Shoot (professional wrestling)

Part of a series on
Professional wrestling
History History of professional wrestling By year Early wrestling championships Gold Dust Trio 1980s boom Black Saturday 1994 NWA World Title Tournament Monday Night Wars Attitude Era 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus The Invasion Wednesday Night Wars
Notable promotions All Elite Wrestling All Japan Pro Wrestling All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling American Wrestling Association Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Extreme Championship Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide National Wrestling Alliance New Japan Pro-Wrestling Pro Wrestling Noah Ring of Honor Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling UWF International Women of Wrestling World Championship Wrestling World Wonder Ring Stardom WWE Others
Notable people Early 20th Century George Hackenschmidt The Great Gama Frank Gotch Billy Sandow Toots Mondt Ed Lewis Jack Pfefer Jim Londos Salvador Lutteroth Lou Thesz Mid 20th Century Gorgeous George El Santo Sam Muchnick Mildred Burke The Fabulous Moolah Blue Demon Verne Gagne Karl Gotch Rikidōzan Stu Hart Bruno Sammartino 1970s and 1980s Terry Funk Harley Race Gordon Solie Antonio Inoki Giant Baba Mil Máscaras André the Giant Carlos Colón Dusty Rhodes Ric Flair Jim Crockett Jr. Big Daddy Vince McMahon Dynamite Kid Satoru "Tiger Mask" Sayama Hulk Hogan Randy Savage Hisashi Shinma Akira Maeda 1990s Ted Turner Sting The Great Muta The Undertaker Jim Ross Mitsuharu Misawa Kenta Kobashi Toshiaki Kawada Atsushi Onita Antonio Peña Eric Bischoff Paul Heyman Jim Cornette Bret Hart Shawn Michaels Kevin Nash Scott Hall Vince Russo Stone Cold Steve Austin The Rock Paul "Triple H" Levesque 2000s Chris Jericho Jeff Jarrett Eddie Guerrero Rey Mysterio Brock Lesnar John Cena Hiroshi Tanahashi Místico 2010s and 2020s CM Punk Bryan Danielson Roman Reigns Kazuchika Okada Kenny Omega Tony Khan Nick Khan Cody Rhodes
By region Australia Bolivia Canada China France India Israel Japan Mexico New Zealand Puerto Rico Russia Saudi Arabia United Kingdom United States
Styles British wrestling All-in style Mountevans rules Catch-as-catch-can Cruiserweight X Division Hardcore Intergender Lucha libre Midget Mini-Estrella Puroresu Shoot style U-Kei Women's
Concepts Attire Masks Wrestling singlet Wrestling shoe Backyarding Blading Championship World Heavyweight Dirt sheet Glossary of terms Kayfabe Gimmick Face Heel Shoot Heat Job Push House show Match types Music Rib Ring name Sports entertainment Tag team Weight classes Wrestling ring
Culture Cauliflower Alley Club Cauliflower ear Comic books Films Luchador films Magazines Paintings Gustave Courbet Thomas Eakins William Etty George Luks Ribera Steakhouse Sculpture Ten-bell salute Video games Wrestling personalities in politics Zubaz
Media outlets Botchamania Box y Lucha Dark Side of the Ring Fighting Spirit Magazine Live Audio Wrestling OSW Review Power Slam Pro Wrestling Illustrated Súper Luchas Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Controversies Animals in professional wrestling Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide Death of Owen Hart Mass Transit incident Montreal Screwjob Murder of Bruiser Brody Murder of Rikidōzan Premature deaths Speaking Out United States v. McMahon Vince McMahon sexual trafficking scandal WWE–Saudi Arabia relationship
Lists Attendance records Championships Matches rated 5 or more stars by Dave Meltzer Moves Promotions Rivalries Rosters TV shows Wrestling families
Related topics Combat sport Comparison of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts Martial arts Mock combat Pankration Sport wrestling Amateur Catch Shoot Submission Lancashire Luta Livre Pehlwani Stage combat Theatre
v t e

A shoot in professional wrestling is any unplanned, unscripted, or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. It is a carny term shortened from "straight shooting", which originally referred to a gun in a carnival target shooting game that did not have its sights misaligned. Terminology such as this reflects the professional wrestling industry's roots in traveling carnivals.^[1]

Initially, the term referred to practice or ability in catch wrestling as a legitimate sport. It has since come to mean any legit attack or fight in professional wrestling regardless of the combat system employed, and its meaning has broadened to include unscripted events in general. The opposite of a shoot is a work or kayfabe. 'Shoot' may also refer to legitimate 'shooting' for a takedown, as in interscholastic, amateur, and Olympic wrestling. With professional wrestling's history of 'shooters' and 'hookers', wrestlers with elite grappling skills, and the recent rise of shoot style wrestling and mixed martial arts, this use of the term is growing.^{[citation needed]}