Dave Meltzer Responds To WWE's Seth Rollins Calling His Star Ratings 'Silly'
Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer is perhaps best known for his match ratings, which place matches somewhere on a scale of zero to five stars, sometimes more. WWE star Seth Rollins recently referred to Meltzer's ratings as "silly," and during an appearance on the "McGuire on Wrestling" podcast, Meltzer elaborated on his ratings and shared that he holds no ill will toward Rollins.
"It doesn't bother me," Meltzer said of Rollins' comments. "It's as silly as movie ratings, food critic ratings, video game ratings, it's all the same — it's all opinion. If Seth can say that a match is good, then it's a three-star match. If he can say it's great, it's a four-star match. They're synonymous with each other, you see what I'm saying?"
The long-tenured wrestling writer stated that he wasn't sure why people make such a big deal out of his ratings, as it usually doesn't seem to garner controversy when a video game reviewer rates a video game. Meltzer stated that he doesn't keep track of his star ratings, but is aware that there are people out there who maintain lists of his ratings. When it comes time to nominate performers for the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame, Meltzer revealed that he uses those archives as a resource.
'It Wasn't My System And I Didn't Break It'
An online outcry over Meltzer's star rating of any given match has become commonplace on social media. However, Meltzer went on to explain the ratings system, and pointed out that he wasn't the one to devise the system in the first place. Instead, it was allegedly the work of another well-known figure in the wrestling industry.
"Cornette's the guy who came up with it, and it was based on ... [using] numbers instead of saying, 'Good, very good, [or] excellent,'" Meltzer continued. "And then they had to raise it because the four, which was originally the top number — matches just got too good, so we had to have the five. Then they added the six — they added the six before I ever got there. ... So people saying, 'You know, you broke your system,' ... it wasn't my system and I didn't break it."
According to Meltzer, there is a reason why his star ratings seem to have become higher on average in recent years. Meltzer said that, in his opinion, wrestlers have simply gotten better in the modern era. The historian believes that the internet providing easier access to wrestling archives has resulted in a new generation that's been brought up with more wrestling than ever before.