Okay, so I’ve been seeing this “Dave Meltzer ratings” thing pop up all over the wrestling forums and Twitter. I kinda get it – he’s like the big wrestling journalist guy, and his star ratings for matches are a huge deal. But I wanted to really dig in and see what the fuss was all about, for myself, you know?
First, I started by just Googling “Dave Meltzer” and “Wrestling Observer Newsletter.” That’s his thing, right? The newsletter. Found a bunch of articles and forum discussions, and started to get a sense of his history and why people care so much about his opinions.
Then, I decided I needed to see some of these highly-rated matches. I looked up lists of matches that got, like, 5 stars or more. Some names kept popping up: Okada, Omega, Tanahashi… a lot of New Japan Pro Wrestling stuff, which I hadn’t watched a ton of before.
So, I spent a good chunk of my weekend watching these matches. I mean, really watching them. Not just having them on in the background, but paying attention to the storytelling, the moves, the crowd reactions… everything.
I even started taking notes! Yeah, I know, sounds nerdy. But I wanted to see if I could figure out what Meltzer might be looking for. Like, “Okay, that sequence was amazing, super smooth, high impact… probably gets a good rating.” Or, “Hmm, that ending felt a little flat, maybe he’d knock off a quarter-star for that.”
- Big moves: Obviously, the crazy, high-flying, impactful stuff matters.
- Storytelling: Does the match make sense? Are the wrestlers playing their characters well?
- Crowd reaction: Is the audience into it? That energy definitely adds to the experience.
- Flow and pacing: Does the match build up well? Are there exciting moments throughout?
After watching a bunch of matches and comparing my own “ratings” (in my head, mostly) to Meltzer’s, I started to get a better feel for it. It’s not just about the cool moves, it’s the whole package.
And you know what? I think that’s what makes the ratings so interesting. They’re not just some random numbers. They represent, or at least try, how good a match is on all these levels. It gets discussions going. Gets people to watch matches they might not have otherwise.
It was really fun to dive and I think I got the hang of it!
