In professional wrestling, a shoot refers to any unplanned event – that is, the event is real and not staged. The term orignally referred to an offensive move in amateur wrestling; this was altered to mean a legitmite attack or fight (as compared to the staged nature of professional wrestling), which was broadened to mean unscripted events in general. For the video game, see Pro Wrestling (video game). ... FILA Greatest Wrestler of 20th Century (Greco-Roman) Alexander Karelin throws Olympian Jeff Blatnick with his Karelin Lift Womens wrestling Andrell Durden (top) and Edward Harris grapple for position during the All-Marine Wrestle Offs. ...

Occurrences

Since the 1920's, professional wrestling became more of an artistic rather than 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 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. In professional wrestling, a work is slang for a staged event (that is, one that enforces kayfabe). ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... Ad lib (and ad-lib) are terms derived from the Latin ad libitum, meaning at ones pleasure. Ad lib is the adjective or adverb; ad-lib is the verb or noun form. ... A booker, as the term is used in professional wrestling, is a person who puts matches together and determines basics about their content, such as relative overall length, who the eventual victor will be, and many of the moves which will be made during the match; in other words, the...

While the term technically only applies to wrestling performers, crowds also cause shoots by interfering in events, usually by assaulting a wrestler. For example, if a wrestler was standing at ringside, some of the spectators will throw objects at him/her. A famous example of this involved a fan punching Vampiro during a crowd brawl at a World Championship Wrestling event, causing both him and his opponent to attack the fan. Another was a fan's attempt to attack Hulk Hogan shortly after his heel turn in 1996, only to be foiled by Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and WCW security. Ian Richard Hodgkinson (born May 31, 1967) is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name of Vampiro. ... For the Australian professional wrestling promotion, see World Championship Wrestling (Australia). ... Terrence Gene Bollea (born on August 11, 1953) is an American actor and semi-retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan. ... This article is about the professional wrestler. ... Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American professional wrestler and actor. ...

In 2002, during a ladder match in the WWF, a fan pushed over a ladder Eddie Guerrero was standing on. Guerrero landed safely on his feet. As the referee grabbed the fan to remove him from the ring, Guerrero landed a punch on the fan, and kicked him as the ref dragged him to the ground. Security soon stepped in to remove the offending fan. ^[1] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Eduardo Eddie Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 — November 13, 2005) better known as Eddie Guerrero, was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into a legendary Mexican wrestling family. ...

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.

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 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." Noteworthy for the frequency of this tactic is professional wrestling writer Vince Russo. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of slang, in-references and jargon. ... Vincent Michael Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American writer, known for working for American professional wrestling companies, most notably the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. ...

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. In the case they aren't, this would be an example of a worked shoot. In professional wrestling, a promo is short for promotional interview, a dialogue or monologue used to advance a storyline. ... In professional wrestling, a shoot refers to any unplanned event – that is, the event is real and not staged. ...

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. Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ...

Other shoots

Example of spontaneous events that are not shoots include mistakes by wrestlers (these are known as botches) 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. To botch in professional wrestling means to attempt a move that does not come out as the wrestler wanted it to come out. ...

The related term "shoot-fighting" (also known as shoot wrestling) is often used by wrestling fans to refer to mixed martial arts competitions, which, while superficially similar to wrestling matches, are actual athletic competition rather than scripted entertainment. Drawing from this related term, a shooter or shoot-fighter is not a wrestler with a reputation for being uncooperative but one who uses legitimate hooking skills as a gimmick. A prime example of this tactic is Dean Malenko, who used "The Shooter" as a nickname (see also legit). Shootfighting Shoot wrestling is a general term that describes a range of hybrid fighting systems originating in Japan in the late 1970s, in close association with Japanese professional wrestling. ... For the fighting styles that combine different arts, see hybrid martial arts. ... Sports entertainment is a type of entertainment that takes the form of a sporting event, but with more emphasis on dramatic storylines, humor, spectacle or titillation than on a contest of athletic skills. ... Catch wrestling is a popular style of wrestling. ... In professional wrestling, a gimmick is a wrestlers personality, behavior, attire and/or other distinguishing traits while performing. ... Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960) is a retired professional wrestler best known by the ring name Dean Malenko. ... // A nickname is a name of a person or thing other than its proper name. ... -1...

