Match Rating Scale

0-1: Miserable. Two guys who having little or no training try to put on a match. Very rare in legit promotions.

2-3: Bad. Lower scores in this range will feature botches or overall sloppy match execution. Possibly so boring or meaningless that it's near unwatchable.

4: Underwhelming or slightly flawed. Something disappointing happens to keep it from being average. Could be because it's too short, too long, or feels like it's missing something it needed to be average.

5: Average. Exactly what God intended for 5 on a scale of 10 to mean. This match is watchable, but you probably wouldn't care to see it more than once. Unoffensive, routine match.

6: Slightly above average. Something a little more special was put into this in comparison to a 5 match, but not much. Think decent TV or midcard match.

7: Good. Typical IWGP title matches in recent years. Solidly above average, but not amazing. Worth watching again.

8: Excellent. Falls short of masterpiece, but is still highly recommended. Most of the best matches in a year will receive this rating.

9-10: Must see. I am reluctant to give scores this high, especially 10s. My 10 list will be much shorter than Meltzer's 5 star list guaranteed.

HOW I REVIEW:

Like any wrestling fan, I have wrestler and company preferences. I'll certainly be biased towards my favorites simply because I like watching them. How much I personally enjoy the match is most important. Factors that can influence my enjoyment:

• History and Expectations. How does the match compare to similar ones that came before it or around the same time? This could be applied to the company it takes place in, style, or individual wrestlers. Massively important. Future matches may also apply as a factor here.
• Crowd reaction. The expectations for this will be different based on the company and possibly venue.
• Match Structure, Execution, and Story. This will count for a lot when it's strongly effective or unique in a way that makes sense. At the same time, I'm not too strict here, depending on individual cases. I'm not going to disregard a match based solely on a couple botches.
• Interest. How well would the match keep my attention if I wasn't forced to pay attention because I'm reviewing it? Pacing will have a lot to do with this.

The scores I give will not be based on some sort of universal workrate/psychology scale. There are different styles of wrestling as with movies. I wouldn't try to compare Airplane! to The Godfather in quality. Different styles, companies, and wrestlers will have differing expectations and that will factor hugely into the scores. It's possible on my rating scale for a Misawa vs Kawada match to be rated a 7 and for a Hulk Hogan match to be given a 9. At the same time, there are styles I greatly prefer and you can generally expect much higher scores for these types of matches.