Swerve Strickland isn’t losing any sleep over those Wrestling Observer five-star ratings. In fact, the AEW star thinks some of those supposed five-star classics might be closer to four stars once you step outside the Observer bubble.
Speaking to Billboard, Swerve was talking about balancing wrestling with his career in hip-hop when he got an interesting question. What’s harder — putting on a five-star wrestling match or creating a five-mic album? Swerve didn’t even hesitate.
“Five-mic album.”
He knows both ratings are completely subjective. What sounds like a perfect album to one person might only be a four or four-and-a-half to somebody else, and Swerve thinks wrestling ratings work exactly the same way.
“Both parts are subjective, ’cause five mics for one person might be four-and-a-half or four to other people.”
Then came the Wrestling Observer shot. Swerve casually joked that some of those five-star matches might lose a star once you ask somebody outside the publication.
“Five-star match to Wrestling Observer were more like four [star] to anybody else.”
Swerve wasn’t just trying to get a cheap shot in either. His bigger point was that creating an album capable of winning over hardcore fans, casual listeners, critics and people who weren’t already interested in you is incredibly difficult.
“But to truly grasp the ear of multiple listeners, critics, fans and non-fans is tough.”
That’s also why Swerve puts so much weight behind the five-mic label. For him, a real classic can’t just be hot when it drops — people still need to be talking about it years later.
“To me, a five-mic album stands the test of time. There’s all-time great lyricists that haven’t been able to pull that off and I’m not even at that level as a pure lyricist.”
Swerve knows that puts the bar ridiculously high, and he’s not pretending he’s already reached it himself. He believes genuine classics are rare for a reason.
“A true genuine classic doesn’t fall out the sky anymore.”
So Swerve isn’t exactly buying the idea that every five-star wrestling match should automatically be treated like an untouchable classic. Ratings are subjective, but when it comes to creating something that can survive years of changing tastes, he’s putting a five-mic album above anything the Wrestling Observer can hand out.
What do you think about Swerve Strickland saying some Wrestling Observer five-star matches might only be four stars to everyone else? Let us know in the comments below.
