Dave Meltzer's 8 Most Controversial Star Ratings
5. Okada Vs. Omega I (6 Stars)
On 4 January 2017, Kazuchika Okada defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 11 against Kenny Omega. The two had a 46-minute epic that many were calling the greatest match they had ever seen in professional wrestling. Dave Meltzer agreed, considered all of the 5 star matches he had seen in recent years, and decided that this was better than all of them.
And thus, Meltzer blew everyone's mind when he added a whole extra star to his "perfect" rating. Naturally, fans were both ecstatic for Okada and Omega for breaking that ceiling, and baffled that Meltzer would break his rating system for a match, regardless of how good it was.
Of course, where there is controversy, there is attention, and all the attention surrounding Meltzer's rating brought more outside focus to the match and Okada and Omega as wrestlers. Keep in mind, in very early 2017, 5 star ratings were still fairly uncommon. So to hear news of a 6-star match? That no doubt brought eyes to this match and New Japan as a whole that wouldn't have given a look.