Dave Meltzer Addresses Never Awarding Kurt Angle A Five-Star Match
Kurt Angle has never been given a five star match rating from Dave Meltzer, who claims that it shouldn't matter.
Jul 5, 2023
Speaking in an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Dave Meltzer addressed never having awarded Kurt Angle a five-star match rating.
"Yeah but he's had tonnes of four and three-quarters which is basically the same thing. [...] Anything over four is great. Could you say the Chris Benoit match at the Royal Rumble was a five-star match? It was pretty damn close! [...] Five stars to me, that's like elite level," Meltzer stated.
Meltzer also appeared to play down the importance of his own five-star ratings, with Van Vliet explaining that the rating represents a big benchmark for many people. In response, Meltzer stated: "Well, it shouldn't be, because if you're at four and three-quarters that means I'm thinking that you should be considered for Match of the Year."
Meltzer has awarded three such 4.75 ratings to matches featuring Kurt Angle: the aforementioned WWE Royal Rumble 2005 match with Benoit, the WrestleMania 21 match against Shawn Michaels, and a tag team match from No Mercy 2002, pitting Angle and Benoit against Edge and Rey Mysterio.