8 Current/Former WWE Superstars who have no 5-star matches
WWE hasn't had much luck with Dave Meltzer's star ratings. Dave Meltzer has been a wrestling journalist for many decades now, with a lot of superstars and dirt sheets alike taking his word as being sacred. However, some fans prefer to see things differently and believe that there’s favoritism from Big Dave when it comes to matches of the Japanese persuasion. For example, Mitsuharu Misawa has twenty-five five-star matches and one six-star match.
Whichever category you fall into there’s no denying that he’s done a lot for the business of professional wrestling, even if the criteria for his selections do seem a bit backwards. Nonetheless, big-time stars like Bret Hart have noted that they feel incredibly honored when someone like Meltzer awards them with a five-star rating.
We take a look at some of the top names within the industry that haven’t actually received a five-star ranking up to this point in their careers. Of course, some of them have come incredibly close, and many will believe that they’ve actually had numerous five-star classics, but in the official sense, they’ve been left on the outside looking in.
So with all of that being said, here are just eight wrestlers who have no 5-star matches.
#1 Finn Bálor
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Finn Bálor is a highly underrated wrestler. The founding leader of the famous Bullet Club has also been able to carve out a Hall of Fame-worthy career in WWE. The first-ever Universal Champion has shown his in-ring prowess by giving us multiple matches that kept us on the edge of our seats.
Surprisingly, the Irish wrestler has never had a 5-star match in his entire career. Even more surprising is that none of his fights have a rating higher than 4.5. Hopefully, Bálor can turn things around soon and deliver a 5-star classic.
#2 WWE Hall of Famer Triple H
Triple H (@TripleH)officially retires from in ring action as he leaves his boots in the ring
#WrestleMania https://t.co/qdCOMT5Yha
Considering that most fans like to think of Triple H as the devil incarnate, it may not be surprising to know that he hasn’t got any five-star matches. Then again, if you’ve been following his career, then you’ll know that the King of Kings has the ability to put on some fairly top quality wrestling matches under the WWE banner.
The Game has a number of 4.75 matches which includes the WM27 match against The Undertaker, the Three Stages of Hell match against Austin, the triple threat at WrestleMania 20 and many more.
Somehow, though, we aren’t all too surprised that the WM32 and WM25 main events didn’t quite make the cut.
#3 Chris Benoit
Put aside the controversies, put aside the horrific incident, and what you’re left with is one hell of a professional wrestler. Chris Benoit was arguably the greatest technical performer of his time, with the former World Heavyweight Champion being able to put on some of the greatest matches we’ve ever seen.
With four 4.75 rated matches under his belt, there’s no denying his impact on the business, and wherever he went, whether it be WCW or WWE, he always knew how to perform in the big matches.
The closest he’s come to five stars would probably be the triple threat at WrestleMania 20, which should’ve been pushed over the edge for the post-match celebration alone.
#4 Brock Lesnar
Not only is Brock Lesnar a suplexing machine, but back in his day, he was also one of the most well-rounded wrestlers in all of professional wrestling. The multi-sport world champion has always been able to pick a great match out of thin air, doing so on multiple occasions throughout both of his sterling WWE runs.
One of his 4.75 matches of note came at the 2015 Royal Rumble, where he seemingly came back from the dead to defeat John Cena and Seth Rollins – retaining his WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the process.
If you haven’t seen it, by the way, please stop reading this and go watch it. It’s truly remarkable.
Suggested: How much power does Brock Lesnar have backstage? Watch to find out.
#5 Kurt Angle
The pound-for-pound, all-round best wrestler in WWE history. Is that a true statement? Perhaps, but then again that’s incredibly subjective. In our minds, nobody can come close to the talent of the Olympic Gold Medallist, but for whatever reason, several of his greatest WWE triumphs have not been considered to be all that legendary by Dave Meltzer.
Angle, alongside a few other men on this list, falls into the 4.75 category, courtesy of his efforts against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21, and Chris Benoit at the 2003 Royal Rumble.
There have been some unbelievable superstars over the years, but few combined all the traits necessary to succeed like Angle did.
#6 Dean Malenko
It sounds like a cliche at this point, but Dean Malenko is a truly great wrestler. Alongside the likes of Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero sat the ever consistent Malenko – and what a star he could’ve been. From technical classics to interesting character development, he seemed to be on the verge of stardom on a number of different occasions.
Unfortunately, his matches don’t seem to have been enough for Dave, although he has voiced his approval for him at times. Nowadays he’s lending his wisdom to the stars of tomorrow, so at least someone can help him carry on his formidable legacy.
#7 Randy Orton
One thing that people always seem to forget about Randy Orton is that he’s actually a top quality wrestler. Obviously, not everything he does is high-flying and beautiful, but he delivers his moves expertly with crisp precision each and every time.
It’s understandable that he hasn’t accumulated a five-star rating given his style, but it’d still be nice to see his bouts with the likes of Mick Foley at least recognized. Those kinds of matches made Orton a star, turning him from a plucky youngster into a cocky and established heel.
Time may be running out in terms of his career, but there’s still room for Randy to surprise us all.
Suggested: Some of these Randy Orton records may never be broken!
#8 Mr Perfect
Several current fans will see Mr. Perfect as nothing more than ‘Curtis Axel’s dad’. That, in itself, is a mighty shame when you consider just how much better he was than his offspring in the ring (no offense to Axel).
Perfect had an unbelievable level of talent, and it’s a shame that he was never quite able to capture the prize that eluded him for so long – the WWE Championship.
It’s also a shame that he never had any five-star ranked matches, and despite how much we’ve joked about it, a lot of people take this quite seriously.