Why Were Worked Shoots Ever Popular?

[Tenta]

So I'm watchong New Blood Rising right now, and realize that there's something that is dropped way too much in WCW during that time period. It's worse than the excessive gimmick matches, the illogical storylines, and the lazy demeanor of the talent.

It's the worked shoots. There are numerous of them, and they all are trying to get the same point across, that what you're watching is real, though we're all aware it's a fake broadcast. For some reason, Vince Russo bombarded his shows with half hour long diatribes that were supposed to be "reality", which undermined the whole concept of professional wrestling, but it never stopped Russo, anyway. This, I've always held up, was Russo's little trick when the gimmick he intended never got over, and his way of trying to free himself of guilt from the failed gimmick.

Still, the logic does state that for worked shoots to be done to the point of death, they had to have been popular at some time. While I mentioned Brian Pillman earlier, he was the master of the worked shoot, and I'm still not sure as to why it got over. Goldust tried it in 1997, when he left his wife, in an angle I find uncomforting, even to this day. Hell, even ECW was filled with all of these supposed "shoot comments", which apparently made "shoots" the coolest thing in the world.

But why? What about these staged "reality moments" were interesting? In the world of professional wrestling, we've all already made an implied pact to be willing to suspend our disbelief for two hours to witness the show. It's similar to a television show, in that we know it isn't reality, yet we still decide to suspend our disbelief to be entertained. So why would a promoter go out of his/her way to try and prove to us the fake show we all acknowledge is scripted is real?

I place it in the old school, again, merely because over time I've seen the "shoot" somewhat pass away. Though again, Daniel Bryan pulled it off weeks ago, and was critically lauded. Why do we applaud when a wrestler breaks kayfabe to express his real life issues? Can someone please tell me the entertainment value behind these angles that started fifteen years ago? Why should I care if Terri Runnels and Dustin are on rocky terms? Or if Eric Bischoff is afraid of what Brian Pillman will do?

Again, worked shoots, and just shoots in general... Why did they ever become popular, and why do you like them?

 

[The Doctor]

They're only done when they're done well. The difference between Daniel Bryan's worked shoot and Russo's worked shoots is that Daniel Bryan wasn't pulling back the curtain on the business. He wasn't saying "This is scripted, all of this is scripted". His worked shoots talked about how he has wrestled around the world and how Michael Cole is a jerk and that Vince McMahon doesn't give opportunities to smaller wrestlers. This is different from, say, Scott Steiner and his opponent planning the finish to their match on live TV.

A good worked shoot keeps the illusion that wrestling is "real" while talking about backstage influences and politics, or similar. It doesn't break kayfabe at all, it merely lets us have a small window into what goes on between wrestlers when the cameras aren't rolling.

I think that properly done worked shoots are popular because they add to the realism of the situation. We all know that there has to be more than what is seen on TV, so when someone comes out and in character says something that another character does, it's like giving us a glimpse into "their world".

There was a promo Miz did about how he was always treated badly backstage by people like JBL. That was a fantastic promo based on reality that The Miz as a character took and used to become stronger, and I would rank it as one of the best promos of the year so far.

Worked shoots when properly done excite us because they show a bigger picture without breaking the illusion, and in a way help us suspend our disbelief even more.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

I am a big fan of worked shoots, however this instance that you speak of is when Russo thought the whole world was on the internet and going through the dirt sheets.

The reality, well hardly 5% of the fans at that time knew what these promos were about (you had to look at the dead silence of the attendance who had no clue to comprehend Russo's ability of writing and understanding), and if they really did read the dirt sheets, they knew it was worked and so they were largely unimpressed.

But see some worked shoots that garner that "ooooooooo" from the audience. That "oh he did not just say that" face, that's what makes these promos so great.

Case in point- early 2008, Triple H ripping apart Cena, calling out his wrestling ability and fan base. I know everyone knew about all this but to that day no top-level talent had said that to Cena, and kudos to Cena who sold it like a shoot and looked genuinely pissed.

But by God, the best had to be the work-shoot by Paul .E on the WWE guys at ONS 2005. That was epic and quite frankly I was glad someone finally said that about the biggest waste of WWE space:JBL and I was disappointed that Bob Holly wasn't up there. Heyman would've ripped him apart.

