I was sent this analysis from a fan of Scott's who goes by the name Joesph, the other day. As he puts it:
"It's a frequency analysis I did on all of his matches rated above 4 stars (****1/4 to *****). I took 12 wrestlers as I mention in the study who put on great matches. I just completed a study for Dave Meltzer's ratings as well and compared the two"
It's no surprise who's at number 1, really. Also, keep in mind, this is strictly for a person's WWE career. Other promotions need not apply. This was a great deal of work, and an interesting read. Especially that The Rock doesn't get any 5 star love. I thought for sure most people considered WMX7 to be a 5 star main event, but I suppose the ending does sour it.
Anyone else want to use the Caliber Express Line: caliberw@hotmail.com
Scott Keith Ratings
*****
HBK-8 Austin-6 Jericho-1
Bret-6 Rock-0 Benoit-5
Undertaker-3 HHH-6 Angle-1
Foley-2 Edge-4 Flair-1
****3/4
HBK-6 Austin-2 Jericho-5
Bret-2 Rock-3 Benoit-5
Undertaker-0 HHH-4 Angle-2
Foley-1 Edge-1 Flair-0
****1/2
HBK-7 Austin-3 Jericho-5
Bret-6 Rock-8 Benoit-6
Undertaker-7 HHH-7 Angle-8
Foley-2 Edge-6 Flair-1
****1/4
HBK-9 Austin-4 Jericho-4
Bret-7 Rock-2 Benoit-13
Undertaker-3 HHH-3 Angle-13
Foley-3 Edge-9 Flair-4
Total Values (4.25-5* Matches) From Greatest to Least
HBK-30
Benoit-29
Angle-24
Bret-21
HHH-20
Edge-20
Austin-15
Jericho-15
Undertaker-13
Rock-13
Foley-8
Flair-6
NOTES: I counted every Scott Keith match that was listed above 4* for 12 WWE wrestlers who put on many matches above the 4 star level throughout their careers, in order to evaluate what superstars had higher quality matches over their careers than their fellow wrestlers. (This included the updated Rock vs. John Cena match from WM28 at ****1/2). So from 4.25*-5*, every match was reviewed. I counted tag team matches and survivor series matches as well. For example, The Rockers vs. Brainbusters received a rating of ****1/2 and since it has Shawn in it; therefore, Shawn received a tally mark. Another example: The tag team match from Survivor Series ’87 (rated ****1/4) had Bret compete in it; therefore, he received a tally mark for that match. Royal Rumble matches were only tallied for wrestlers if they won that rumble e.g. Flair, Benoit, and Edge each won a rumble rated *****; therefore, they each received one tally mark. Other participants on this list who participated in the rumble, but did not win it, received no tally mark.
As the results show, Shawn had the most ***** and ****3/4 matches at 8 and 6 respectively. Angle and The Rock tied for the most ****1/2 matches at 8. Benoit and Angle tied for the most ****1/4 matches at 13. Overall, Shawn had the most matches rated above 4 stars on SK’s list at 30 matches, barely beating out Benoit’s 29 matches. Variables included when these wrestlers wrestled. For example, Flair had most of his best matches in the ‘80s in NWA, and since this statistical study only included WWF/WWE matches, he did not score as high. Longevity in a wrestler’s career would statistically increase the amount of matches over 4 stars a wrestler would have, as well as other variables such as: the amount of PPV’s a wrestler wrestled in, lack of injuries, how many TV matches on Superstars/Raw/Smackdown, etc. a wrestler competed in, etc., - would all naturally be factors affecting the outcome of whether a wrestler had a lot of high rated matches or not. Keep in mind that these are the opinions of one man only-Scott Keith, and are in no way determinate on what others may think; however, Scott Keith is one of the most knowledgeable reviewers on the topic and has issued more wrestling reviews than just about any other person I have ever seen (with maybe the exception of Dave Meltzer). Even if very knowledgeable fans disagree with a match by 0.25* or 0.5*, the list is still very accurate for many criteria, such as the following example: If Wrestler “A” had 22 matches rated in his career between 4.25* - 5*, and Wrestler “B” had 9 matches rated in his career between 4.25* - 5*, and they both wrestled for about the same amount of longevity, with just a few injuries throughout each one’s career, etc. , then Wrestler “A” clearly had better matches over the course of his career; hence, it can be argued, that Wrestler “A” was the better wrestler and had the better career.
