Dave Meltzer Awards Record-Breaking Star Rating For Okada Vs. Omega IV
How many stars?
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer has again broken his own ratings system, thanks to the fourth clash between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega. He awarded the main event of last Saturday's Dominion a jaw-dropping seven stars.
Writing about the New Japan classic, Meltzer stated:
'When it had ended, my thought was that this was the greatest match I’ve ever seen. Not arguably, and not by a little big [sic] either. It was at a level far beyond when it came to emotion, storytelling, and attention to detail. It was almost astonishing watching it. [...] But the biggest difference was I thought I would never see another match this good again. This was not some five-star match or six-star match.'
This is a rather astonishing take by Meltzer, given his decades of experience watching and reviewing pro wrestling.
Elsewhere online, the bout received a slightly more mixed response - although most still found it to be fantastic. A few complaints on social media seemed to centre around the length of the match rather than its actual quality, an understandable drawback given the fact it lasted over an hour.
In winning the match, Omega became the first Canadian to hold the IWGP Heavyweight Championship - and also the first champion not named Okada, Tanahashi, Naito, or Styles since 2011.
Other matches on the card received high ratings too - although none hit the five star mark, let alone the dizzying heights of the main event.
Hiromu Takahashi and Will Ospreay's title match was given 4.75 stars. Both the wild brawl between Chris Jericho and Tetsuya Naito, and the tag title match between LIJ and The Young Bucks earned 4.5.
Writing about the New Japan classic, Meltzer stated:
'When it had ended, my thought was that this was the greatest match I’ve ever seen. Not arguably, and not by a little big [sic] either. It was at a level far beyond when it came to emotion, storytelling, and attention to detail. It was almost astonishing watching it. [...] But the biggest difference was I thought I would never see another match this good again. This was not some five-star match or six-star match.'
This is a rather astonishing take by Meltzer, given his decades of experience watching and reviewing pro wrestling.
Elsewhere online, the bout received a slightly more mixed response - although most still found it to be fantastic. A few complaints on social media seemed to centre around the length of the match rather than its actual quality, an understandable drawback given the fact it lasted over an hour.
In winning the match, Omega became the first Canadian to hold the IWGP Heavyweight Championship - and also the first champion not named Okada, Tanahashi, Naito, or Styles since 2011.
Other matches on the card received high ratings too - although none hit the five star mark, let alone the dizzying heights of the main event.
Hiromu Takahashi and Will Ospreay's title match was given 4.75 stars. Both the wild brawl between Chris Jericho and Tetsuya Naito, and the tag title match between LIJ and The Young Bucks earned 4.5.
Written by Jack King
jack.king@cultaholic.com Twitter: @JackTheJobber
