Shoot (professional wrestling)

A shoot in professional wrestling is any unplanned, unscripted or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. The name does not originate from "shooting in" for a takedown, as in amateur wrestling, but rather, it is a carny term shortened from "straight shooting" which originally referred to a gun in a carnival target shooting game which did not have its sights fixed (terminology such as this reflecting the professional wrestling industry's roots in traveling 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.

Professional wrestling is staged entertainment rather than a sports competition. 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. 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.

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, it was commonplace at wrestling events for fans to go after heels intent on violence. 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 northeastern and southern United States from the mid to late 20th century, where many wrestling territories became known for offering violent action to a rabid, fiercely loyal audience who largely believed in what they were seeing.

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