What’s the story?
Minutes before releasing his match rating for Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada II, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, took to Twitter and reminded his followers that the matches between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat at house shows in Landover and Philadelphia were rated 10.25 stars.
Meltzer’s Tweet is as follows:
The Tweet was followed by Meltzer releasing the ratings for the rematch between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada, which he rated at 6.25 Stars.
In case you didn’t know...
Dave Meltzer had given that first match between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega that had taken place at Wrestle Kingdom 11 on 4th January 2017 a rating of 6 stars. The rating was the highest that Meltzer had officially given a match until that point in time.
The rematch between Okada and Omega, which happened at NJPW’s Dominion 6.11 show on 11th June 2017 was subsequently rated even higher by Meltzer at 6.25.
The heart of the matter
Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair, both WWE Hall of Famers, had a rivalry during their time with World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The two fought several matches during the majority of 1989 on tapings as well as house shows.
In that year, Meltzer rated all three official matches between Flair and Steamboat at 5 stars. The matches happened at Chi-Town Rumble, Clash of The Champions and WrestleWar.
However, in his Tweet, Meltzer is referring to two house show matches that Flair and Steamboat had faced off against each other in, in 1989. The matches had taken place on the same day of 18th March 1989, with one being in the afternoon and the other in the evening.
Also read: Birth of “The Dragon” Ricky Steamboat
The first match between Flair and Steamboat was held at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, which Meltzer had, in the 3rd April edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, referred to as being “significantly better” than their aforementioned Chi-Town Rumble match.
Since the Chi-Town Rumble match was rated 5 stars by Meltzer, he had suggested that the Landover match should be given a higher rating along the lines of 5.5 or 6. Meltzer’s review of the match from the said edition of the Observer was as follows:
"Steamboat pinned Flair in 32 minutes of a match which blew the top off the five-star scale. This match was significantly better than their Chicago match and deserved something like 5½ to 6 stars as a fair grade. Those in the know were amazed at how good this match was, particularly when they realised they had another match later that night in Philadelphia (which wasn't as good, but was still a fantastic match)"
In the 27th March 1989 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer had provided a review and rating for the second match that Flair and Steamboat had taken part in on the same day of 18th March 1989 at the Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He had given the match a 4 and ¾ star rating and was quoted as saying:
"Steamboat pinned Flair in just over 30 minutes with the same finish they are doing everywhere--Flair gets the pin using the ropes, Luger tells the ref what happens, Windham comes out, they start brawling and Steamboat gets a quick pin ****¾"
Therefore, as per Meltzer, the cumulative rating of the two house show matches that Flair and Steamboat had wrestled on the same day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, in two separate cities (Landover, Maryland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) that were more than a hundred miles apart, was (5.5 + 4.75) 10.25.
Some people responding to Meltzer’s Tweet mistakenly assumed that the matches were individually rated 10.25, which is false. Meltzer is referring to the combined rating of two separate matches that happened on the same day between the same opponents.
What’s next?
It is to be expected that Dave Meltzer’s 6.25-star rating of Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega’s second encounter will be met with equal amounts of support as well as criticism. Meltzer’s rating of the match is the highest that he has ever given to any one match, which makes it, in his opinion, the greatest of all time.
Author’s take
Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat were both absolute legends of professional wrestling and would certainly be on my Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling. The high ratings that Meltzer usually gave their encounters were all completely justified.
On the other hand, it is not too much of a far cry to say that the ratings of the Omega-Okada encounter are well justified as well. Wrestling is a craft, and like any other craft is subject to improvement and advancements. Professional wrestling today has evolved from what it once used to be and the matches between Okada and Omega are a testament to that.
Meltzer’s rating scale has to be upgraded and extended if the quality of newer matches is significantly greater than the ones in the past, and it’s the reason why he has done so. Fans of professional wrestling should be happy about the quality of wrestling that they’re receiving, instead of being dissatisfied with an arbitrary rating scale.
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