The principle that, in fiction, the strongest member of the cast gets utterly wailed on in order to establish just how powerful the villain of the week is. Differs from the Red Shirt in that the Red Shirt isn't given any characterization beyond his/her name, while the Worf is a properly developed character. Named after Worf in Star Trek, wherein he kept getting trashed by the bad guys.
Yo, did you see that new show?
Yeah! That tough guy wound up getting curb stomped.
Worf effect, no doubt.
Yeah! That tough guy wound up getting curb stomped.
Worf effect, no doubt.
by Intelligence001 August 22, 2019