In her latest piece for PWP Nation, Kelsi Schreiber explains how a single man has divided a wrestling community with a six star rating.
One may assume that the most controversial figure in sports entertainment today is Roman Reigns because so many people either love or hate him with a passion. However, another person has recently been in contention for the title of the most divisive man in wrestling, and his name is Dave Meltzer.
Dave Meltzer, a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts journalist, has dedicated his life to reporting results and giving his opinion on both mediums, but especially wrestling. He is the publisher of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which gives star ratings to matches, reports wrestling news and speculation, recalls wrestling history, and has year-end awards for the best and worst of the business. His opinions have historically sparked controversy among wrestling fans. But now more than ever he seems to be dividing the fan community with so many people questioning his credibility, while others admire his writing and opinion.
If you belong to a wrestling group on Facebook, such as PWP Nation or the many others that exist, oftentimes you can witness a number of anti-Meltzer posts along with just as many posts positively referencing Meltzer’s latest star ratings. In the comments section of these posts, you’ll see a flurry of pro and anti Meltzer arguments. Take a look at his twitter and there is usually a long list of tweets questioning his credibility along with other tweets praising him.
It is hard to pinpoint the exact origin of the fans’ anger towards Meltzer, and the reasons behind it seem to be convoluted, extensive and in-depth. But the unrest seems to stem from a few basic contentions:
- Meltzer has been criticized for praising New Japan Pro Wrestling matches and being too harsh on WWE/WWF matches (basically he has been labeled a NJPW mark having given NJPW matches 5-plus star ratings much more frequently than WWE matches).
- If the rumors he reports in his newsletter are proven wrong/don’t happen as he reports, people question his credibility.
- He is not a wrestler, he is a writer, and some say this gives him no right to judge or give his opinion on wrestling and wrestlers.
I will admit that the first contention has a lot of evidence to back it up. He has historically given much higher star ratings to New Japan matches or matches from other Japanese promotions than to the WWE/WWF. In particular, in giving Kenny Omega vs Okada at WK11 six out of five stars, he sparked arguments all over the internet. Conversely, he failed to give the Zayn vs Nakamura match from Takeover Dallas or the Pete Dunn vs Tyler Bate match even five stars when many believe both matches deserved that recognition.
But even if you disagree with him, at the end of the day, these ratings are just his opinion. And disagreeing with his opinion is not really a feasible basis for discrediting him as a journalist. Dave has stated numerous times that his ratings are subjective, not OBJECTIVE. It is his OPINION, and he never claims that HIS OPINION is better than YOUR OPINION. He knows what he likes, and overall he has watched more wrestling matches in his career as a journalist than almost anybody else and has been writing about wrestling longer than I have even been alive. This doesn’t mean his words are gospel, but I am more apt to look to his opinions than to other less experienced wrestling writers.
My personal take on this issue is that even if I agree or disagree with him, I enjoy hearing what he has to say. That’s because there are very few writers who have written so extensively about wrestling in a serious way with a passion and knowledge of the history of the business like Meltzer has done. And the majority of people, including many in the wrestling business, feel the same. Hence why he is well-respected in wrestling circles. He has appeared on numerous wrestlers’ podcasts such as Stone Cold and Chris Jericho. In their typical wrestling-meta fashion for which they are known, The Young Bucks even named their finishing move, The Meltzer Driver, after him. Not only is he respected in wrestling but also in the field of journalism. Long-time Sports Illustrated writer Frank Deford once called Meltzer the most accomplished reporter in all of sports journalism.
The next issue people have is with his reporting of wrestling rumors that may happen booking-wise or otherwise. When the rumors do not pan out the way he reports, fans question him. Meltzer does indeed have connections in the business, and when he is wrong about what is happening, it is usually because wrestling business is constantly in-flux. Things change on a dime. For example, one thing can be planned to happen and then shortly before Monday Night Raw it changes. It doesn’t mean Dave Meltzer isn’t credible, it just means that plans morph and wrestling is a constantly evolving and changing medium. Many times plans are contingent to what is happening at the moment and things need to be able to be adapted due to a number of factors.
Thirdly, because Dave Meltzer is not, nor ever was, a wrestler and has never taken a proverbial “bump,” people call into question his qualifications to write about the medium. To me, this is the least sensible of all the arguments against Meltzer’s credibility. I have never taken a bump either, but does this mean I do not understand wrestling as a whole and I am incapable of writing about it? Of course not. I, like many other “smarks,” have a basic understanding of how things work. And like everyone, I have a right to have an opinion on wrestling or any other subject. But of course, there is a list of hundreds of others who could technically be more qualified to write about wrestling than me, and although he’s never taken a bump, that list includes Meltzer. His journalistic qualifications are plenty.
The “no bump” argument is as ridiculous as saying you have to be a dancer to review ballet or you have to have played sports to report on it in any capacity. Should a food critic have previously been a chef before writing about restaurants? Should a passionate and well-researched moviegoer be barred from becoming a film critic because he has never made a film? I believe you can write about a topic without having to participate in it; you can understand a form of art without being able to perform it. And essentially that is what wrestling is: a form of art, and one that Meltzer has been passionately documenting and analyzing for most of his life
Recently, Meltzer has made waves yet again with a statement about Baron Corbin. Like most things on social media, the following was tweeted out of context. Metlzer said Baron was an example of WWE’s “fetish for tall guys.” In reality, he said a lot more than just that, all of which actually made a lot of sense. But Baron Corbin was not too happy with this and fired back questioning Meltzer’s credibility because he has never taken a “bump.” Typical back and forth twitter responses ensued. I don’t find too much of an issue with Corbin calling Meltzer out because it is the typical heel thing to do.
But going beyond the back and forth between Meltzer and Baron online, this exchange seemed to only deepen the already great divide between Meltzer detractors and Meltzer supporters. Many in the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) have been frequently weighing in on if Meltzer is credible enough to give his opinion concerning any and all things wrestling. With his recent high ratings of the recent G1 tournament matches, there is sure to be even more pro and anti-Meltzer discussion online.
One thing is for sure, in my wildest dreams I can only hope to reach the level of success in wrestling or in journalism that Dave Meltzer has achieved. Wrestling has never been looked at highly by mainstream media, including sports journalism. In the past, writing about wrestling has been laughed at because it is widely regarded as “fake.” I greatly respect Meltzer for paving the way for others to share their opinions on wrestling by giving wrestling journalism a feel of legitimacy with the passion and knowledge he brings to his writings on it. He actually helped create “wrestling journalism,” as we know it. Without his work, who knows, I may not even be able to be taken seriously for my writing about it right now.
Of course you can disagree with me completely and think Dave Meltzer is a phony, a writing hack, or just not a legitimate journalist. That’s fine because everyone, just like Dave Meltzer, is free to have an opinion. If you don’t like his, there is always the option to not go and read about it or to disregard it completely. This article has been my opinion. I am a fan of “Uncle Dave.”
Feel free to comment below and rate this article five or, heck, even six stars!
For an interesting and informative profile of Dave Meltzer, check out this article entitled: “In World of Wrestling, Trying to Keep it Real,” by Jake Rossen of the New York Times.
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