectacle, shooters have been around since the beginning. Originally, the NWA
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...

 World Champion was typically a shooter or "hooker" (Lou Thesz
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz was a United States professional wrestler and 18-time world heavyweight champion, most notably holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Combined, he held the NWA Championship for 10 years, three months and nine days , longer than anyone else in history...

 is the most famous example), in an effort to keep regional champions and other contenders from attempting to shoot on them and win the title when they were not scheduled to do so.

The use of the term "shoot" to describe a single or double-leg takedown attempt (in legit fighting situations such as mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

) is inspired by early professional wrestling shooters, who would often utilize these basic wrestling moves when shooting on an opponent (as opposed to the flashier takedowns used in worked matches, such as suplex
Suplex
A suplex is an offensive move used in professional sport wrestling . The move consists of one wrestler picking up his or her opponent off the ground and then using a large portion of his or her own body weight to drive the opponent down on the mat. Nearly all suplexes have the attacker going down...

es).

An example of shoot fighting happened on November 4, 2004, episode of SmackDown!, taped in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, during an unscripted segment of Tough Enough, Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...

, a former American amateur wrestler
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...

 and 1996 Olympic
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 gold medalist, challenged the finalists through a squat thrust
Squat thrust
A squat thrust is a calisthenic exercise. Similar to a Burpee it typically is performed as follows:# From a standing position, drop to a squat position with your hands on the ground near your feet....

 competition. Chris Nawrocki won the competition, and the prize Nawrocki won was a match against Angle. Angle quickly took Nawrocki down, breaking his ribs, then made him tap out with a neck crank. After Angle defeated Nawrocki, Angle challenged the other finalists. Daniel Puder
Daniel Puder
Daniel Puder is an American professional mixed martial artist, who is currently undefeated in MMA competition, holding a a record of eight wins and zero losses...

, an American professional mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

, accepted Angle's challenge. Angle and Puder wrestled for position, with Angle taking Puder down, however, in the process, Puder locked Angle in a kimura lock. With Puder on his back and Angle's arm locked in the kimura, Angle attempted a pin, one of two referees in the ring, Jim Korderas
Jim Korderas
__FORCETOC__Demetrius Korderas , better known by his referee name, Jim "Jimmy" Korderas is a Canadian professional wrestling referee who worked for World Wrestling Entertainment for over 22 years.-Early career:...

, quickly counted three to end the bout, despite the fact that Puder's shoulders weren't fully down on the mat, bridging up at two. Puder later claimed he would have snapped Angle's arm, thus making Angle tap out on national television, if Korderas had not ended the match. Dave Meltzer
Dave Meltzer
David A. Meltzer is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Sports Illustrated senior writer Frank Deford has praised Meltzer's work, saying that "Meltzer, I believe, is the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism." Meltzer has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles...

 and Dave Scherer gave these following comments:

Other shoots

Example of spontaneous events that are not shoots include mistakes by wrestlers (these are known as botches
Botch (professional wrestling)
To botch in professional wrestling means to attempt a scripted move that does not come out as it was originally planned due to a mistake, miscalculation, or a slip-up. Most botches are harmless but embarrassing, such as a wrestler simply flubbing a line or missing a cue, or falling before his...

) or matches where the wrestlers are good enough to not need to plan and rehearse beforehand and make it up on the spot as time dictates.

The related term "shoot-fighting" (also known as shoot wrestling
Shoot wrestling
Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that has its origins in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to utilize more realistic or "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their excitement...

) is often used by wrestling fans to refer to mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 competitions, which, while superficially similar to wrestling matches, are actual athletic competition rather than sports entertainment
Sports entertainment
Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competitive event using a high level of theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertaining an audience...

.

Shoots may also involve those outside of the wrestling business. In 1984, while filming a segment on professional wrestling, reporter John Stossel
John Stossel
John F. Stossel is an American consumer reporter, investigative journalist, author and libertarian columnist. In October 2009 Stossel left his long time home on ABC News to join the Fox Business Channel and Fox News Channel, both owned and operated by News Corp...

 made a mention to wrestler David "Dr. D" Schultz
David Schultz (professional wrestler)
David Schultz is an American retired professional wrestler. Although he is known for competing in North American regional promotions such as Stampede Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association during the late 1970s and 1980s, he is perhaps best remembered for...

 that wrestling was fake. Yelling "You think this is fake?", Schultz assaulted Stossel, slapping him and knocking him to the ground twice. Stossel claimed that he still suffered from pain and buzzing in his ears eight weeks after the assault. (Stossel now regrets his decision to sue, according to his first book.) Schultz maintains that he attacked Stossel because the head of the WWF
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 wanted him to.

See also

  • Shoot wrestling
    Shoot wrestling
    Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that has its origins in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to utilize more realistic or "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their excitement...

  • Glossary of professional wrestling terms
  • Vince Russo
    Vince Russo
    Vincent James "Vince" Russo is an American creative writer and author, well known for his work in the professional wrestling industry. He is notable for his tenure with World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...

  • Breaking the fourth wall
  • Breaking character
    Breaking character
    Breaking character, "to break character", is a theatrical term used to describe when an actor, while actively performing in character, slips out of character and behaves as his or her actual self...

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