Okay, let’s talk about how I put together my SummerSlam star ratings this year. It’s something I enjoy doing, kind of a personal tradition after a big show.
Getting Started
So, first things first, I made sure I had a clear schedule for the event itself. You can’t really rate something properly if you’re distracted, right? I settled in, got my usual snacks and drinks ready – nothing fancy, just comfortable stuff. I also grabbed my trusty notebook and a pen. Yeah, I still use pen and paper for this, feels more direct.
Watching and Noting
As the show kicked off, I started watching each match pretty intently. I wasn’t just looking at the cool moves, though those are important. I tried to pay attention to a few things for each match:
- The Story: Did the match make sense? Was there a good build-up and payoff within the match itself?
- The Action: Was it exciting? Smooth? Did the wrestlers seem to click? Any big moments?
- The Crowd: How were the fans reacting? A hot crowd can really elevate a match.
- The Finish: Was it satisfying? Did it make sense for the story and the wrestlers involved?
I jotted down quick notes during the match – maybe a key spot, how the crowd reacted to something, or just a general feeling I got. Didn’t write essays, just enough to jog my memory later. Sometimes I’d put a preliminary score down, like a gut feeling number.
Figuring Out the Stars
After the whole show wrapped up, I gave myself a little breather. Then, I went back to my notes. This is where the actual rating happens. I use a pretty standard five-star scale, sometimes using half-stars if a match is tricky to place.
I read through my notes for each match. I thought about those points I mentioned earlier – story, action, crowd, finish. I compared matches against each other too. Like, okay, this match felt stronger than that one, so it should probably get a higher rating. It’s not super scientific, a lot of it is gut feel based on watching wrestling for years.
Sometimes I’d quickly scrub back through a part of the match on replay if I was unsure about something or wanted to re-evaluate a moment. Did that near-fall really get the crowd going as much as I remembered? Was that sequence as smooth as I first thought?
Finalizing and Sharing
Once I had a rating for each match that felt right, I’d finalize the list. I usually just type them up in a simple format, match name followed by the star rating. Nothing too complicated. Making sure it’s easy to read is key.
And yeah, that’s pretty much the process. Watch intently, take some notes, reflect on it afterwards using a few key criteria, and assign the stars. Then I just share it, like I’m doing now. It’s always interesting to see how my ratings compare to others later on!
