Why Gabe Sapolsky Shouldn't Call Dave Meltzer Out Over Match Analysis/Opinions

Meltzer (left) should be able to post criticism of EVOLVE on his site without Sapolsky (right) filling his diaper
Photos via @ObserverQuotes (Meltzer) and TMPTWrestling (Sapolsky)

Criticism of any art is a mostly thankless job. Even Roger Ebert, the most beloved and respected film critic of our time, got mounds of shit heaped upon him for various opinions he'd have, most notably for a decidedly non-cinematic take, that video games weren't art. The more prominent a critic is, the more likely they are to be saddled with accusations of having an agenda. Of course, all critics do have an agenda; it's just that everyone has an agenda whether they admit it or not. Subjectivity and bias are all part of human nature, even if that bias is incredibly tainted with fiduciary ties. Still, the influence even the most prominent critic in any field is dwarfed by the largest producers of the media they critique.

So when Gabe Sapolsky claps back at Dave Meltzer for a review he feels misses the mark on the recent Orange Cassidy/Velveteen Dream match, it's yet another load of shit heaped upon a critic for giving their analysis:

@davemeltzerWON Orange Cassidy and Velveteen Dream were not doing “lots of stalling and posing” at #EVOLVE123. They were doing some brilliant character work that the near capacity crowd loved. Big difference. I won’t get into the other inaccuracies.

— Gabe Sapolsky (@BookItGabe) March 21, 2019

First thing's first, Meltzer wasn't even the one to give the "analysis," it was reader/correspondent Jesse Collings. That distinction might be splitting hairs as Meltzer or Bryan Alvarez are the ones in charge of what gets posted on the site, just like I am here with TWB. If Butch were to post something terrible, I would rightly be called out for it because, well, I was the one who clicked the "publish" button. But that is neither here nor there (and it would never happen anyway). The most galling thing is that whether or not the analysis is bad or good (and I'm more inclined to believe it's bad and lazy, for posterity), it's that noted Small Business Tyrant (credit for that term to @MurderBryan and @BrettPain) Sapolsky decided he'd use his WWE-backed heft to lash out at someone daring not to enjoy what he puts out.

Especially when you have corporate backing, lashing out to people criticizing your product constructively is extremely damaging for a couple of reasons. First, it operates under the assumption that the creator is infallible, which is incredibly tone deaf. Flawed people create art, and thus the product of the creative process always has points for critique. Obviously, some of those flaws will be ignorable at worst and enjoyable at best, and the artist will have free reign to fix those flaws or not. Art, at heart, is made for the artist, and if anyone else enjoys it, well, it's a nice bonus. Of course, the way art has become commodified, the artist's intentions may be to create something as palatable as possible to as many people as they can reach. Sapolsky fits into the latter category most definitely. Wouldn't you think he would want to hear as many opinions as possible about how to fine-tune his art that he's turned into a business? Even if he didn't agree with the criticism Meltzer hosted on his site, it's still vital because it's a piece of data to process. If Collings was the only person who thought the match was bad, Sapolsky could have judged it against the other people praising it without breathing fire at any cross word about his product. Hubris is a terrible thing.

Second, it creates an unfair dogpile when a content creator punches down at a critic in this manner. If you go by Twitter followers, Meltzer might have more than four times the followers than Sapolsky, but when you realize Sapolsky is a WWE employee and is using WWE-contracted talent on his shows on the reg promoted on the WWE website, well, the tables of power turn. It's understandable when Peyton Royce rallies the entire WWE roster against Meltzer because he made a smacked-ass sexist comment about her. I mean, I wouldn't have sicced that many people on him because even a midcard talent like Royce has a following that dwarfs Meltzer's thus making him irrelevant, but I get it. Going after him because he published a bad review on his site of a match where the stakes aren't nearly as high is tantamount to violence, and it all comes down to Sapolsky's utter pettiness that not everyone liked his main event. That's dangerous, because now other wrestling companies, higher or lower on the totem pole, will think it's okay, and thus perpetuate the cycle that the auteur or the performer is 100 percent correct and the fan needs to shut up and take it.

Sapolsky's not the only one who does this. Every name-searching wrestler no matter how big perpetuates the culture, and it's rotten to the core. Not only is it morally repugnant in the spirit of free speech that people only seem to want to defend when some shithead alt-right ghoul wants to spew propaganda on college campuses, but it is self-defeating. Why should anyone want to get into a wrestling promotion or follow a wrestler who will straight up tell them they're wrong when they don't like something? Like, does that sound fuck-stupid to anyone else, or am I crazy?

However, of those who do term-search and lash out at critics, Sapolsky is in the upper echelon in terms of power and influence. That's why his penchant to lord over people with his connections or his influence is so destructive. It doesn't matter if Meltzer sucks as a critic or a curator. I believe he does, but that's why I don't pay for his services. Again, maybe one percent of the total wrestling fandom worldwide even knows who the fuck he is. Even someone working with NXT can run his influence out of the water. However, if entities could be barred from doing business because they sucked, EVOLVE wouldn't have survived past its tenth show. Instead, Sapolsky now has failed upwards from a partnership with Dragon Gate to one with WWE. Maybe he shouldn't throw stones from that glass office he has down in Orlando.