Booker A booker , as the term is used in wrestling , is a person who puts matches together and determines basics about their content , such as relative overall length , who the eventual victor will be , and many of the moves which will be made during the match ; in other words , the match ' s " plotline . " The booker also plans other aspects of the show , including interview segments and other backstage skits or promos between matches . Pro wrestling is not strictly " scripted " in the way that a play would be . Considerable room is left for improvisation , especially in the case of talented veteran performers ; at times the wrestlers may not strictly follow the intentions of the booker , especially where actual injury has occurred . Injuries like this can force a quick ending to a match , and also may not have the same results as the original booking . Talented bookers are key to any successful promotion . It is this element , even above athletic performance , that generally determines the success or failure of a promotion . Even so , the booker must have wrestlers of sufficient skill to work with to make the matches appear to be at least somewhat plausible . Bookers often perform in the event in some way . The most notable example is World Wrestling Entertainment ' s Howard Finkel , who helped book shows , announced matches , and even wrote magazine reviews of shows . On the other hand , Vince Russo is viewed by many to have inserted himself too heavily . Booking . Booking , in the sense used in professional wrestling , is the process of laying out in advance the general storyline of the match , to include what the eventual outcome will be . Booking may be very detailed and include a more - or - less precise length for the match and what moves , techniques , and holds will be employed by which wrestler or wrestlers and at what point in the match each will happen . The power of a group or individual to set matches and storyline is said to have booking power . A promotion ' s creative team has booking power by definition , but official bookers are not the only people said to have booking power ; a wrestler with a lot of backstage clout , who has allied with other wrestlers backstage to assert influence ( see The Clique ) , who is friends with members of the creative team , or whose contract gives them creative control over their character ( e . g . , Hulk Hogan ) , may be said to have booking power . Backstage politics may play a large role in who gets to control the direction of matches and storylines . " On the Fly " Booking . Another method is called " on the fly booking " which means that a show will be booked on the night that it is to be put on . On the fly booking was often used by WCW during the Monday Night Wars . This was done because WCW had a large undercard talent roster which would have been time - consuming to write dedicated storylines for . This time period also saw the rise of the Internet wrestling community and the management at WCW perceived a need to keep the details of upcoming storylines from leaking out . This method of booking ' s drawbacks became visible quickly when WCW storylines would often seem disjointed and not carry over into next week ' s show . In light of WCW losing the Monday Night Wars , on the fly booking is rarely practiced except in cases where a wrestler does not show up at a scheduled event or at some independent wrestling shows where the talent is not part of a permanent roster .