Examples of shoots

• Stanislaus Zbyszko defeated champion Wayne Munn on April 15, 1925 for the World Title, when Munn was scripted to retain. A similar situation occurred on March 2, 1936 when Dick Shikat defeated champion Danno O'Mahony. Apparently the winners felt they deserved the title, and genuinely out-wrestled their opponents.
• The Greg Wojciechowski $10,000 Challenge: In the World Wrestling Association, Wojciechowski, who wrestled as "The Great Wojo", offered $10,000 to anybody from the audience who could pin him in the ring in a shoot match. Wojciechowski, who was a 4-time AAU heavyweight champion and 1-time NCAA heavyweight champion, used not only his professional wrestling skills, but also his amateur wrestling skills to remain undefeated in these challenges. In addition, several of the challengers were apparently legitimately hurt in these matches.
• The MSG Incident (see The Clique).
• The Montreal Screwjob is a shoot, in that an 'agreed-upon' plan was secretly switched in order to take the WWF Title from Bret Hart.
• In a match between Tiger Mask and Akira Maeda on September 2, 1985 the referee stopped the match because the two were actually beating each other up.
• Mick Foley has produced many comical shoots during his career, once causing three different wrestlers and the referee to lose all composure and burst out with laughter.^{[citation needed]}
• In May 2002, on a return flight from the United Kingdom, Brock Lesnar and Mr. Perfect got into a real-life fight against each other. After Perfect confronted Lesnar over who has the better amateur skills, Lesnar went on to take him down and had to be calmed down by Paul Heyman and Dave Finlay. As a result, Perfect was released from WWE. Perfect was reportedly drunk during the incident.
• On June 12, 2005, at the ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view, during a large scale brawl after the main event John Bradshaw Layfield actually struck The Blue Meanie, who needed 12 stiches in his head. In a rare occurrence WWE actually addressed the issue on their regular programming and attempted to work it into a storyline.
• Booker T and Batista got into a fight on-set during the filming for a SummerSlam 2006 TV commercial. At first this appeared to be a "work," but both Batista and Booker T have claimed it to be a real fight, each alleging the other showed him disrespect.^{[citation needed]}
• In 1984, while filming a segment on professional wrestling, reporter John Stossel made a mention to wrestler David "Dr. D" Schultz 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.^[2] (Stossel now regrets his decision to sue, according to his first book.) Schultz maintains that he attacked Stossel because the head of the WWF wanted him to. [1] [2]

Stanislaus Zbyszko in Night and the City (1950) Stanislaus Zbyszko (Polish: StanisÅ‚aw Jan Cyganiewicz; Zbyszko was really only his nickname, which was given him by friends due to his bravery, when he was a kid) was a professional wrestler popular in the United States during the 1920s. ... Wayne Munn was a professional wrestler. ... is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 61st day of the year (62nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Statue commemorating Danno OMahony in his home town of Ballydehob, County Cork. ... Greg Wojciechowski is a former amateur wrestler and professional wrestler. ... Formed from the North American Wrestling Alliance and based primarily out of the Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium under the banner of West Coast promoters Gene & Mike LeBell. ... The Clique (sometimes spelled as Kliq) was a backstage group in the World Wrestling Federation during the mid-1990s, which some claim held virtually all booking power and were accused of refusing to put over anyone outside of the group. ... The screwjob in execution - Earl Hebner calling for the bell as Shawn Michaels holds Bret Hart in the sharpshooter. ... The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight-grade championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). ... This article is about the professional wrestler. ... Satoru Sayama (born November 24, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known as the original Tiger Mask. ... Akira Maeda is a Korean Japanese professional wrestler, also known as Kwik-kik-Lee for his time on the British Wrestling show World of Sport . ... is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Michael Francis Mick Foley, Sr. ... 2002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for May, 2002. ... Brock Edward Lesnar[4] (born July 12, 1977[3]) is an American mixed martial artist, former professional and amateur wrestler. ... Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1959 – February 10, 2003), also known by his ring name Mr. ... Paul Buster Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is a professional wrestling manager, on-air talent, and former promoter. ... David Edward Dave Finlay (born October 20, 1958) is a British/Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... ECW One Night Stand 2005 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). ... “John Hawk” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Robert Booker Tio Huffman[2] (born March 1, 1965)[2], better known by his wrestling personas Booker T and King Booker, is an American professional wrestler. ... David Michael Bautista, Jr. ... SummerSlam 2006 was the nineteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event from World Wrestling Entertainment. ... This article is about the year. ... John F. Stossel (born 6 March 1947) is a consumer reporter, author and co-anchor for the ABC News show 20/20. ... David Schults is a retired professional wrestler who billed himself as Dr. D. He gained his biggest notoriety after a 1984 incident involving 20/20 reporter John Stossel. ... World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ...

