Dave Meltzer Articles - Page 2

As has become customary on Fridays in the lead-up to WrestleMania 40, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson decided to take to social media to cut an impromptu – if you can call a video with video clips embedded throughout impromptu – promo on the top babyfaces in the WWE Universe. Now to some, the videos are […]

As WWE attempts to push all sorts of different natives in the lead-up to WrestleMania 40, from the ever-escalating feud between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Cody Rhodes, to the ridiculous levels of hate both Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre share for CM Punk despite the “Best in the World” being unable to wrestle at […]

Tyler Breeze is a WWE free agent… kind of. Though technically under contract with the promotion as part of his involvement with UpUpDownDown, appearing regularly on Xavier Woods’ YouTube show and even bumping across the proverbial screen to The Bump to talk wrestling in person from time to time, Breeze is also allowed to wrestle […]

When Darby Allin decided to put over Cody Rhodes in a promo designed to trash his future AEW Revolution opponents, the Young Bucks, it drew a myriad of different reactions from around the professional wrestling world. Some fans liked the promo, celebrating Allin for being real and giving credit where credit is due, while others, […]

As a general rule, Dave Meltzer is a big fan of AEW. A crucial part of the promotion’s proto-founding Pay-Per-View, All In, due to a social media interaction with Cody Rhodes, he’s chronicled every step of the company’s history and has handed out the dozens of five-star matches to prove just how good a job […]

With two nights of WrestleMania 40 plus Stand and Deliver, the biggest NXT show of the year, rapidly approaching in April, fans, pundits, and wrestling journalists like Dave Meltzer alike have been looking ahead to the future and which members of the WWE Universe could be in for major bumps in  the future. Booker T, […]

Over the course of a week, Cody Rhodes went from the highest of the highs to the lowest of the lows, going from boldly declaring that he wants Roman Reigns after winning the 2024 Royal Rumble to handing off his spot to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on the subsequent episode of SmackDown with only a […]

If you were a new fan of WWE tuning into the Royal Rumble for the first time when the promotion filled up Tropicana Field with 48,000 fans for the first Premium Live Event of the 2024 calendar year, you’d think that Bron Breakker was one of the most dominant wrestlers in the world. Entering the […]

For the second time in as many years, Vince McMahon is out of WWE, having officially announced his resignation from his position as the Executive Chairman of the TKO Board after being accused in a court of law with a litany of illicit activities, from grooming to sexual abuse, and even sex trafficking. While McMahon […]

When news broke that there was going to be a three-way match on SmackDown New Year’s Revolution to decide on Roman Reigns‘ opponent at the Royal Rumble, few expected the excitement for the match, which featured AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and LA Knight, to be completely blown out of the water by a simple dining […]

With Survivor Series officially under 24 hours away, there’s one question that that is on the tip of every WWE fan, nay, every professional wrestling fan, from the most casual to the hardest of hardcore diehards: Will CM Punk make his long-awaited in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois? Some people are absolutely sure the “Best […]

When Santos Escobar announced to the WWE Universe that he was finished with Rey Mysterio for the unforgivable sin of… also being friends with Carlito, it shook up the top of the SmackDown roster. While sure, making new friends can shake things up inside a faction, with someone occasionally having to become the odd man […]

When Dave Meltzer let it be known that WWE had heavy interest in Stardom superstar Giulia, the current holder of the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship, it turned heads around the industry. While few fans in America were particularly familiar with what the “Glorious Warrior” brings to the table, as she’s only wrestled a single match […]

At some point in the next six or so months, give or take, Will Ospreay will be making his debut for a new promotion as a contracted performer. It could happen tomorrow – literally- at AEW Full Gear, it could happen when Impact Wrestling officially becomes TNA once more in January at Hard To Kill, […]

While Kurt Angle‘s professional wrestling career in WWE and, eventually, TNA, has largely been remembered for his incredible in-ring work – even if Dave Meltzer never gave him a 5-star match for his efforts – and his exceptional comedic timing, his story can’t be told without touching on his addiction to painkillers, as you don’t […]

As WWE prepares to be a heavy buyer on the 2024 wrestling free agent market, with big names like MJF, Will Ospreay, and Giulia all potentially set to test the open market, one wrestler The Fed won’t be able to woo over to any of their brands is Konosuke Takeshita, as he’s already locked up […]

As crazy as it may sound, we are just over two weeks away from Survivor Series, when the WWE Universe will descend on the city of Chicago to load up the United Center with a pair of WarGames matches and… cheer on CM Punk, who may or may not be debuting on the show. That’s […]

When news trickled around the online professional wrestling community that not only was WWE interested in signing Stardom/NJPW star Giulia to a contract but was actually planning on hosting her at the Performance Center for one reason or another, it turned heads. Sure, Giulia isn’t what you would call a household by pretty much any […]

Back when he was still in power as the do-it-all CEO/booker/creative lead of the WWE Universe, going up against Tony Khan and AEW weekly for ratings supremacy, Vince McMahon had a bad habit of changing his plans on the fly, with the promotion’s weekly plans being ripped up routinely in favor of on-the-fly ideas that […]

After taking a loss to the New Day on Monday Night RAW, Chad Gable and his Alpha Academy members Otis, Maxxine Dupri, and Akira Tozawa – who is now apparently an auxiliary member – wanted to test their mettle against any team in the WWE Universe, be that from RAW, SmackDown, or even a tag […]

