The quality of most professional wrestling matches is subjective. It all depends on your likes and dislikes, and you're free to enjoy whatever you want to enjoy. Some people may feel that AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens at Backlash was poor because of the ending while others may feel that the ending was fresh and different.
That's the beauty of professional wrestling. You are free to enjoy whatever gives you a kick and ignore whatever doesn't. This is true in all cases except one. The fabled Dave Meltzer Rating System where the respected Wrestling Journalist rates matches on a five-star scale.
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Even though he doesn't put as much importance into the rating system himself, a significant portion of the professional wrestling world – including wrestlers, fans, and everyone in between – places a huge amount of importance on Meltzer's opinion.
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The reason for this is how difficult it is to get a five-star rating from the man. WWE Superstars rarely achieve the honour, and in fact, there have only been 5 five-star matches in WWE, with the latest one coming in 2011 when John Cena took on CM Punk at Money in the Bank. It's that hard to get the coveted rating.
After all, that's why the New Japan Pro Wrestling match between Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11 for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship received so much universal attention. Meltzer actually rated that match 6 stars out of 5. It was that good.
So, in keeping with that spirit, we have compiled a list of professional wrestlers who have had the most number of 5-star encounters. So, without any further ado, let's dive right in:
#5 Akira Taue – 14 five-star matches
Akira Taue is one of the finest wrestlers to ever lace on a pair of wrestling boots, and that is evidenced by the fact that he even makes this list. The Japanese wrestler has been credited with a crazy 14 five-star matches over the course of his long and illustrious career.
Initially competing as a Sumo Wrestler between 1980 and 1987, Taue made his professional wrestling debut in 1988 with All Japan Pro Wrestling and quickly made a name for himself as a tag team specialist
He won everything on offer at the company before departing in 2000 to join up with Pro Wrestling NOAH where he was the GHC World Heavyweight Champion for over 14 months. As a testament to his skill as a tag team specialist, all of his five-star matches except for one came as part of a multi-man match.
Akira Taue retired in 2013.
#4 Manami Toyota – 17 five-star matches
In the WWE, women wrestlers have only recently gained prominence after the Women's Revolution came to the fore. But, out east in Japan, women have been given the same opportunities as men for decades. The greatest example of that is Manami Toyota.
Debuting at the age of 16 in 1987, Toyota is still wrestling to this day and has announced her intention to retire towards the end of the year – a full thirty years after her first match with All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling.
She has been credited with 17 five-star matches over the course of her career. An obscene number for even the greatest of wrestlers, it firmly establishes Manami as one of the finest wrestlers to have ever lived and the single most major female competitor in professional wrestling.
#3 Toshiaki Kawada – 18 five-star matches and 1 six-star match
Did you know that Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada was not the first match that Dave Meltzer has rated six stars? Well, that honour DOESN’T EVEN belong to number three on our list, Toshiaki Kawada for the culmination of his monstrous feud against Mitsuharu Misawa in June 1994. Misawa and Kawada had the 2nd ever six-star match.
However, the first actual six-star match is for Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat in 1989.
One of the original practitioners of Strong Style, Kawada was widely regarded as one of the best during his time with All Japan Pro Wrestling where he wrestled between 1982 and 2005. Since leaving the promotion, he has been working on a freelance basis for a number of promotions in Japan.
He was also long-time partners with the first entry on this list, Akira Taue.
Also read: Ranking the 10 best active second and third generation WWE Superstars
#2 Kenta Kobashi – 23 five-star matches
We're reaching an absurd number of five-star matches over here, and this is still the penultimate entry on this list. Coming in second with a mind-boggling 23 five-star matches is the mythical Kenta Kobashi.
The man is absurdly talented and considered the greatest wrestler of all-time by a number of wrestling journalists and fans from all around the world. His rivalries with Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada are instant classics, and if you just see any one of his five-star matches, it becomes abundantly clear why he was awarded so many.
Another interesting fact about Kobashi is that he invented The Burning Hammer. Widely considered the most dangerous move in all of wrestling, he only used it seven times over the course of his career which started in 1988 and ended in 2013.
#1 Mitsuharu Misawa – 25 five-star matches and 1 six-star match
The legendary opponent to Toshiaki Kawada in the six-star encounter from 1994, Mitsuharu Misawa might just be the greatest professional wrestler of all-time.
After working for All Japan Pro Wrestling between 1981 and 2000, he left the company in 2000 to form his own promotion known as Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he competed until his death in 2009 at the age of 46. Tragically, Misawa died doing the one thing he loved above all – wrestling.
After taking Belly to Back Suplex, he lost consciousness and had to be rushed to the hospital where he then passed away. His cause of death was never officially released as his company invoked a Japanese Law to keep it from public scrutiny, although, speculation has it that it was due to a spinal injury that led to a cardiac arrest.
Misawa has been cited as an inspiration for the some of the top wrestling talents in the world, including the likes of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and William Regal. His legacy will endure the test of time and will never be forgotten in the rings of Japan.
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