WWE Match Awarded 5 Stars For First Time Since 2011

Dave Meltzer has awarded a WWE match 5 stars for the first time in over 6 years - the last being the Money in the Bank 2011 showdown between John Cena and CM Punk - as per his ratings in the

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The NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia main event between Andrade 'Cien' Almas and Johnny Gargano received almost universal acclaim. Even before Meltzer's ratings were released, many online were clamouring for the match to be given the maximum rating.

In his official match report, he said:

'This was really an incredible, almost flawless match. The thing that I thought was hilarious was when it was over, Percy Watson on commentary said that this was one of the best matches he’d seen in NXT since he came back, so one of the best matches in NXT of the past few months. In my mind it was the best match in NXT history, although there have been some incredible Takeover matches over the years.'

Meltzer also cited an NXT house show match he'd seen between Gargano and Almas several months ago in San Jose, and how it was a prelude to Saturday's Match of the Year candidate.

His other ratings for the event were as follows:

Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole (Extreme Rules) - 4.25

Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler - 2.75

Velveteen Dream vs. Kassius Ohno - 2.75

Undisputed Era vs. Authors of Pain - 3.5

Meltzer also had praise for the following night's Royal Rumble pay per view, stating:

'The Royal Rumble was largely a good show. The men’s Rumble, put together by Michael Hayes, Jamie Noble and Vince McMahon, was one of the better ones in history due to how well they played the audience with the finish. Overall it flowed well and didn’t have much in the way of down time as in other years.'

His ratings for the event were:

Women's Royal Rumble match - 3.25

Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane - 2

Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan vs. Sheamus & Cesaro - 2.25

Men's Royal Rumble match - 4.25

The Usos vs. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin (2 out of 3 falls) - 3

AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn - 3.5

Pre-show:

Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley - 1.75

The Revival vs. The Club - 2.5

Kalisto, Gran Metalik, & Lince Dorado vs. TJP, Drew Gulak, & Jack Gallagher - 2.5