Is Dave Meltzer Biased Against WWE?
Taking on a MINUS FIVE STARS take.
“If [WWE Match X] took place in the Tokyo Dome, Dave Meltzer would award it five stars.”
This is the meme that remains in full infuriating effect a full year after Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega triggered a certain set of fans into creating it. The irony is that those who accuse the divisive wrestling journalist demigod of bias are staunch WWE loyalists unwilling to accept that biggest does not necessarily equal best. Those who flame the man with freezing cold takes are unlikely to know that, historically, Meltzer always rated All Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling over his now-beloved New Japan. They think Manami Toyota is a car model.
They are biased. But they may have a point, even if it is often framed with a toxic tone all too easy to dismiss.
Prior to 2018, Uncle Dave awarded WWE, since the early 1980s advent of his interpretation of the ratings system, just five matches with the full* five star rating: Shawn Michaels Vs. Razor Ramon, Bret Hart Vs. Owen Hart, Bret Hart Vs. Steve Austin, The Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels, and John Cena Vs. CM Punk.
Notable omissions lend weight to the argument. Eddie Guerrero; Kurt Angle; Triple H; The Rock; Chris Benoit; Daniel Bryan: none of these men, seminal in-ring workers, ever received the ***** rating for their WWE exploits. Fuelling the argument, Guerrero and Benoit did for matches wrestled elsewhere.
Invariably, Meltzer’s detractors point towards the rating given to ‘Taker Vs. Michaels at WrestleMania 25 as an example of his apparent pedantry. Meltzer is quick to point out that four and three quarter stars is a superb match - a classic, even. Where did ‘Taker Vs. Michaels, a masterpiece of intersecting physicality and psychology, fall short of a quarter star?
Was it simply the stage on which it was wrestled?
CONT'D...