The Garden hums with energy, the tense murmurs of eighteen thousand New Yorkers filling the air with a dull roar as the power chords of your theme music fade. Eighteen thousand....a bigger crowd than you'd worked in front of in your entire life. And not just any eighteen thousand, you think as you stretch in the corner, both thanking your lucky stars and cursing your luck. New York is a demanding crowd, a 'smart' and rowdy bunch that aren't just going to cheer for you because you'd been booked to debut as a babyface. No, if you wanted this crowd chanting your name, you'd have to work for it.
The referee calls you to the center of the ring, and you lock eyes with the 400-pound mastodon lumbering towards you from the opposite corner. Spitting a wad of tobacco from the corner of his mouth, he sneers at you, unimpressed, while the ref pantomimes checking his tights and pads for foreign objects. You'd never worked with this guy before, but you know him by reputation. He's notorious for working stiff, for not pulling his punches like he should or protecting opponents when taking bumps. On top of that, he's known for being an enforcer of one of the major backstage cliques, and has a habit of making sure the new guys 'pay their dues' and learn their place the hard way. Whoever set this match up, they wanted to teach you a lesson.
The ref loudly reviews the rules of the match as the crowd buzzes with anticipation, then turns just to you and repeats what the promoter had told you in the back. "You've got five minutes. Two hope spots, really play it up, then you take the powerbomb. Make him look strong."
You nod your head to confirm the plan, but as you head back to your corner, the wheels start turning. Sure, you're only on the card tonight to put the big guy over. But there's no reason you can't get yourself over, too. There'd be hell to pay afterwards, and there's no guarantee you won't get your ass kicked for breaking rank, even if it's just a little bit. Then again, you're new to the territory, and there are plenty of guys on the card who'd be happy to kick you around even if you do play nice.
Besides, you only get one chance to debut at the Garden.
You find yourself unable to hold back a grin as the anticipation reaches a fever pitch. The monster across from you cracks his knuckles, the referee signals....
....and the bell rings.
The Work and the Shoot is a two-layered roleplaying game, set in a fictionalized version of the 'Rock 'n' Wrestling' era of the early 1980s. In it, players will create and assume the roles of professional wrestlers, trying to make names for themselves in the World Wrestling Alliance, an up-and-coming territory based out of New England. Their success or failure depends on their ability to thrive both in the fictional "work" of the show itself (winning over the crowd by playing a memorable gimmick, cutting exciting promos, and putting on spectacular matches), and in the seedier "shoot" world behind the scenes (courting favor with the booker/match-maker, dealing with backstage politics, keeping your out-of-character life away from the public to avoid "exposing the business"). The conflicts on camera may be fake, but the conflicts behind the curtain are very real.
The GM will play the role of the booker, in this case an ambitious but sleazy promoter named Sonny D'Angelo, a big-shot leisure suit lizard with big ideas and bad habits. While D'Angelo does not appear on the show itself, he will play a major part backstage, making matches and pitching story angles to his workers. While he's far from incorruptible, he wants the show to succeed more than anything, and it is up to each individual wrestler to convince Sonny why they'll be the one to make that success happen. Perhaps they do that by wowing the audience in the ring, or by courting TV networks and movie studios to put more eyes on the product. Maybe they do it by undercutting their competition, making them look bad or sullying their reputation. There's always more than one way to the top of the heap, and even more ways to be thrown off of it.
The Work:
The 'Work' level of the game is the show itself, Monday Night Mayhem. Every other Tuesday morning (in real-time), the GM will post a card for the next show, matching players up against each other or against the WWA's home-grown "enhancement talent." For the next seven days, players will attempt to impress the crowd (and the booker) by performing up to three 'Work' segments in-character to their wrestler's gimmick. These could be promos to hype themselves up and run their opponents down, backstage vignettes with other characters (as long as they have the player's permission), or warm-up matches against NPC opponents. If/when the booker pitches a storyline to go along with the match, these segments should also further said storyline in some way. Attack/'beatdown' segments against other player-characters should only ever be done with the other opponent's explicit permission.
At the start of every other week (again, in real time), the GM will post the latest episode of Monday Night Mayhem, playing out the matches and storylines and assigning winners and losers according to how the booker character believes things should go. Bear in mind, being booked to lose does not mean the player is being punished, and that the booker's views do not necessarily match the GM's-- the booker character is, after all, a character.
After ten episodes of Monday Night Mayhem, the 'season' will conclude in a massive Pay-Per-View event, the star-studded super-card Slam-O-Rama in Madison Square Garden. This will be the culmination of feuds, the finale of storylines, and most importantly, the crowning of the first WWA World Champion in the main event. On the 'Work' level of the game, it is every character's goal to get that main event spot, the prestige and glory of the title, the ecstasy of gold.
