AEW's Kenny Omega Names Issues With 5-Star Match Rating System

Star ratings are a small part of wrestling that has caused a lot of discussion, especially over the past few years, thanks to journalists like Dave Meltzer of the "Wrestling Observer," who has had a rating system in place since the early '80s. As times change and people's tastes in wrestling morph and develop, the idea of what a "five-star match" actually is has been difficult to nail down.

Someone who knows all about five-star matches is former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, a man who has had 25 matches rated five stars or more by Meltzer. Omega entered into a lengthy discussion on Twitch about what he believes makes a five-star match, and more importantly, what keeps a match from getting that elusive score. 

"One of the things that irks me is when you see guys that are throwing fluff in between going from point A to point B," said the AEW star.

Without naming names, Omega used a recent NJPW match that received five stars from Meltzer as an example of a match where there are a lot of in-between moves that look good but don't have any substance behind them, which Omega isn't impressed by. The AEW star sees five stars as a perfect score to symbolize a match that is culturally significant and essential viewing for all wrestling fans but thinks that scores are getting thrown around a lot in 2024. 

"For any of those [fluff-filled] types of matches in 2024 to receive five stars, saying, 'Hey, this is culturally significant to professional wrestling, this made a movement, started a movement, continued a movement ...' get out of here, go fly a kite, suck on a lemon, there's no way, and there's too many of these that have been handed out."

Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.