So yes worked shoots are so much fun, Bryan Danielson showed us.
"Does Micheal Cole really deserve JR's spot" CLASSIC!!

 

[DexVendetta88]

Worked shoots are only great if there's a blur between kayfabe and reality, while in most circumstances we can tell the difference between the two. With the dawn of the Internet as several others posted already here helped pave the way for worked shoots to be truly effective. I'm actually a fan on worked shoots because it does its intended purpose which is to shock the audience with a dose of "reality". However, the golden rule for worked shoots is to use it once in a blue moon because if you do it all the time then the fans catch on to the point they aren't convinced anymore. Unfortunately, as Tenta pointed out here Russo basically abused the use of worked shoots to the point where they lost all credibility. Because of that, well I guess we all know what happened after that =P!

 

[Chauncy Talon]

The reason why it works is because nobody stop them. Seriously, everytime you seen a shoot on television somebody comes out and stop it. When it worked you notice that everybody have a look like they know it going to happen. It's annoying but whatever floated Russo boat, which was a lot of things but not to the public, he was going to show the world why it was so good.

 

[PhD]

It seems that you have, for the most part, answered your own question. Even today, the angles that get the biggest responses from wrestling fans are those that involve "real" events or perspectives.

There is an essay on this subject by Sharon Mazer in "Steel Chair to the Head," the pro-wrestling reader published by Duke U. Press a few years ago. The tension between fake and real is a major driving force behind why people watch pro-wrestling in the first place. Worked shoots are simply an extreme extension of the basic premise of any wrestling match.

 

[ccotreau1]

For me, one I liked I wouldn't even call it a worked shoot per-se but Stone Cold's promo in ECW when he ranted on what happened to him in regards to his WCW release. It was the truth, it came from his heart, and it lead to the promos that we saw with him in WWE.

 

[Tastycles]

I don't think they were. Worked shoots are inteneded to get the IWC all hot and bothered because they just don't know if what they are watching is real or not, but if we're honest, the vast majority of the audience goes to a show ignoring the backstage politics and expecting that everything they see is a ruse, but a ruse that they get lost in all the same.

Worked shoots are probably the worst thing you can do, because the IWC generally sees through them, a few tards excepted, and the mainstream audience is confused by them. As soon as you break kayfabe, or make it look like you are, the audience is immediately made to feel stupid, which does nothing but alienate them. I don't think worked shoots were ever popular with the audience, nor where they popular in most mainstream promotions once their negative impact was realised.

There's a fine line between working the audience to a point they think they ar witnessing reality and compromising kayfabe by manufacturing reality. Calling Triple H Paul every now and then can make an angle seem more real. Telling the audience that Jarrett threw the title away because of backstage politics, not so much.

 

[klunderbunker]

Tasty more or less summed it up.

For some reason, Russo thought that everyone was a smark and lived/died by the dirt sheets. He thought the in ring action was second to the drama you saw and if you had enough drama, the lack of wrestling would be overlooked. The problem is that hardly anyone knows what's going on behind the scenes and even we don't know for sure. Worked shoots work maybe once in a blue moon. Other than that though, they're just confusing and never pay off at all. What was accomplished by BATB 2000? It didn't help with money, it made the title look stupid, it was never mentioned again, and it's a joke today. What did it do? They might be popular once in awhile for the IWC, but the majority of the fans just don't get it and likely never will, which is why they're pointless.

 

[The Bearded One]

They were popular because when they are done right and in moderation, they are entertaining. The problem with this is that Vince Russo went absolutely overboard with them during the downfall of WCW. He overused and did not use them effectively. Most people didn't know about backstage politics, about how Hulk Hogan acted backstage. To the people who did know, it was confusing and pointless to say the least.

But when done right, worked shoots can get everybody talking. Remember a few years back Joey Styles walking out on RAW and his worked shoot? It came across really well because it was believable and while it broke kayfabe, it didn't step over any lines. He just said what any disgruntled employee would say. These are the kind of worked shoots that work. The ones that add realism without completely pulling the curtain back. When used in moderation, like one every few years, they can be an effective tool to advance storylines and get people talking.