What's the best "short match" you have ever seen?

[Turnz05]

Nowadays, we get many matches that don't go more than five minutes. Many people hate the fact that matches don't last very long and instead we get many vignettes, promos, advertisements etc.

My question is simple. What is your favourite match that lasted less than 3 or 4 minutes? I have never really given it much thought, until I watched a rerun of Royal Rumble 2000 where The Acolytes faced The New Age Outlaws for the tag titles. This match lasted less than 3 minutes and I remember always thinking it was a good match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS_3yAbCDaw

How about you guys. What is your favourite short match? Lets set the criteria at a maximum of 4 minute matches. But, if you wanna include matches that go slightly over, you can. I'm intrigued to see what other people think.

 

[slothmister]

Reason being, it was so short. I really did not want to see that match up so it lasting only a few seconds was a massive surprise to everyone watching and a massive relief for me!

 

[tonykegger]

I liked Sin Cara vs. Evan Bourne on the 6/27/11 RAW. It was a little bit more than 4 minutes, but they had a great match and I wanted to see more. I can't think of any good 4 or under matches. You need about 5 minutes to have a decent match.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I think it might have been a little over 5 minutes, but I was always a big fan of Brock Lesnar vs. The Big Show for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 2002. I've hated Brock Lesnar since he first debuted and I was ecstatic to see Big Show beat him so quickly.

 

[The Brain]

One that immediately comes to mind is Owen Hart vs. The 123 Kid at the 1994 King of the Ring. The match was less than four minutes but was filled with fast face action from bell to bell. I normally like more of a feeling out process and a slower beginning but these two made the most out of the time they were given. The fast pace made sense as Owen, the opportunistic heel, jumped the Kid before the bell trying to take advantage of an injury Kid suffered in his first round match earlier that night. Kid was trying to score a quick pin so Owen wouldn’t have time to capitalize on his vulnerability. Good stuff.

[YOUTUBE]8LqVSPWsO48[/YOUTUBE]

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Edge vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution I marked out so loud when Edge won the Title. Plus it was the very first cash in so it was a unique thing at the time.

The Rock vs. Shamrock for the IC Title at WMXIV. It was less than 5 mins and basically a squash with Shamrock destroying The Rock. It was perfect, Shamrock dominated and looked strong but The Rock dodged a bullet by retaining the IC due to a reverse decision.

That's the two I can think of thus far.

Bringing up Royal Rumble 2000 and KOTR also reminded me of some matches

Kurt Angle vs. Tazz at Royal Rumble 2000 - Great Debut of Tazz by giving Angle his first defeat. It was intense physical and fast paced.
Kurt Angle vs. Crash Holly - This was fun with Angle having a hard time putting away Holly. Most KOTR matches are short but I just enjoy rewatching this for some reason.

 

[BobbyRoode444]

Jack Swagger (c.) vs Justin Gabriel- US Title match at Elimination Chamber 2012.

Always a fan of both these guys, would love to see more of Gabriel these days...but this match was under 4 minutes, had aerial attacks from Gabriel, good action in and out of the ring, a couple pin attempts by Gabriel, and then ending with Swagger winning by submission.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Ultimate Warrior defeating Honky Tonk Man at SummerSlam '88. Honky was a great heel character who kept tremendous heat on himself for over a year to that point. He was a frustrating type of heel, due to his record-settting loooong title reign, full of cowardice victories and non-title-changing losses. Honky was standing in the ring with the title on the line and we still didn't know who his opponent would be. Warrior's music hits, crowd explodes, seconds later Honky's run is over and Warrior is on his way to the top. Great way to end one reign and start another.

 

[TeddyCJD]

The first one that sprung to my mind was a forgotten little gem from Sunday Night Heat in 2001 between Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn for the Hardcore Title. Obviously since it only lasted around five or six minutes, it didn't have enough time to develop into one of there many ECW classics, but it was still a really good little match!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7slNsy9y7Oc

 

[nWo2]

If it isn't how the WWE Hardcore title was booked under 24 Hour Defense with The Hollys...

Diesel wrestled a LIVE show against then champion Bob Backlund and finished him in :08 seconds to win his first strap. One of the first times I'd EVER seen a title change hands in a nontelevised match

 

[Wolf Pac]

Sting vs. Jeff Hardy at TNA Victory Roa...no, I'm just kidding.

