Chris Jericho Vs. Kenny Omega Awarded 5 Star Rating From Dave Meltzer
And, yes, it did take place in the Tokyo Dome...
The verdict is in: Dave Meltzer, of the Wrestling Observer, has awarded Alpha Vs. Omega the once-elusive ***** rating. It has, at least, eluded Chris Jericho throughout his entire career; Y2J has reached near-perfection before, amassing a handful of ****3/4 bouts, but at 47, the man has finally reached the critical pinnacle.
Meltzer's ratings are subjective, though widely respected - a trusted gateway into the glorious history of the worldwide wrestling scene. Writing objectively, however, the match accomplished a rare modern feat, in how it demonstrably drew tens of thousands of new eyes to the New Japan product, both increasing subscriptions to the company's New Japan World streaming service and drawing the highest non-worked Tokyo Dome attendance in several years. With WWE's core audience in a sort of stasis, and catered to beyond any potential casual demographic, Chris Jericho can lay claim - calculably - to yet another accolade in a career full of them: biggest draw in the industry.
The match was massively heated - Jericho and Omega orchestrated the crowd into a frenzy by the finish - and paid off the wider blood feud mentality perfectly in the context of the blowoff. This was a brand new Jericho in a brand new context, fulfilling also Meltzer's self-imposed innovation brief.
It's hard not to see why Meltzer awarded the match the full *****, given his own criteria.