Jump to content

Greatest five minute matches


pitseleh

Recommended Posts

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Edited by Max Power
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

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. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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: 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

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.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...