I'm trying to think of something else but I always end up coming back to Tazz vs. Kurt Angle at Royal Rumble 2000, so I'll go with that one. Like shooter_mcgavin said, it was a great debut for Tazz. Everybody knew beforehand that he was coming in, but MSG still popped hard and erupted once his music hit, it was one of the most tremendous pops I've ever heard. The match itself was fast paced and intense, Kurt's selling for some of Tazz's moves was crazy, you'd think he was a cruiserweight at times in the match. Kurt got some of his best in, so it wasn't a total squashfest, which was good. And of course, Tazz got to end Kurt's undefeated streak with the Tazzmission, which got just as much an ovation as his entrance. Again, it was a great debut and it's such a shame his career didn't continue on the high note he began with at the Royal Rumble. Not saying he should've the held the WWF Title, but I would've loved to have seen him hold the Intercontinental Title and feud with Chris Benoit somewhere in 2000.

Also I like Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan at Summerslam 2005 but not so much for the match itself, for this segment on the Smackdown that took place after the PPV. It's probably the only funniest thing Benoit's ever done in his wrestling career.

[youtube]nvCL5vV_7Q0[/youtube]

 

[cawsnallthis]

My favorite short match was on Bischoff's first night on Raw ever. He walked by Bradshaw and blew him off. Later in the show, he talking up Johnny Nitro, I believe. (one of those ECW italians, anyway) that had just won the Hardcore title. Bradshaw came flying in from behind the camera, hit dude with one of the most vicious Clotheslines from Hell ever and pinned him for the belt. He got up, looked at Bischoff and said, "The name's Bradshaw. Hard...core...Champion!" and walked away.

 

[jbwphoto1]

Ultimate Warrior defeating Honky Tonk Man at SummerSlam '88. Honky was a great heel character who kept tremendous heat on himself for over a year to that point. He was a frustrating type of heel, due to his record-settting loooong title reign, full of cowardice victories and non-title-changing losses. Honky was standing in the ring with the title on the line and we still didn't know who his opponent would be. Warrior's music hits, crowd explodes, seconds later Honky's run is over and Warrior is on his way to the top. Great way to end one reign and start another.

HeenanGorilla, I agree 100%. When I read the question, the Ultimate Warrior's music started in my head. I think it also stands as not just a title reign starting and ending, but almost an era with the IC title of a serious old school heel caricature with manager at ringside to an even greater caricature in the Ultimate Warrior.

 

[Judah's Lion]

fantastic thread idea. as many have stated, it's hard to get involved in a match that lasts 5 minutes or less. the time constraints obviously hinder in depth story development. and yet, as soon as i saw the thread title, several matches immediately sprang to mind.

3 of my favorites have already been mentioned.
Tazz vs. Angle, Royal Rumble 2000. awesome match. really enjoyable on several levels. great debut and suplexes galore!
Acolytes vs. New Age Outlaws, also Royal Rumble 2000. this was a pretty decent feud, believable storyline and enjoyable match.
Ultimate Warrior vs. Honkey Tonk Man, SummerSlam 1988. The match itself wasn't pretty, but the story was perfect. the transition from one type of champion to the other was flawless.

honorable mention should also go to any Goldberg match, and for the Diesel vs. Backlund heavyweight title match.

one that hasn't been mentioned yet and that i've always enjoyed was Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid. not only was it a great short match but it was a great upset during a time when upsets like this NEVER happened.

 

[god-soldier]

I have 4 favorite short matches in no particular order:

The Rock vs Big Boss Man Survivor Series 1998 2nd round deadly game tournament: Bossman ran to the ring too take on the Rock and his momentum ran him into a roll up for 1-2-3 it was like 3 seconds the one of the funniest matches I have ever seen

Ultimate Warrior vs Honky Tonk Man SummerSlam 88 Intercontinental Title:
Honky calls out the locker I guess thinking he will wrestle a jobber from WWF Superstars show but gets the Ultimate Warrior and beaten in 28 seconds the crowd at MSG went bananas!!!!!!!!!!!

