An online outcry over Meltzer’s star rating of any given match has become commonplace on social media. However, Meltzer went on to explain the ratings system, and pointed out that he wasn’t the one to devise the system in the first place. Instead, it was allegedly the work of another well-known figure in the wrestling industry.

“Cornette’s the guy who came up with it, and it was based on … [using] numbers instead of saying, ‘Good, very good, [or] excellent,'” Meltzer continued. “And then they had to raise it because the four, which was originally the top number — matches just got too good, so we had to have the five. Then they added the six — they added the six before I ever got there. … So people saying, ‘You know, you broke your system,’ … it wasn’t my system and I didn’t break it.”

According to Meltzer, there is a reason why his star ratings seem to have become higher on average in recent years. Meltzer said that, in his opinion, wrestlers have simply gotten better in the modern era. The historian believes that the internet providing easier access to wrestling archives has resulted in a new generation that’s been brought up with more wrestling than ever before.