Dave Meltzer Addresses Never Awarding Kurt Angle A Five-Star Match

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.