WWE History: 6 classic matches that you probably don't remember were under a minute

The Rock after winning the Deadly Games tournament!
The Rock after winning the Deadly Games tournament!

In the world of professional wrestling, matches can be the most unpredictable things. Most of these matches are thought out for days before being allowed to take place on live events, but they are also planned to perfection and executed down to every last detail.

Most of the matches are not typically under a minute long, but due to the unpredictability inside the squared circle, they can end abruptly at any point. However, when it comes to WWE, nothing can be taken for granted. While some bouts may go on forever, other matches end before the WWE Universe has time to blink.

In today's article, we'd highlight a handful of matches that were shorter than a television commercial. Here are 6 classic WWE matches that were under a minute long.


#6 Hulk Hogan vs Yokozuna, WrestleMania IX: 22 Seconds

Hulk Hogan after beating Yokozuna!
Hulk Hogan after beating Yokozuna!

Man, you think with decades of managerial experience under his belt, Mr. Fuji would be a better decision-maker. After employing a handful of salt to help his protege Yokozuna defeat Bret Hart at WrestleMania IX, you think he'd allow some time for recovery and celebration. Not Fuji.

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Instead, he has to go and challenge Hulk Hogan, the guy who defeated King Kong Bundy and Andre the Giant. And then he goes back to his same bag of salt tricks, which backfires and allows Hogan to easily beat the champ, giving Yoko the shortest WWE Heavyweight Championship reign of all time.


#5 King Kong Bundy vs S.D. Jones, WrestleMania 1: 9 Seconds

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For more than three decades, the record for the shortest WrestleMania match ever was held by King Kong Bundy and Special Delivery Jones, the duo set the record for the shortest match at the Grandest Stage of Them All by going for a mere nine seconds at the very first event back in 1985.

While the match was way longer than the "9-second record" claimed by the WWE, King Kong Bundy's clobbering of "Special Delivery" Jones was truly historic.

As the first WrestleMania, WWE had to pull out all of the stops and deliver a highly memorable moment. Seeing King Kong Bundy absolutely dominate poor S.D. was probably the signature highlight of the inaugural event.

#4 Kane vs Chavo Guerrero, WrestleMania XXIV: 11 Seconds

The Big Red Machine and Chavo Guerrero!
The Big Red Machine and Chavo Guerrero!

Kane has had a lengthy wrestling career, for most of it, he teamed up with The Undertaker or was known as The Big Red Monster. This should act as some sort of barrier against anyone who thought it was a good idea to provoke the Monster, but Chavo Guerrero wasn't getting any of it and thought it was the time to play games with The Big Red Machine.

Chavo Guerrero was a notorious cheater, and the WWE Universe got to see him get his comeuppance at WrestleMania XXIV, as he was tricked by the devious entrance of Kane.

Despite the fact that the referee did everything short of sending the ECW Champion a telegram about Kane's location, Chavo was still caught by surprise, running neck-first into a chokeslam, and the shortest WrestleMania Heavyweight title bout ever.

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#3 Diesel vs Bob Backlund, 1994 Live Event: 8 Seconds

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Big Daddy Cool, Diesel, was everything the WWE needed back in the mid-1990s, so much that the Chairman of the company awarded him the WWE Championship in just eight seconds, in a match against Bob Backlund.

Having defeated Bret "The Hitman" Hart in a brutal submission match at Survivor Series three days prior, you would want Bob Backlund's first title defense to be just as long and intense, but what he received was a short and intense defeat at the hands of Diesel, who pinned Backlund after two short moves.

This quick defeat was one of the last Heavyweight title changes to take place at a non-televised event, though its quick nature allowed it to be replayed often on WWE programs in the weeks following.

This is also the fastest the WWE Championship has changed hands in the company's history.

#2 The Ultimate Warrior vs Honky Tonk Man, SummerSlam 1988: 31 Seconds

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Coming into SummerSlam '88, The Honky Tonk Man was the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. Having kept the title around his waist by any means necessary, Honky would often lose by disqualification or count out to avoid getting pinned to lose his belt.

It seemed like he'd walk out of the building at SummerSlam with another easy victory, as his scheduled opponent, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake was too injured to compete.

Unfortunately, his replacement opponent, The Ultimate Warrior, threw Honky around like a bag of wet potatoes and beat him in about half a minute. Honky's amazing ability to get beat up made The Ultimate Warrior look like one of the most aggressive and dominating wrestlers ever, and his thrashing at the hands of one of the most popular wrestlers made for the perfect end to his title reign.

#1 The Rock vs Big Boss Man, Survivor Series 1998: 4 Seconds

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In 1998, WWE dished out the Deadly Games Tournament at the Survivor Series PPV. The last match of the first round was scheduled to involve Triple H and The Rock. However, Triple H did not appear, and the Boss Man was sent in as his replacement, but it seemed that The Rock had a plan.

The Rock went on to face Mankind in the finals of the tournament and won his first WWE Championship. The reason this offense-free match makes this list is that it works on two levels.

First, watching the imposing Big Bossman re-inserted into the WWE Championship tournament after already getting disqualified, just to inflict damage on The Rock, only to get suckered into a quick pin likely made fans everywhere go crazy with glee.

However, when The Rock was revealed to be working with Vince McMahon, it all made sense, as the Bossman would have to be in cahoots with the two of them.

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