As fans of AEW and beyond eagerly await a chance to see what kind of gift Tony Khan has to offer Sting after “The Icon” announced his intentions to retire at Revolution in 2024, the wrestling world has begun to reflect on the 24-time champion‘s career and what story is left to be written before […]

If there’s one person who knows a thing or two about Will Ospreay in professional wrestling, it’s Dave Meltzer. One of the early champions of Ospreay’s work dating all the way back to the beginning of his professional wrestling career, Ospreay has more five-plus star matches than anyone else in the history of The Wrestling […]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard the news that Vince McMahon, the creative mastermind behind WWF and now WWE since he purchased the company from his father, Vincent J. McMahon, all the way back in the early 1980s, is officially out of creative power within the company, with his son-in-law, Paul […]

After having to split their time, their screens, and their attention between a loaded NXT show featuring a half-dozen main roster WWE stars and a strong AEW card featuring a commercial-free match between Bryan Danielson and Swerve Strickland, a promo segment with MJF, and the in-ring debut of the “Rated-R Superstar” Adam Copeland, fans waited […]

After punching their tickets to the semi-finals of the Owen Hart Cup Tournament, CM Punk and Samoa Joe found themselves booked for a match once more on the fourth edition of AEW Collision, marking the first time the long-time Ring of Honor rivals shared the ring in a non-tag team match since all the way […]

What is the greatest match in WrestleMania history? Is it Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III? “Macho Man” Randy Savage versus Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat at WrestleMania III? Hulk Hogan versus The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI? Or maybe something more modern like Shawn Michaels versus Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24 or […]

When Cody Rodes left AEW for WWE in January of 2022, it served as a legitimate inflection point in professional wrestling. Suddenly, after building out a roster with a steady stream of ex-WWE guys like Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, Ruby Soho, and Toni Storm, to name a few, AEW had to watch one of its […]

And just like that, there were one; in a little over 10 minutes on SmackDown, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler silenced any doubts about their WWE future both individually and as a tag team by putting down the dynamic duo of Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, better known as The Unholy Union, to become the […]

On a recent edition of his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T was informed that he was voted one of the worst commentators in all of professional wrestling by Wrestling Observer, coming in second behind only Corey Graves with 183 votes. Though Booker didn’t quite understand how the voting works, as he assumed that Dave […]

After reportedly being taken off of life support by his wife and daughter, WWE Hall of Famer “Superstar” Billy Graham has officially passed away, as confirmed by TMZ. One of the true revolutionaries of the industry, known for his outlandish outfits, memorable promos, and flashy in-ring style, Graham officially retired from the ring at the […]

When Brock Lesnar ran head-first into an exposed turnbuckle at WWE Backlash to split his forehead clean open in his main event match against Cody Rhodes, it was an unusual spot for the typically blood-adverse promotion, so much so that they actually played back the highlights in black and white on RAW to cover up […]

With the WWE Universe currently in flux due to Vince McMahon’s decision to merge his father’s brand with UFC to form an elite pairing under the Endeavor name, fans have been wondering if Sasha Banks, the performer currently known as Mercedes Moné in New Japan Pro Wrestling, could be headed back to the promotion that […]

Do you know which wrestler has the most five-star matches in professional wrestling, according to “The Rodger Ebert of Professional Wrestling,” Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer? No, it’s not Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Booker T, or even Kenny Omega; it’s Will Ospreay, the high-flying international superstar who cut his teeth in his native England […]

With WrestleMania 39 officially in the record book, fans of the WWE Universe waited with bated breath for reviews to roll in for the “Showcase of the Immortals,” with one reviewer’s opinion, in particular, taking importance above all others: Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. A stalwart of wrestling journalism ever since he began his […]

With WrestleMania 39 officially in the record book, fans waited with bated breath for reviews to roll in for the “Showcase of the Immortals,” with one reviewer’s opinion ranking above all others: Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. The Rodger Ebert of wrestling since he began his venture some forty years ago, Meltzer’s grades hold […]

With WrestleMania 39 less than two weeks away, WWE should theoretically be using as much of its television programming as possible to hype up matches scheduled for “The Showcase of the Immortals.” It makes sense, right? While the show will undoubtedly be packed and millions will be tuning in from around the world to watch […]

While attempting to celebrate his re-Bar Mitzvah on Dynamite, MJF was interrupted by the remaining members of the four pillars of AEW in order to have a sort of meeting of the minds over how the current World Champion is handling his reign. After allowing “Jungleboy” Jack Perry and Sammy Guevara to speak their minds, […]

With 2022 officially in the rearview window, and all of the votes counted, the Wrestling Observer has officially released the results of The Wrestling Observer Awards, the long-running year-in-review that Dave Meltzer has been handing out since 1980. Though many of the awards were fairly predictable – Bryan Danielson won the Bryan Danielson Award, Tony […]

The decision to book Sami Zayn for a nine-minute match against Baron Corbin didn’t sit well with wrestling journalist extraordinaire Dave Meltzer, as he discussed on Wrestling Observer Radio. Now granted, the match wasn’t bad per se, there were no egregious spots or strange booking decisions, but the decision to allow Corbin to work over […]