Journalist and sports historian Dave Meltzer has assigned his ratings to professional wrestling matches since the creation of his publication, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in the 1980s, and named his first 5-star match in April 1983. Receiving a 5 or higher star rating is considered by many in professional wrestling to be a great achievement.
The first match rated more than five stars by Meltzer was Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat in 1989, which received a six star rating. The highest-ever rating is seven stars, awarded to Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall in June 2018.
As of October 2026, 351 matches have earned a five-star rating or higher, with Will Ospreay holding the individual record with 58 appearances. Ospreay is also one of five wrestlers to have been awarded five stars for two matches on the same night, alongside Akira Hokuto, Kyoko Inoue, Manami Toyota, and Toshiyo Yamada.
Matches 1980s Date Match Promotion Event Rating Notes Ref. 1 April 7, 1982 Ric Flair vs. Butch Reed CWF Miami Beach show 5for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 2 April 21, 1983 Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask NJPW Big Fight Series II 5 for the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship 3 December 5, 1984 Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Nobuhiko Takada UWF Year-End Special 5 4 December 8, 1984 Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen vs. Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk AJPW Real World Tag League 5 5 March 9, 1985 Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tiger Mask 85 Gekitoh! Exciting Wars 5 6 August 22, 1985 Lioness Asuka vs. Jaguar Yokota AJW Summer Night Festival in Budokan 5 for the WWWA World Singles Championship 7 January 28, 1986 Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu AJPW New Years War Super Battle 5 for the NWA International Tag Team Championship 8 February 14, 1986 Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham CWF Battle of the Belts 2 5for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 9 April 19, 1986 The Fantastics vs. The Sheepherders JCP Crockett Cup 5 10 January 20, 1987 Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham World Wide Wrestling 5 for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 11 February 26, 1987 Chigusa Nagayo vs. Lioness Asuka AJW Kawasaki show 5 for the WWWA World Singles Championship 12 March 20, 1987 Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada vs. Keiji Muto and Shiro Koshinaka NJPW Spring Flare Up 5 for the IWGP Tag Team Championship 13 April 11, 1987 Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham JCP Crockett Cup 5 for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 14 July 4, 1987 Paul Ellering, The Road Warriors , and The Super Powers vs. The Four Horsemen The Great American Bash 5 WarGames match 15 July 31, 1987 Paul Ellering, The Road Warriors , and The Super Powers vs. The Four Horsemen The Great American Bash 5 WarGames match 16 December 6, 1987 Chigusa Nagayo, Mika Suzuki, Mika Takahashi, Yachiya Hirata, Yumi Ogura, and Yumiko Hotta vs. Etsuko Mita, Kazue Nagahori, Lioness Asuka, Mika Komatsu, Mitsuko Nishiwaki, and Sachiko Nakamura AJW Korakuen Hall show 5 17 December 16, 1988 Genichiro Tenryu and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy AJPW Real World Tag League 5 18 January 28, 1989 Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada, and Samson Fuyuki vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Yoshiaki Yatsu, and Masanobu Fuchi New Year Giant Series 5 19 February 20, 1989 Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat WCW Chi-Town Rumble 5for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 20 March 18, 1989 Landover, MD show 6for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 21 April 2, 1989 Clash of the Champions VI 5Two out of Three falls match 22 May 7, 1989 WrestleWar 5for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 23 June 5, 1989 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu AJPW Super Power Series 5 for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship 24 November 15, 1989 Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk WCW Clash of the Champions IX 5 "I Quit" match
1990s