Dave Meltzer Ratings
*****
HBK-2 Austin-1 Jericho-0
Bret-2 Rock-0 Benoit-0
Undertaker-1 HHH-0 Angle-0
Foley-0 Edge-0 Flair-0
****3/4
HBK-7 Austin-2 Jericho-3
Bret-2 Rock-0 Benoit-6
Undertaker-3 HHH-4 Angle-3
Foley-0 Edge-3 Flair-0
****1/2
HBK-9 Austin-7 Jericho-6
Bret-2 Rock-5 Benoit-5
Undertaker-6 HHH-7 Angle-8
Foley-5 Edge-9 Flair-0
****1/4
HBK-13 Austin-5 Jericho-9
Bret-6 Rock-7 Benoit-13
Undertaker-4 HHH-10 Angle-15
Foley-1 Edge-16 Flair-2
Total Values (4.25-5* Matches) From Greatest to Least
HBK-31
Edge-28
Angle-26
Benoit-24
HHH-21
Jericho-18
Austin-15
Undertaker-14
Bret-12
Rock-12
Foley-6
Flair-2
NOTES: I counted every Dave Meltzer match that was listed above 4* for 12 WWE wrestlers who put on many matches above the 4 star level throughout their careers, in order to evaluate what superstars had higher quality matches over their careers than their fellow wrestlers. So from 4.25*-5*, every match was reviewed. I counted tag team matches and survivor series matches as well. For example, The Rockers vs. Brainbusters received a rating of ****1/4 and since it has Shawn in it; therefore, Shawn received a tally mark. Another example: The tag team match from Survivor Series ’01 (rated ****1/2) had Austin, Angle, The Rock, and Jericho compete in it; therefore, they each received a tally mark for that match. As the results show, Shawn and Bret had the most ***** matches at 2 apiece (though DM only has given a 5 star rating 5 times). Shawn had the most ****3/4 matches at 7. Shawn and Edge tied for the most ****1/2 matches at 9 apiece. Edge had the most ****1/4 matches at 16. Overall, Shawn had the most matches rated above 4 stars on DM’s list at 31 matches, beating out Edge’s 28 matches. Variables included when these wrestlers wrestled. For example, Flair had most of his best matches in the ‘80s in NWA, and since this statistical study only included
WWF/WWE matches, he did not score as high. Longevity in a wrestler’s career would statistically increase the amount of matches over 4 stars a wrestler would have, as well as other variables such as: the amount of PPV’s a wrestler wrestled in, lack of injuries, how many TV matches on Superstars/Raw/Smackdown, etc. a wrestler competed in, etc., - would all naturally be factors affecting the outcome of whether a wrestler had a lot of high rated matches or not. Keep in mind that these are the opinions of one man only-Dave Meltzer and are in no way determinate on what others may think; however, Dave Meltzer is one of the most knowledgeable reviewers on the topic and has issued more wrestling reviews than just about any other person I have ever seen (with maybe the exception of Scott Keith). Even if very knowledgeable fans disagree with a match by 0.25* or 0.5*, the list is still very accurate for many criteria, such as the following example: If Wrestler “A” had 22 matches rated in his career between 4.25* - 5*, and Wrestler “B” had 9 matches rated in his career between 4.25* - 5*, and they both wrestled for about the same amount of longevity, with just a few injuries throughout each one’s career, etc. , then Wrestler “A” clearly had better matches over the course of his career; hence, it can be argued, that Wrestler “A” was the better wrestler and had the better career.
***Comparing Dave Meltzer to Scott Keith’s ratings***
Scott and Dave’s lists are interesting to compare for a number of reasons. First off, once again Shawn Michaels tops the list with the highest number of matches rated above **** at 30 and 31, respectively. Angle and Benoit finished high on DM’s ratings, just like SK’s, only on DM’s, Edge finished very high at #2 for highest number of matches rated above ****. HHH, Austin, Undertaker, and The Rock finished similar on both frequency analyses. Jericho scored higher on DM’s list; whereas, Bret surprisingly finished much lower on DM’s list, than he did on SK’s. Foley and Flair, once again finished in the bottom two.
There were naturally some matches that only Scott Keith reviewed and not Dave Meltzer and vice versa, which would naturally be a factor scoring; however, both guys had about the same amount of matches rated in each of the four categories from ****1/4 to *****. Meltzer is very harsh on giving out a 5 star rating with only 5; whereas, Keith (like most fans) goes the full monty much more generously.