The Shoot:
The goings-on on Monday Night Mayhem are generally a family-friendly affair, with the babyfaces as flag-waving do-gooder superheroes and the heels as cowards and bullies and foreigners and snobs. During the height of the Reagan years, it's good business to be built around clear-cut, black-and-white, feel-good entertainment. Behind the scenes, though, is a different story.
The 'Shoot' level of the game is the dirty underbelly of the wrestling world, the hidden violence and sex, the cut-throat politicking and scandals, the rampant drug addiction and organized crime. This is where characters might blackmail each other into taking a dive, or decide to take liberties with an opponent to protect their spot on the card. While the booker Sonny D'Angelo doesn't appear on the 'Work' level of the show, he and his cronies are a major presence here on the 'Shoot' level.
Apart from the interpersonal and internal conflicts, the men and women of the WWA have to worry about external threats against the show. For one, there's the press and moral crusaders of the day, many of whom are out to delegitimize wrestling by exposing backstage secrets. Then there are the cops who want to crack down on the drug trade and other nefarious activities happening behind closed doors. Perhaps worst of all, though, are the rival promotions who will stoop to any low to keep the WWA from getting too big, and will go to any length to protect the secrets of the business, from intimidation to blackmail to, if it comes to it, outright murder.
While players are restricted to only having three 'Work' segments (to simulate the show's limited TV time), they may post as many 'Shoot' segments as they like. These can include any number of things a wrestler might be doing when 'out of character,' from the dangerous and grimy politicking backstage to simple slice-of-life as they endure the aches and pains of constantly working on the verge of serious injury, and the personal strain of a life spent on the road. Inter-character conflict is allowed and encouraged, but again, physically attacking another player's character should only be done with the other player's permission.
CHARACTER SHEET SAMPLE
(For clarity's sake, sections relevant to the "Work" level of the game are highlighted in Royal Blue, while sections relevant to the "Shoot" level are highlighted in red)
Ring Name: What does the character go by on the show?
Gimmick: What character do they play on the show? Provide a short description, preferably a single "high concept" phrase ("wild rock star," "egotistical cheater," etc)
Alignment: Is the character currently a Face or a Heel?
Age/Height/Weight/Hometown: The character's basic information-- if their "Work" character's information would be different from their "shoot" info (a la Andre the Giant being billed as "7 feet 4 inches" when in reality he was at most 6'11"), then include both and notate the difference.
Entrance Theme: What song does your character use for their entrance? The GM will provide one if the player has no preference.
Finisher and Signature Moves: What maneuvers is this wrestler known for doing? Keep in mind, this is the 80s, where a basic DDT or diving elbow drop would be considered instant death. Given the fictionalized setting, some level of leeway will be given with the GM's discretion (something like a chokeslam or an Ace Crusher/Diamond Cutter would be acceptable, but 'impossible' stuff like a Red Arrow or unnecessarily complicated moves like the Canadian Destroyer would not) but in general it's best to apply the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) when developing their moveset.
In-Ring Style: Apart from their signatures, what is the wrestler's overall style? Are they high-flyers, powerhouses, brawlers, technical grapplers, or some combination therein? Do they take big risks, or do they prefer a methodical approach?
Tale of the Tape: What notable accomplishments has the character had over the course of their career? This can include notable feuds, championships, previous careers before wrestling, anything that can be used in a storyline on the show.
Real Name: What is the wrestler's actual name?
Backstage Bio: What is the wrestler's real story that brought them to the WWA?
In-Ring Skills/Reputation: How good is the wrestler in the ring, and what sort of things should other wrestlers bear in mind when working with this character? Are they known for no-selling their opponents' moves? Are they more professional 'mechanics' more interested in a match's work-rate than in working with the crowd? Do they take liberties with opponents they don't like? Are they sloppy, injury-prone, still too green to be reliable?
Mic Skills/Reputation: How good is the wrestler on the microphone? Can they work a crowd, or are they too blunt or timid? Do they have catch phrases, and can they deliver them with any real panache? How good are they at handling themselves when things go off-script? Do they prefer to let a manager or a more charismatic partner do the talking for them?
Backstage Reputation: How much influence does the wrestler have behind the scenes? Are they affiliated with any backstage cliques? Do they use their influence to get other people over, or do they only look out for themselves? Are they respected by the locker room, or are they seen as a prima dona or a greenhorn?
Motivation: What exactly does the wrestler want? Money, fame, recognition? Maybe they're using the wrestling business to get into movies? Maybe they're here out of loyalty to Sonny D'Angelo or someone else in the back? What is their end-game?
Hindrance: Why has the wrestler not gotten what they want? Are they struggling with personal demons? Have they earned a bad reputation that's lost the trust of the locker room? Are they too inexperienced, or on the other hand, too old to really go anymore? What is holding them back?