Examples of "worked shoots"

• Perhaps the longest example of a worked shoot was the bitter feud in the early 1980s between Jerry Lawler and performer Andy Kaufman, which started after Kaufman opened a $1,000 challenge to any woman, claiming he could not be pinned by one. Lawler and Kaufman even appeared together on Late Night with David Letterman and staged a physical altercation there. The depth of the "working" escalated with Kaufman being admitted to hospitals and wearing a neck brace in public for months. The reality of the events was left ambiguous until over 10 years after Kaufman's death.
• When Bob Backlund lost the WWF Title to the Iron Sheik in 1983, his manager, Arnold Skaaland, threw in the towel without Backlund's consent.
• The "Pillman's got a gun" storyline in 1996, in which Brian Pillman pulled a gun on Steve Austin on-camera when Austin "invaded Pillman's home."
• During a fallout between Mick Foley and The Rock and their tag-team The Rock and Sock Connection, Foley started yelling at the Rock, then called him his real name, "Dwayne" (with what sounded like sarcastic emphasis).
• At World Championship Wrestling's New Blood Rising, Goldberg sandbagged a powerbomb attempt by Kevin Nash during a three-way match also involving Scott Steiner, and pushed him away. The commentators acted like the incident was a shoot, and acted like they were completely unprepared for the match afterwards, while the wrestlers also acted like they were improvising. This led to a storyline in which Nash and Goldberg traded (worked) shoot promos at each other, all treated as real shoots by announcers, to later build up to a one-on-one match.
• On the July 25, 2005 edition of RAW, Shawn Michaels cut an in-ring promo for his upcoming match with Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam. Notably, he finished the promo by telling Hogan "Whatcha gonna do when the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels, won't lay down for you?" This is not only a play on Hogan's normal "Whatcha gonna do..." catchphrase, but is also a thinly veiled reference to the infamous Fingerpoke of Doom, a 1999 incident in which Michaels' old friend Kevin Nash blatantly laid down for Hogan in a WCW Championship match. Michaels continued to make such comments during and after the feud. Michaels' Raw promo after their PPV match likely had some legitimate shooting in it. Michaels wanted a two match feud with both him and Hogan getting victories, but Hogan insisted on a single victory for him. Michaels sarcastically said Hogan was the better man and that he was unable to withstand Hogan's predictable series of moves.^{[citation needed]}
• On the November 2, 2006 edition of TNA iMPACT!, Kip and B.G. James announced they were quitting. Kip James grabbed a microphone and tried to say something further, but it was cut off. Kip then tried to use the announcer's headset, but it was cut off as well. Frustrated, he started yelling loudly to the crowd but he was cut off as the show went to a "sudden" commercial break. When the show returned, the announcers speculated that they may have been frustrated due to the influx of new talent entering TNA. It was reported that the segment was a worked shoot that Vince Russo had written in order to renew interest upon their eventual return. [3]

Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer, actor, and performance artist. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer, actor, and performance artist. ... Late Night with David Letterman was a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. ... Robert Louis Backlund (b. ... Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (born on March 15, 1943) is a retired Iranian professional wrestler better known by his stage name The Iron Sheik. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... In professional wrestling, a manager is a character who is paired with a wrestler. ... Arnold Skaaland (Pronounced Skoland) (January 21, 1925 – March 13, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Steven James Williams (born Steven Anderson on December 18, 1964)[2] better known by his ring name Stone Cold Steve Austin, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. ... Michael Francis Mick Foley, Sr. ... Dwayne Douglas Johnson[3] (born May 2, 1972) better known by his former ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... New Blood Rising was a PPV in World Championship Wrestling in 2000, 7 months before WCW folded. ... Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of slang, in-references and jargon. ... Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American professional wrestler and actor. ... Scott Carl Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by his ring name, Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler. ... is the 206th day of the year (207th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Shawn Michaels. ... SummerSlam 2005 was the eighteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event from World Wrestling Entertainment. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... The Fingerpoke of Doom is the common nickname for a pivotal storyline in American professional wrestling history that happened on January 4, 1999 on WCW Monday Nitro, the flagship show of World Championship Wrestling. ... This article is about the year. ... The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world championship in World Championship Wrestling. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the television program. ... The Voodoo Kin Mafia, originally known as the New Age Outlaws (WWF) and previously known as the James Gang (TNA), are a professional wrestling tag team currently in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that consist of the tag team B.G. James & Kip James. ... Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, best known as Badd Ass Billy Gunn (also spelled as Bad Ass) from his years working for World Wrestling Entertainment. ... Vincent Michael Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American writer, known for working for American professional wrestling companies, most notably the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. ...

See also

• shoot wrestling
• Professional wrestling slang
• Vince Russo

Shootfighting Shoot wrestling is a general term that describes a range of hybrid fighting systems originating in Japan in the late 1970s, in close association with Japanese professional wrestling. ... Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of slang, in-references and jargon. ... Vincent Michael Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American writer, known for working for American professional wrestling companies, most notably the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. ...

References