"It's a frequency analysis I did on all of his matches rated above 4 stars (****1/4 to *****). I took 12 wrestlers as I mention in the study who put on great matches. I just completed a study for Dave Meltzer's ratings as well and compared the two"
It's no surprise who's at number 1, really. Also, keep in mind, this is strictly for a person's WWE career. Other promotions need not apply. This was a great deal of work, and an interesting read. Especially that The Rock doesn't get any 5 star love. I thought for sure most people considered WMX7 to be a 5 star main event, but I suppose the ending does sour it.
Anyone else want to use the Caliber Express Line: caliberw@hotmail.com
Scott Keith Ratings
*****
HBK-8 Austin-6 Jericho-1
Bret-6 Rock-0 Benoit-5
Undertaker-3 HHH-6 Angle-1
Foley-2 Edge-4 Flair-1
****3/4
HBK-6 Austin-2 Jericho-5
Bret-2 Rock-3 Benoit-5
Undertaker-0 HHH-4 Angle-2
Foley-1 Edge-1 Flair-0
****1/2
HBK-7 Austin-3 Jericho-5
Bret-6 Rock-8 Benoit-6
Undertaker-7 HHH-7 Angle-8
Foley-2 Edge-6 Flair-1
****1/4
HBK-9 Austin-4 Jericho-4
Bret-7 Rock-2 Benoit-13
Undertaker-3 HHH-3 Angle-13
Foley-3 Edge-9 Flair-4
Total Values (4.25-5* Matches) From Greatest to Least
HBK-30
Benoit-29
Angle-24
Bret-21
HHH-20
Edge-20
Austin-15
Jericho-15
Undertaker-13
Rock-13
Foley-8
Flair-6
NOTES: I counted every Scott Keith match that was listed above 4* for 12 WWE wrestlers who put on many matches above the 4 star level throughout their careers, in order to evaluate what superstars had higher quality matches over their careers than their fellow wrestlers. (This included the updated Rock vs. John Cena match from WM28 at ****1/2). So from 4.25*-5*, every match was reviewed. I counted tag team matches and survivor series matches as well. For example, The Rockers vs. Brainbusters received a rating of ****1/2 and since it has Shawn in it; therefore, Shawn received a tally mark. Another example: The tag team match from Survivor Series ’87 (rated ****1/4) had Bret compete in it; therefore, he received a tally mark for that match. Royal Rumble matches were only tallied for wrestlers if they won that rumble e.g. Flair, Benoit, and Edge each won a rumble rated *****; therefore, they each received one tally mark. Other participants on this list who participated in the rumble, but did not win it, received no tally mark.
As the results show, Shawn had the most ***** and ****3/4 matches at 8 and 6 respectively. Angle and The Rock tied for the most ****1/2 matches at 8. Benoit and Angle tied for the most ****1/4 matches at 13. Overall, Shawn had the most matches rated above 4 stars on SK’s list at 30 matches, barely beating out Benoit’s 29 matches. Variables included when these wrestlers wrestled. For example, Flair had most of his best matches in the ‘80s in NWA, and since this statistical study only included WWF/WWE matches, he did not score as high. Longevity in a wrestler’s career would statistically increase the amount of matches over 4 stars a wrestler would have, as well as other variables such as: the amount of PPV’s a wrestler wrestled in, lack of injuries, how many TV matches on Superstars/Raw/Smackdown, etc. a wrestler competed in, etc., - would all naturally be factors affecting the outcome of whether a wrestler had a lot of high rated matches or not. Keep in mind that these are the opinions of one man only-Scott Keith, and are in no way determinate on what others may think; however, Scott Keith is one of the most knowledgeable reviewers on the topic and has issued more wrestling reviews than just about any other person I have ever seen (with maybe the exception of Dave Meltzer). Even if very knowledgeable fans disagree with a match by 0.25* or 0.5*, the list is still very accurate for many criteria, such as the following example: If Wrestler “A” had 22 matches rated in his career between 4.25* - 5*, and Wrestler “B” had 9 matches rated in his career between 4.25* - 5*, and they both wrestled for about the same amount of longevity, with just a few injuries throughout each one’s career, etc. , then Wrestler “A” clearly had better matches over the course of his career; hence, it can be argued, that Wrestler “A” was the better wrestler and had the better career.
