Even with a running time of over 5 hours, WrestleMania 33, which featured 13 bouts, had 4 matches that didn’t even cross the 10 minutes mark. We can surely expect a huge chunk of matches facing the axe at this year’s Mania as well. However, having less amount to tell a story is not always a bane as, sometimes, less time allows the wrestlers to keep the crowd engaged throughout the match.

From the matches announced for Mania 35, the United States Title match has the potential to steal the show if Joe and Mysterio is keeping shorter than 10 minutes and both veterans are allowed to mesh with each other. Even in the past, there have been a few matches that ended up being shorter than expected, but also turned out to better than people were expecting them to be.

Here are the 5 best WrestleMania matches that lasted less than 10 minutes.

Honourable Mentions:

Chris Jericho(c) vs William Regal - WWF Intercontinental Championship (WrestleMania X-Seven)

Steve Austin vs Scott Hall (WrestleMania X-8)

Chris Benoit(c) vs MVP - WWE United State Championship (WrestleMania 23)

#5 CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio (WrestleMania XXVI)

The 2010 feud between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio was just pure masterpiece. On one side was a guy who had been a big babyface throughout his career and on the other side was a guy who was easily the most hated one on the roster. Punk crashing the birthday of Mysterio’s daughter with a sadistic promo and then forcing Mysterio to put his Mask on the line at Mania increased the excitement for this match by many levels.

However, WrestleMania XXVI, on a whole, was clearly a two-match show, with all the focus on the McMahon-Hart and the Streak vs Career matches. At just 6:30, this encounter was the shortest among all the single matches on the card. Yet, the two veterans wrestled a fast paced match in the time allocated to them.

Mysterio brought some really innovative move from his arsenal, including a phenomenal top rope somersault DDT on Punk. Despite regular interference from The Straight Edge Society, Mysterio successfully hit a 619-splash combination to win the match and save his mask.

#4 Raven (c) vs Kane vs Big Show - WWF Hardcore Championship (WrestleMania X-Seven)

Despite being a vital part of the Attitude Era, The Hardcore Championship was never considered as important as the other mid card titles. However, there were times when the title did feel important in the WWE. While the reign of The Undertaker can easily be called the peak period for the title, the rivalry between Raven, Kane and The Big Show during the WrestleMania season in 2001 also made the title feel important for once.

Easily the most famous Hardcore Title match in Mania history, this brawl between three veterans was a real treat to the eyes. Instead of being a typical hardcore match with use of foreign objects, it was more about memorable spots. I mean, who can forget Kane sending Raven through the glass window, or Kane and Big Show breaking through the wall of a room backstage?

How about Kane almost running Raven over with a Golf Cart? This match just had everything that the fans were expecting from a Hardcore Title match. With the better part of the match, which clocked in at 9:17, taking place backstage, the trio used innovative methods to keep their opponents down. In the end, it was Kane who won the Hardcore Title by pinning Big Show after a leg drop from the entrance stage.

#3 Bret Hart (c) vs Yokozuna - WWF Championship (WrestleMania IX)

The rivalry between Yokozuna and Bret Hart formed an integral part of each man’s early main event career as the two faced off in successive WrestleMania main events in 1993 and 1994 for the WWF Championship. While Bret Hart’s crowing glory in 1994 was definitely a feel good moment, their bout at Mania IX, without any doubt, stands out as the better among their two encounters.

Taking place on probably the worst WrestleMania of all time, this match was easily the best thing on the entire show. As the perfect David vs Goliath story, it was all about Yokozuna using his size advantage and Bret using his speed and agility to tackle Yoko’s offense. While Bret Hart was his usual self, Yoko did a great job selling Hart’s offense like a pro.

Lasting only 8 minutes and 55 seconds, this is still the shortest WWE Title match in the history of WrestleMania. However, despite the limited time and in-ring limitations, the match was way better than the title matches twice as long as this encounter.

With some help from his manager Mr. Fuji, Yoko eventually won the match and the title from Hart which he sadly lost to Hulk Hogan in a mere 22 seconds a few minutes later in one of the worst decisions in Mania history.

#2 Kurt Angle (c) vs Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton - World Heavyweight Championship (WrestleMania 22)

Rey Mysterio’s emotional Royal Rumble victory mere months after his real life close friend Eddie Guerrero’s death pushed the masked Luchador to the top of ladder. Despite being an underdog throughout his career, Mysterio had wrestled and defeated a large chunk of big men. Despite that, he had his hands full at WrestleMania 22 when he had to not go through one, but two men in Randy Orton and World Champion Kurt Angle to realize his destiny.

Even though the triple threat showdown between three of the best in ring workers was one of the most anticipated bouts on the magnificent Mania 22 card, it unfortunately faced the axe of reduced time thanks to the other two important matches.

Yet, even in the nine minutes and nineteen seconds allocated to them, the trio wrestled a barn burner of a match that had the hardcore wrestling fans in Chicago on their feet.

From the jaw-dropping double German Suplex by Angle to the crazy top rope Frankensteiner by Mysterio, this match was a spot-filled contest. Angle, in particular, was at his aggressive best in this best and was cheered by the crowd, despite being a heel, even when he made both Rey and Orton submit to the Ankle Lock. However, in the end, it was Mysterio who pinned Orton to win the World Heavyweight Title for the first time in his career.

#1 Goldberg (c) vs Brock Lesnar - Universal Title (WrestleMania 33)

Bill Goldberg’s second WWE run was exactly what his second run 15 years ago should have been - A glorious masterstroke. Just like he got super-over with the crowd during his WCW days with shorter, squash-type matches, WWE kept all of his in-ring appearance short to hide his in-ring limitations. All in all, he wrestled for only 9 minutes and 57 seconds across four matches, yet it was his final encounter that left the biggest impression.

After bamboozling Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman and the entire wrestling world by squashing the beast in only 86 seconds at Survivor Series, Goldberg went on a rampage as he eliminated Lesnar convincingly from the Royal Rumble match and then humiliated Kevin Owens in 22 seconds to win the Universal Championship. With WrestleMania 33 in sight, Lesnar and Goldberg again agreed for one last fight with the Championship on the line.

While everyone was expecting Lesnar to return the favour and squash Big Bill, what we got instead was a treat to the eyes. In just 4 minutes and 45 seconds, the two legends brought every move out of their arsenal and had the crowd on their feet.

In fact, there were times when it actually felt Goldberg might stun Lesnar again. However, the Beast kicked out of the Spear-Jackhammer combo and then proceeded to decimate Goldberg before pinning him and winning the Universal Title in what is still the shortest World Title match in Mania history.

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