WWE / NJPW News: Jim Cornette criticises Dave Meltzer for giving 6-star rating to Kenny Omega-Kazuchika Okada Wrestle Kingdom 11 match

The match between Omega and Okada lasted for over 46 minutes

What’s the story?

On a recent episode of his podcast, The Jim Cornette Experience, former WWE commentator and official Jim Cornette lambasted renowned pro-wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer for handing out a 6-star rating to the match between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 11 event.

In case you didn’t know…

The match between Omega and Okada at the Tokyo Dome was for the latter’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Both superstars pushed each other to the limit during the encounter which lasted a little over 46 minutes with the champion eventually emerging victorious. The match received near universal acclaim from fans and critics alike and many even dubbed it as the greatest ever in pro-wrestling history. Meltzer went a step further in his review and gave the epic NJPW match a rating of 6 stars out of a maximum of 5.

The heart of the matter

While speaking on his podcast, Jim Cornette explained why it was wrong on Dave Meltzer’s part to give the match a 6-star rating. He claimed that a perfect pro-wrestling match is one which is exciting, brings in a lot of money, gets both wrestlers over and there is no visible co-operation between them. However, according to him, that is something that has never happened and there are always some drawbacks.

This is what Cornette had to say:

“Dave Meltzer broke the scale and gave it six stars. (scoff) Let me explain this first of all because there's never been a perfect pro wrestling match. ...because that would be a match that is exciting, that drew money, that tore the house down, that got both guys over and showed no obvious cooperation between the guys... to reveal it was a work. That's never happened... there's always a hole.”

Having mentioned about great matches like Bret Hart vs Steve Austin at Wrestlemania and the Ric Flair-Ricky Steamboat series in WCW, Jim Cornette said that the Okada-Omega match was nowhere near as good as those matches. Although both superstars displayed great athletic ability, one could make out the cooperation between them. He also added that the match was more of an exhibition of great moves. He stated:

“I watched this match [Omega vs. Okada] and I'm sorry, folks. There is no way, shape or form... that this Kenny Omega/Okada match was anywhere near as good as the matches that I just mentioned.

It was a great display of athleticism, they took a lot of risks but it had such obvious cooperation and moves that nobody could ever get up from that it doesn't fit in that category. ...it was an exhibition of guys doing moves.”

What next?

Soon after his historic battle against Kazichuka Okada, Kenny Omega announced that he would be leaving Japan in order to reassess his future. Speculations are high that Omega is heading to the WWE but only time will tell if this is true.

Sportskeeda’s Take

Although it may be demeaning to put the Okada-Omega match above several other great pro-wrestling matches, it certainly has managed to find its place as one of the best ever.


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