Lance Storm Says Wrestling Is Better When Fans Believe, Knocks 'Stupid' Star Ratings

Former WWE, WCW, and ECW star Lance Storm recently sat down with "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and discussed a variety of subjects. During the conversation, he discussed Dave Meltzer's star ratings system, which brought up the early days of his career — a time when ratings didn't matter because the audiences were more invested in seeing their favorites win the matches, regardless of their methods.

"If you came out of the babyface locker room, they loved you. If you came out of the heel locker room, they genuinely hated you. They cared whether you won or lost. They weren't out to see how many stars you'd get, which moves you'd pull off. They were genuinely hoping you would win."

Storm recalled working in Lebanon and a fan pulling a gun because they were so invested in the product. He said that era of wrestling is gone now, but it was better when fans believed that wrestling was real and their favorite performers were the characters they portrayed. "That little ounce of doubt makes a big difference," he added.

The conversation then moved on to match ratings, which Storm described as "asininely stupid." He compared them to Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel's movie reviews, in the sense that they can be good barometers of a match's quality, but they shouldn't be treated as gospel. At the end of the day, everyone likes what they like, and someone else's opinion of a match shouldn't matter.

"I just find it insanely ridiculous that someone would watch the movie, and then want to know what someone else thought about it, and determine their enjoyment..."

If you use any quotes from this podcast, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.