Dave Meltzer Ratings
*****
HBK-2 Austin-1 Jericho-0
Bret-2 Rock-0 Benoit-0
Undertaker-1 HHH-0 Angle-0
Foley-0 Edge-0 Flair-0
****3/4
HBK-7 Austin-2 Jericho-3
Bret-2 Rock-0 Benoit-6
Undertaker-3 HHH-4 Angle-3
Foley-0 Edge-3 Flair-0
****1/2
HBK-9 Austin-7 Jericho-6
Bret-2 Rock-5 Benoit-5
Undertaker-6 HHH-7 Angle-8
Foley-5 Edge-9 Flair-0
****1/4
HBK-13 Austin-5 Jericho-9
Bret-6 Rock-7 Benoit-13
Undertaker-4 HHH-10 Angle-15
Foley-1 Edge-16 Flair-2
Total Values (4.25-5* Matches) From Greatest to Least
HBK-31
Edge-28
Angle-26
Benoit-24
HHH-21
Jericho-18
Austin-15
Undertaker-14
Bret-12
Rock-12
Foley-6
Flair-2
NOTES: I counted every Dave Meltzer match that was listed above 4* for 12 WWE wrestlers who put on many matches above the 4 star level throughout their careers, in order to evaluate what superstars had higher quality matches over their careers than their fellow wrestlers. So from 4.25*-5*, every match was reviewed. I counted tag team matches and survivor series matches as well. For example, The Rockers vs. Brainbusters received a rating of ****1/4 and since it has Shawn in it; therefore, Shawn received a tally mark. Another example: The tag team match from Survivor Series ’01 (rated ****1/2) had Austin, Angle, The Rock, and Jericho compete in it; therefore, they each received a tally mark for that match. As the results show, Shawn and Bret had the most ***** matches at 2 apiece (though DM only has given a 5 star rating 5 times). Shawn had the most ****3/4 matches at 7. Shawn and Edge tied for the most ****1/2 matches at 9 apiece. Edge had the most ****1/4 matches at 16. Overall, Shawn had the most matches rated above 4 stars on DM’s list at 31 matches, beating out Edge’s 28 matches. Variables included when these wrestlers wrestled. For example, Flair had most of his best matches in the ‘80s in NWA, and since this statistical study only included
WWF/WWE matches, he did not score as high. Longevity in a wrestler’s career would statistically increase the amount of matches over 4 stars a wrestler would have, as well as other variables such as: the amount of PPV’s a wrestler wrestled in, lack of injuries, how many TV matches on Superstars/Raw/Smackdown, etc. a wrestler competed in, etc., - would all naturally be factors affecting the outcome of whether a wrestler had a lot of high rated matches or not. Keep in mind that these are the opinions of one man only-Dave Meltzer and are in no way determinate on what others may think; however, Dave Meltzer is one of the most knowledgeable reviewers on the topic and has issued more wrestling reviews than just about any other person I have ever seen (with maybe the exception of Scott Keith). Even if very knowledgeable fans disagree with a match by 0.25* or 0.5*, the list is still very accurate for many criteria, such as the following example: If Wrestler “A” had 22 matches rated in his career between 4.25* - 5*, and Wrestler “B” had 9 matches rated in his career between 4.25* - 5*, and they both wrestled for about the same amount of longevity, with just a few injuries throughout each one’s career, etc. , then Wrestler “A” clearly had better matches over the course of his career; hence, it can be argued, that Wrestler “A” was the better wrestler and had the better career.
***Comparing Dave Meltzer to Scott Keith’s ratings***
Scott and Dave’s lists are interesting to compare for a number of reasons. First off, once again Shawn Michaels tops the list with the highest number of matches rated above **** at 30 and 31, respectively. Angle and Benoit finished high on DM’s ratings, just like SK’s, only on DM’s, Edge finished very high at #2 for highest number of matches rated above ****. HHH, Austin, Undertaker, and The Rock finished similar on both frequency analyses. Jericho scored higher on DM’s list; whereas, Bret surprisingly finished much lower on DM’s list, than he did on SK’s. Foley and Flair, once again finished in the bottom two.
There were naturally some matches that only Scott Keith reviewed and not Dave Meltzer and vice versa, which would naturally be a factor scoring; however, both guys had about the same amount of matches rated in each of the four categories from ****1/4 to *****. Meltzer is very harsh on giving out a 5 star rating with only 5; whereas, Keith (like most fans) goes the full monty much more generously.