Dave Meltzer on 5 Star Matches, TV Ratings, Tribalism In Wrestling, AEW, WWE & New Japan

Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) is a wrestling journalist and since 1983 has been the publisher and editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about how started covering pro wrestling in the 1970s, the matches that made him a fan, the Wrestler Observer Newsletter, how his star rating system works, CM Punk’s return to AEW, he explains why wrestlers like Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Chris Benoit, Triple H or Rob Van Dam have never had a 5 star match, his take on the current state of pro wrestling, TV ratings and much more! 00:00 Intro 00:26 How does Dave Meltzer define what he does? 02:31 When did Dave Meltzer start the Wrestling Observer Newsletter? 03:08 Watching the evolution of wrestling styles 04:33 Online fans complaining about wrestling 05:05 Will wrestling ever be as big as in the Attitude Era? 10:09 What does it take for wrestling to get ‘hot’? 11:43 Success of the WWE Bloodline storyline 12:31 How did people react to him in the 80s 13:52 The Evolution of the internet wrestling media 18:46 Tribalism in wrestling: AEW vs WWE 23:35 How YouTube Impacts WWE ratings 27:46 How Dave Meltzer reacts to criticism 31:03 Cody Rhodes leaving AEW 37:34 How does Dave know when he can trust his sources? 40:14 What goes into rating a match? 45:08 Kurt Angle has never had a 5 star match 46:33 Why HBK vs Undertaker didn’t get 5 stars 48:44 WWE style vs New Japan style 52:49 What makes a 5 star match? 1:00:08 Rock vs Hogan match rating 1:01:22 Does Dave try and watch matches live? 1:03:51 Best commentators in pro wrestling 1:04:43 How to make it in wrestling media? 1:10:43 Is there too much wrestling? 1:13:07 The importance of promos in wrestling 1:14:33 What does Dave think of CM Punk’s return? 1:16:02 What’s the best match he’s ever seen live? 1:17:34 What does Dave do when he’s not watching wrestling? 1:21:52 3 Things Dave Meltzer is grateful for Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Package extra months! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Use the code CVV to get your first month of Bluechew for FREE at Subscribe to my podcast: Get awesome CVV t-shirts & merch: Email me: cvv@ Follow me on Instagram: Like me on Facebook: Follow me on Twitter: #wwe #aew #njpw