Seth Rollins has been in the pro wrestling business for many years and takes pride in delivering strong matches and compelling storylines. While he understands the influence Dave Meltzer has in the industry, Rollins has now criticized Meltzer’s star ratings system, making it clear he doesn’t put much value in it.
While speaking on Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, Seth Rollins criticized Dave Meltzer’s star ratings system, calling it completely arbitrary and not based on any real statistics. He argued that it’s just one person watching a match and deciding on a rating without any deeper context.
Rollins pointed out that Meltzer has never been in the ring and doesn’t understand the story being told, the backstage politics, or how a match fits into a larger narrative. According to Rollins, the ratings are based purely on Meltzer’s personal opinion and eye test, which he believes makes the whole system unreliable.
“Oh my God, oh don’t even get me started. Uh, so my opinion—I don’t know how you guys feel about those grades—my opinion is the star ratings, ’cause they’re completely arbitrary. They’re completely arbitrary. They’re not even based on real statistics. It’s just one guy watching the match going, ‘Whoa, two stars, three and a half stars.’
Like, what are you talking about? Dave doesn’t understand. He’s never been in the ring. He doesn’t know what story is trying to be told. He doesn’t know what the backstage, like, the political scene is. He doesn’t know what the story is moving forward. He doesn’t know how that plays into anything that’s happening. He’s just rating it on his eye test, right? And it’s just him, by himself. And so it’s like—come on, man.”
Even AJ Styles made it clear last year that star ratings in the world of professional wrestling do not really matter at all. Dave Meltzer’s star ratings are still popular with fans and some wrestling companies, but Seth Rollins thinks there’s more to wrestling than just what happens in the ring. He says things like hard work, backstage politics, character stories, and emotions all matter, and those can’t be judged with just a number.
Rollins believes people can have their opinions, but relying too much on one person’s rating system isn’t fair. He wants fans to think more deeply about what makes a match or story special. Therefore, it’s likely many fans will agree with what Seth Rollins had to say.
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