Starr: “Worked Shoot” or Purely Unprofessional?

The Nia Jax vs. Charlotte Flair match from the August 30 edition of Monday Night Raw has sparked much discussion over the past few days.  While the speculation as to what exactly occurred in that match remains a mystery, the one thing that is universally agreed on is that the sight was not pretty.  That said, the question of whether or not this was a worked shoot for storyline purposes or an extension of potential heat between the two wrestlers is an interesting discussion.

First off, it is important to understand the definition of the term “worked shoot.”  According to Jim Cornette’s Behind the Curtain: Real Pro Wrestling Stories, a worked shoot is actually a “phrase made up in the ’90s when people began to get smart to how wrestling was worked.  Some promotions started doing angles acknowledging that much of wrestling was prearranged, but claiming their incident was real-hence, a ‘worked shoot.'”  So by expert opinion, how can this incident be defined by something that does not exist?

Moreover, the “shoot” element of this argument makes no sense, because the match was not an unscripted or unplanned event.  There were clearly elements in this match where Charlotte and Nia were uncooperative and stiff with one another, but to call this a flat out “shoot” is a misinterpretation of the historical term.

That leaves the presumption that whatever mishaps occurred during the match led to the incidents of Charlotte and Nia becoming visibly frustrated with one another.  In result, the match broke down into several layers of miscommunication, awkward exchanges, and “no-sell” occurrences that left many people confused.  It is hard to imagine that even WWE, in its current abysmal state, would script two wrestlers to intentionally sabotage one another in order to further a storyline.  If this was WCW in 1999-2000, most people would not have bat an eyelash at the sight of seeing this occur.  However, given PWInsider’s recent report that WWE sources were shocked at the incident as well, it seems more likely that Charlotte and Nia grew visibly agitated with one another and went into business for themselves.

Above all else, one very important question is yet to be answered in this entire fiasco, “What is the alleged beef between Charlotte and Nia that would possess these two to potato each other on live, national television?”  As of now, there are no articles or headlines detailing the issues between Charlotte and Nia, if there are any to begin with.  In fact, according to that same PWInsider report, Charlotte and Nia seem to be on “good terms” following their backstage encounter.  Regardless of whether or not these two have real heat at the moment, it is absolutely unwarranted to allow those issues to spill out for public consumption.  It is unprofessional, it is unacceptable, and moreover, it is outright dangerous!  Had things grown more out of control than they temporarily did, both wrestlers could have sustained critical injuries.  We already know Nia Jax’s track-record when it comes to her ability (or inability) to competently and safely work with others.  And if you remember the Kairi Sane concussion debacle from TLC 2019, you would know that Charlotte does not have a clean record when it comes to handling “off-script” circumstances.

Nevertheless, it really can not be argued that this was far from compelling television in any way, shape, or form.  Even in the land of WWE where the term “wrestler” is forbidden language, it is irrelevant here; whether you call them “sports entertainers” or “professional wrestlers,” neither of those terms fit this equation.  On this show, Nia and Charlotte were not “professional,” and they certainly were not “entertaining.”

Sources:

• Cornette, J., Easton, B., Medri, D., Escuin, J., & Long, T. B. (2019). Jim Cornette Presents behind the Curtain: Real pro wrestling stories. IDW Publishing.

• Joest, M. (2021, August 31). Do WWE Monday night raw’s Charlotte Flair And Nia JAX have real Beef After Stiff Match? Fans have thoughts. CINEMABLEND. https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2572816/wwe-monday-night-raw-charlotte-flair-nia-jax-have-real-beef-stiff-match.

• Johnson, M. (2021, August 31). PWInsider – Wwe News, wrestling News, wwe. CHARLOTTE FLAIR VS. NIA JAX – WHAT HAPPENED? | PWInsider.com. https://www.pwinsider.com/article/150292/charlotte-flair-vs-nia-jax-what-happened.html?p=1.