Goldberg vs Giant Monday Nitro 98:
Giant man handles Goldberg early and chokeslams him you think its over Goldberg kicks out spears the Giant and jackhammers The Giant with ease absoultely incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!! Power of Goldberg its epic!!!!!!! Total time maybe 3:00 mins tops

This last one has to be me my favorite if I had to choose one!!!!!!!!
Triple H vs Ultimate Warrior Wrestlemania XII:
Triple H comes to the ring debuting at WrestleMania with Sable debuting as well and by the look of arrogance on his face seems pretty confident but he has no idea what the hell is about to happen to him!!!!!!! A returning Ultimate Warrior music hits and WrestleMania XII gets the loudest pop all night as the Warrior runs down to ringside embracing the fans Triple H attempts to cut it short by a few cheap shots and a Pedigree but to no avail Warrior jumps right up and runs Triple H over with clothelines a flying shoulder block the Gorrilla Press Slam and a splash!!!!!!!!! 2 knees on Triple H's chest 1-2-3 its over Triple H got destroyed he looked like a jobber it was and still too me the greatest short match ever time 1:23
I

 

[Xemmy]

This one might sound odd, but the best short match I've ever seen was between Rob Van Dam and Tajiri. It was a fast pace match for the Hardcore Title in 2001. So much so that in the middle of the match the two men stopped and enjoyed a round of applause from the crowd. Full of good spots, and two talented men. It rarely gets better than this, and my only wish is that they had been given 20 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtURAmWySVg

 

[HBsam31]

Macho mentioned it, and posted a video with some of the aftermath which was funny as hell. Benoit/Jordan was the first one that popped in my mind. I actually just watched that Summerslam and Benoit hit a few belly to back suplexes and then made Jordan tap out to the cross face. The aftermath was great with the things I can do in 25 seconds stuff Benoit was doing. I think it was 25, but anyway it was really funny stuff. I liked the match itself too just because of the dominance of Benoit.

 

[The Butcher]

Ultimate Warrior defeating Honky Tonk Man at SummerSlam '88. Honky was a great heel character who kept tremendous heat on himself for over a year to that point. He was a frustrating type of heel, due to his record-settting loooong title reign, full of cowardice victories and non-title-changing losses. Honky was standing in the ring with the title on the line and we still didn't know who his opponent would be. Warrior's music hits, crowd explodes, seconds later Honky's run is over and Warrior is on his way to the top. Great way to end one reign and start another.

This 'un right chere. SummerSlam is amongst my earliest wrestling memories, and this match was one of the most memorable parts of the event.

Also JBL vs. Rey Mysterio for the IC title at WrestleMania XXV. The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania was the first one I attended live, so I'll always have a soft spot for the show. I'm still surprised that JBL's abrupt retirement has stuck. I also marked for Rey's Joker costume, which is still probably the best of his 'Mania designs.

Funny how they both involve the IC title, a big 4 event, and a loudmouthed heel getting beaten quickly via a splash. I think I just found the formula for my perfect match.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I'm just going to leave this here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ5PP3J6R9s

(no idea how to embed video)

Don't know why, but for short matches, this one always stuck out to me. The Hart Foundation was so over as a team back then, and them squashing the Bolshevik's in Toronto was just awesome. Probably just the Bret Hart mark in me.

 

[Dirk]

I genuinely hate short matches, but the most recent significant one in terms of signifigance would have to be Sheamus v Daniel Bryan's 18 seconds. Not only did it help Sheamus in a big way, but it also help Bryan to get over, as well as making people care about AJ.

 

[Matisyahu]

One of my favorites had to be Kane vs Chavo Guerrero for the ECW title which lasted all of about 8 seconds with Chavo begging "No No No please!" chokeslam and the pin. Kane couldn't contain his smile it was hilarious.

Also as mentioned the Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan match from last year was pretty hilarious too given how Bryan managed to hold on to that title for so long having gotten past guys like Big Show using AJ as a crutch only to have one kiss with AJ cost him the title in an epic 15 second wrestling clinic of a match. At first I was saying "WHAT?! Thats bullshit!" But the more I watched, the funnier it got until I re alized it wasn't so bad. Plus, they have really gotten their money's worth out of this one considering AJ broke out after this, Sheamus benefited greatly from this, and Daniel Bryan just continued to become more and more entertaining than he was before as a result of this.


Another one I found on youtube was a Raw match where Sheamus was the WWE champ and got to defend against whoever he wanted so he picked Zack Ryder and needless to say, the introduction in the ring lasted longer than the match because the bell rung, brogue kick, pin. So I think Sheamus holds the record for fastest WWE title defense and the fastest World Heavyweight Championship win.

 

[lowandmighty]

The best short match I ever saw was the finger poke of doom. It was meant to be making a statement. It didn't really work in the long run but its the thought that counts.