Stasiak has a black robe, mutton chops and a mustache. He looks like something out of a bad 70s Kung Fu movie and it's great. Buddy stalls from the get go by carefully folding his shirt. We get a Heart Punch tease and Buddy takes powder. He sneaks in and starts working on the leg, with the base early on being this move that I'm not entirely sure I want to name, but it's kind of like the Indian Deathlock/Gagne Special but not quite. It's a nice move as Rose can really press in with his foot and make it look good and he also has to avoid the pin while he's holding it in. This stuff is fun as Stasiak tries to reverse but Buddy turns it into another variation, this one letting Buddy use the ropes which brings us the wrath of stunt granny. Stasiak turns it into a pin to escape but his legs are too hurt to do much else. Buddy hits a quick drop toehold and goes back to legwork. Stasiak kicks out but once again can't walk well. Buddy does a nice finesse move to try for more leg work but gets kicked off immediately. We get a cool little hope segment which is all Buddy begging off but Stan snaps on a headlock and gets punched in the leg. They end up in the ropes though leading to Stan getting one corner shot in and Buddy begging off again. Buddy's so great at making Stan fearsome with almost no effort at all. Buddy keeps going back to the leg, but misses a butt dive onto it. This is so focused. Buddy gets out of nowhere shots to the leg whenever Stan tries anything, including stopping a heart punch that way. Stasiak is selling huge. Buddy finally puts on a half crab and Stan has to tap for the first fall. Buddy gets a few cheap shots in on the way out.
Second fall starts with Buddy going right to the leg. This is following from the match that Buddy won two falls and leading to a taped fist challenge (by Stasiak) on the upcoming Tuesday. They're doing a very good job working this stuff, including some great desperate kicks by Stan to get out of a leglock. It's also an a+ sell job by him anytime he gets up. I think he's punched Buddy maybe three times in the whole match but Buddy's bumping and selling and stooging is so good that it makes it seem like a force of nature is attacking him. Stasiak starts going after Buddy's own leg with kicks and punches, and the punches especially look cool and different. It's really methodological and pissed off, really building to him locking in a toehold. I love that the transition was this slow steady thing and that they didn't just rush to it in a 'my turn' sort of way. Stan wrenches it until Buddy can nail Stan's leg to get out and then they start trading shots to each other's head and legs. Fun stuff leading to Buddy taking a powder to walk it off. He goes so far as to sit in an empty ringside seat. Stan is pissed off, breaking the count and letting Buddy spend some more time healing on the outside. Buddy begs off and they doa really good defensive sort of wrestling where both guys are afraid of the other getting the leg first. Stan charges in and takes over though. Stan wrenches the toehold again as the crowd chants along. I really do love Stasiak's leg punches. Buddy hits a great leg dive out of nowhere. The selling between these two is just great here. They're both dead and trying to desperately get each other's legs. Buddy misses a punch into the turnbuckle first and then goes for a kneedrop on the leg and misses. He sells HUGE and Stasiak starts to take over again, letting him get a beautiful heart punch for the second fall. Great fall.
Third falls switches gears with Buddy starting over the back to set up the Robinson Backbreaker. Perfectly Logical part of Buddy's MO and his back-targeted offense is always varied and dogged and believable. Buddy keeps doing slams and throws. Stan's selling is super here, as he sells both the leg and the back whenever he gets a hope spot. Buddy goes for the Robinson Backbreaker and Stan blocks it and then goes for the heart punch but Buddy moves and he just kills Sandy Barr with it! While Stan is concerned, Buddy rolls him up and Sandy counts a slow, slow pin. This finish was ten years before its time and this is probably my favorite singles Buddy match I've seen in this run so far.
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