I'm not sure I've seen much of Bastein. Set up is tons of fun. He comes in masked and takes it off at the start of the match as Buddy is freaking out. The idea is that Buddy would have never signed this match otherwise. Buddy shouts that this isn't a hair match. They send Rip away again. Bastein clears house and knocks Buddy out of the ring. They come back in and start working a grinding headlock base with Buddy desperate to get out. He goes back to this sort of thing now and again, but he works it really well, and it's not always the same thing either. This time it's a side headlock and Buddy keeps trying to cheat only to get stopped by Barr. Bastein looks like a grizzled old bastard. This is maybe a bit too grindy considering the heat at the beginning of the match. They switch things up with a few punches or Bastein running the turnbuckle around with the headlock or Buddy trying to turn him into a pin but it's maybe a bit too much of the same here. There is a fun spot where Buddy tries to get out of the ring only to get pulled back in. Out of context, I can see why Barr's refereeing would frustrate people but he was completely part of the act.
HA, Bastein goes up the turnbuckle again but Buddy nails him with a belly to back. That was satisfying. I love repetition spots leading to comebacks. Love it. Buddy goes straight to the back too. Bastein reverses it and gets the sleeper on to put Rose out. Now that Rose lost, they play it up like he has to give him a hair match.
This was an effective match. I thought the headlock stuff went a bit long without enough variation but they really paid it off in a satisfying way and this one time, I was okay with the heat segment being really short since it sets up the next match. Sometimes less is more and this really worked as a sub-ten minute match. It wasn't the most exciting thing in the world but it sure accomplished what it set out to do.
The post match promo where Bastein calls Buddy pumpkin head is weirdly hilarious. He's there to get revenge for Pardee which is an awesome little story.
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