pitseleh Posted July 6, 2021 Posted July 6, 2021 Exactly as the title says. What are some of the best matches to not go past the five minute mark? Takeshi Ono vs Daisuke Ikeda - Futen 2010: I love everything about this. From the guerrilla-style presentation to the stiff strikes, this is a great gateway drug into shoot-style for those who don't want to sit through a twenty minute grapplefest. Goldberg vs Raven - WCW Nitro 1998: Everything great about Goldberg in one neat five-minute package. His stuff doesn't look smooth, but that doesn't matter. The crowd are mental for him and they hide his limitations by overbooking this and the result is a corker of hidden gem. KENTA vs Ricky Marvin - NOAH 2009: It baffles the mind who they managed to cram so much stuff into the two minutes that this match lasted. I might be burnt out on spotfests, but I'd always make time for this. All killer, no filler. Dolph Ziggler vs Alberto Del Rio - Raw 2013: Remember when people cared about Dolph Ziggler? This one might be cheating a tad as it's a MITB cash-in match, but it has everything. A hot crowd, limb work and a smart finish. These two would go on to have an absolute blinder at Payback 2013 too. Honourable mentions go to the Brock/Goldberg match at Wrestlemania 33 and the 1994 KOTR semi-finals between Owen Hart & 1-2-3 Kid.
WyattSheepMask Posted July 6, 2021 Posted July 6, 2021 First one that came to mind was Drew McIntyre v Oney Lorcan. Drew’s first match back in the fed after being let go 2 and a half years earlier, back with a completely new look and absolutely jacked (and would only get bigger as time went on), and he and Lorcan knock the absolute shite out of each other for 5:06. Can only find the highlight video from WWE’s Yourube, but it’s from NXT #243 if you want to check it out
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted July 6, 2021 Paid Members Posted July 6, 2021 Why does this discussion ever go beyond this.
Max Power Posted July 6, 2021 Posted July 6, 2021 The Kid v Owen Hart at King Of The Ring 94. Starts with a baseball slide in the darkness and does not slow down for shit. Owen's pink tights are sexy as hell and Kid was just an incredible worker at this time. Just great stuff.
Joe Blog Posted July 6, 2021 Posted July 6, 2021 22 minutes ago, SaitoRyo said: Brock/Goldberg from WrestleMania 33. I thought they went about 10 or so at Mania? Was it not Survivor Series where they did the really fast match?
pitseleh Posted July 6, 2021 Author Posted July 6, 2021 16 minutes ago, Joe Blog said: I thought they went about 10 or so at Mania? Was it not Survivor Series where they did the really fast match? The Survivor Series match where Goldberg squashed Lesnar went about a minute, but the Mania one went for just under five.
SaitoRyo Posted July 6, 2021 Posted July 6, 2021 14 minutes ago, pitseleh said: The Survivor Series match where Goldberg squashed Lesnar went about a minute, but the Mania one went for just under five. 4.45 of excellence. Genuinely one of my favourite matches of the last ten or so years.
Paid Members air_raid Posted July 6, 2021 Paid Members Posted July 6, 2021 The best ones have been mentioned already. Depending which day of the week it is, Kid vs Owen or Raven vs Goldberg are the best five minute matches ever, achieving everything you want from a start-middle-finish match without feeling too short or especially rushed. Goldberg vs Lesnar is also a super piece of work. Sid Vicious vs Lee Scott is up there for me. It’s not much more than two presses, a whirlybird and a powerbomb but it’s a great watch. If you don’t mind a squash then I’m partial to Yoko stampeding through Virgil at Survivors 92. He cuts off Virg’s hope spots wonderfully, especially the failed schoolboy, and looks more of a killer with a uranage, a leg drop, a belly to belly and the Banzai Drop than many other fatties did their whole careers. 10 year old me shit myself seeing this match with my hero, the Hitman, holding the belt and knowing this monster might come and cripple him. Then later on the show they had Virgil ACTUALLY SAY THE SAME in warning to Bret. Double shit.
Paid Members WeeAl Posted July 8, 2021 Paid Members Posted July 8, 2021 Yeah the cream of the crop have come up right away, with Kid Vs Owen, Goldberg Vs Brock (both times) and Goldberg Vs Raven. For something recent, Brodie Lee Vs Cody Rhodes when Brodie squashed him for the belt was perfect for what it needed to be at the time.
Paid Members Supremo Posted July 8, 2021 Paid Members Posted July 8, 2021 Goldberg vs. Brock at Survivor Series was the first one I thought of. Remains the best thing they’ve done in about fifteen to twenty years. An absolute masterpiece.
RedRooster Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 The first one that comes to mind for me is the Kurt Angle/Brian Kendrick 5-minute challenge from Smackdown in 2003, that was loads of fun and really quite dramatic. Unfortunately the video of the match no longer seems to be online. Big Daddy V's ECW squash matches were a load of fun back in the mid-to-late 2000s - while I'm not sure they'd make a list of the greatest 5-minute matches, they're certainly among the most enjoyable to watch:
sivy Posted July 8, 2021 Posted July 8, 2021 I'd echo the Brock Vs Goldberg from mania 33. The build to it from the survivor series squash, to Goldberg throwing Brock out at the rumble just led to under 5 minutes of action. The leapfrog Brock did to avoid the spear, the timing was so perfect.
Paid Members Supremo Posted July 8, 2021 Paid Members Posted July 8, 2021 Umanga vs. Kendrick Cracking little squash match, this. Just enough hope spots to make it almost feel competitive, then Umaga gets bored and proceeds to murder poor Kendrick with an amazing mid-air Spike. Boss. Kenny Omega vs. Sonny Kiss The turning point for Omega. Finally deciding to become a star. Wanky, twatty entrance, phoney handshake, complete destruction and then smug troll face. Perfect. Let’s see if he’s still pulling that smug face when Adam Page knocks his head off.
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