5 shortest WrestleMania matches in history

WrestleMania is not called the Show of Shows for nothing. It is where feuds culminate, payoffs occur and history is made.

Most matches at the historic event run longer than your average RAW affair. Longer time is generally required to do justice to weeks and sometimes months of storytelling. The ‘WrestleMania moment’ that WWE loves to talk about is the reason why 'Mania is so liberal with the duration of its bouts.

However, there have been matches on the Grandest Stage of Them All that have lasted mere seconds. While some made sense, others were unanimously slammed by fans for being disrespectful to the performers and for robbing the attached storyline of a fitting conclusion.

Short matches at WrestleMania are rare. Nevertheless, they have happened and may very well happen at this year’s event. Since they usually occur to ilicit shock, it's always interesting to see the WWE Universe’s reaction when a squash rears its head at the Show of Shows.

Here are the five shortest WrestleMania matches in history.

#5. John 'Bradshaw' Layfield is embarrassed in his home state (00:20)

John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield retired from in-ring competition in 2006. However, he made a comeback in 2008 and set his sights on the legendary Rey Mysterio.

JBL decided to defend his newly-won Intercontinental Championship against Mysterio at WrestleMania 25. The event was held in his home state of Texas, and he was keen to make an example of the Luchador on his home turf.

However, the cocky JBL was embarrassed when he was defeated by his opponent in just 20 seconds. Mysterio hit a 619 and a huge splash to humiliate the champion and take his title. It would be Layfield's final appearance as an in-ring competitor.

#4. The Hart Foundation squashes the Bolsheviks in Toronto (00:19)

WrestleMania VI is remembered for the iconic showdown between Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior. That legendary main event, which saw Warrior topple Hogan as the face of the company, lasted 20 minutes. But many fail to recall the match that took less than 20 seconds.

That was The Hart Foundation versus The Bolsheviks. With the event being held in Canada, Canadian heroes Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart received a raucous welcome. Their villainous opponents, on the other hand, were booed out of the building.

Hart and Neidhart squashed The Bolsheviks by hitting the Hart Attack for a shocking victory in 19 seconds. However, not one person in the crowd seemed to care about the length of the thing as they showered their countrymen with cheers.

#3. Sheamus brogue-kickstarts the Yes! Movement (00:18)

Here is a match that continues to be vilified to this day, but in hindsight had one of the best payoffs in WWE history.

Sheamus faced fan favorite Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 28. The latter had been champion for a few months and was a pretentious heel in an on-screen relationship with AJ Lee.

Bryan’s match with the 2012 Royal Rumble winner was predicted to be a pure 15-minute wrestling clinic. Instead, the Celtic Warrior brogue-kicked his opponent and pinned him to win the title in just 18 seconds.

Fans were absolutely furious and hijacked RAW the next day to show their solidarity with Bryan. They kept on chanting “YES!” throughout the show, making The Beard the hottest star in the business.

Despite WWE trying their best to put the movement down, the fans’ backing of Bryan forced their hand two years later when they made him world champion.

#2. Kane destroys Chavo Guerrero and ECW (00:11)

WWE’s belief that they are superior to WCW and ECW is well-documented. There was perhaps no better (or worse) example of this than the events of WrestleMania 24.

Chavo Guerrero was the reigning ECW Champion at the time. He sat back and watched as 24 men competed in a battle royal to determine his next challenger. That match was won by Kane, who was then scheduled to face the champion later that night.

The match was an absolute embarrassment. The Big Red Machine showed up, choke-slammed the champion and pinned him to win the ECW Championship. It all went down in just 11 seconds, much to the disgust of ECW fans.

#1. The Rock drops the biggest WrestleMania anti-climax ever (00:06)

WrestleMania 32 created history on multiple levels. One of those fronts was an attendance record, with none other than The Rock himself announcing the number.

The Great One was immediately confronted by the Wyatt Family, whom he had an intense back-and-forth with. The Rock then challenged one member to a match, which Erick Rowan accepted.

It was over in just six seconds after one Rock Bottom - so fast that the crowd barely had time to react. Fans of the Wyatt Family were not pleased. However, it remains the shortest match in WrestleMania history.