10 Things Wrestling Needs To Ban RIGHT NOW
4. The Worked Shoot-ADJACENT Promo
Mainstream US wrestling first outed itself as a predetermined sham in storyline back in the '90s through the lines-blurring of Brian Pillman.
Now, much of today's generation don't know any different.
The worked shoot is, as the oxymoron suggests, a flawed concept. It is difficult to believe that two talents truly despise one another when they have amicably agreed to fold their tension into a storyline (during which they will protect one another from real harm in the ring). Done well, the knowledge of real animosity can enhance a match - but not everything is CM Punk Vs. Eddie Kingston at AEW Full Gear '21.
You can see why a wrestler would draw on something real to taunt or challenge their rival. This is meant to deepen the realism of it and in turn fan investment. The problem is that talking about the "real" conflict or conduct is now such an unconscious act, like breathing, that wrestlers will use it when it doesn't make much sense.
Darby Allin, who has otherwise improved considerably as a promo, recently accused Ricky Starks of making excuses for not making it as a top star - except, as the champion of the tag division at the time, he in fact had made it in the fictional universe of All Elite Wrestling.
More generally, wrestlers constantly make references to "politicking" - Seth Rollins drew on that to build his new programme with Roman Reigns - and what sense does that make?
Is wrestling fake or not?