Rolland "Red" Bastien (January 27, 1931 – August 11, 2012) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

best known for his time in Capital Wrestling Corporation where he was a three-time WWWF United States Tag Team Champion with his kayfabe brother, Lou Bastien.

Professional wrestling career

He took part in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and broke in on Midwest

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

s, fighting local toughs and learning wrestling the hard way. Turning professional, he began in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and toured the United States with great success. Bastien was small for a wrestler at 185 pounds, but he was quick, vigorous, fast and employed a wide assortment of aerial moves. His teachers were Henry Kolln, Einar Olsen, Joe Pazandak and

Verne Gagne the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling, Minnesota Golden Gophers Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne ( ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Amer ...

, and his peak years were from 1959 to 1971. His favorite finishing moves were the dropkick, flying head scissors, atomic drop and abdominal stretch. Bastien teamed up with Lou Klein to form the Bastien Brothers tag team and, in 1960, won the United States Tag Team Championship from Eddie and Jerry Graham in April 1960. They won the title twice more in 1960, from the Grahams and then from the Fabulous Kangaroos (

Roy Heffernan Laurence Roy Heffernan (12 July 1925 – 24 September 1992) was an Australian professional wrestler. Roy Heffernan toured all over the world, but is most famous for being one half of the original version of the tag team the Fabulous Kangaroos ( ...

and Al Costello). Bastien went on to win several more tag team championships. Bastien was the frequent

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

partner of

Billy Red Lyons Willem Snip (17 May 1932 – 22 June 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, who wrestled under the ring name Billy Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1985, and won numerous championships throughout his career. He worked fo ...

. The duo unmasked wrestler Don Jardine in 1972. Bastien was the booker in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. In 1964, Bastein appeared in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and teamed briefly with champion

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Sammartin ...

. He returned for one match in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in June 1970 (his last appearance there), being pinned by

Professor Tanaka Charles J. Kalani Jr. (January 6, 1930 – August 22, 2000) was an American professional wrestler, professional boxer, martial artist and actor. He was known by the ring names Professor Toru Tanaka, or simply Professor Tanaka. He was best know ...

but prior to that, putting on an amazing performance, dominating most of the match. He had a hot main event run in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the late 1960s, including memorable bouts with Johnny Valentine. In September and October 1971, Bastien wrestled in Japan for the

International Wrestling Enterprise was a professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1966 to 1981. Founded by Isao Yoshihara, it was affiliated with the American Wrestling Association in the United States and also had tie-ins with promotions in Canada and Europe. In 1972, it ...

promotion as part of its Dynamite Series. In his debut match, he teamed with Bill Howard to defeat

Rusher Kimura was a Japanese professional wrestler, best known by his ring name . He was a five-time IWA World Heavyweight Champion, making him a five-time world champion. Sumo wrestling career He was a sumo wrestler under the ''shikona'' Kinomura, a d ...

and

Thunder Sugiyama was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler. He competed in the men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight at the 1964 Summer Olympics. After his competitive career, he worked in International Wrestling Enterprise, All Japan Pro Wrestling and ...

for the vacant

IWA World Tag Team Championship The IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearan ...

in a two-out-of-three falls match. They lost the titles to Kimura and Sugiyama several weeks later. Bastien made further tours with International Wrestling Enterprise in winter 1972 and winter 1973. In the mid to late 1970s, he returned to the WWWF/WWF, wrestling under a mask as "Texas Red". In his retirement, Bastien became a trainer and a promoter, and discovered future wrestlers Steve "Sting" Borden and Jim "The Ultimate Warrior" Hellwig at a

Gold's Gym Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an American chain of international wikt:co-ed, co-ed fitness centers (commonly referred to as gyms) originally started by Joe Gold in Venice, Los Angeles, Venice Beach, California. Each gym offers a variety of ca ...

and convinced them to become professional wrestlers. Bastien and professional wrestling

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Rick Bassman formed an alliance of wrestlers called Powerteam USA, of which Borden and Hellwig were a part. The team debuted in November 1985, and after the other two members left the group, Borden and Hellwig continued to tag together.

Personal life

Bastien was good friends with fellow wrestler

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

and was the

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

at his

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

. Bastien served as president of the

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Ab ...

for six years from 2001 to 2007, but was reported in 2010 to be suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, his health progressively getting worse. Bastien died on August 11, 2012, at age 81.

Championships and accomplishments

* American Wrestling Alliance :*

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

(2 times) - with Lou Bastien *

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

( 1 time) - with Hercules Cortez and replacement partner The Crusher (1) *

Capitol Wrestling Corporation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...

:* NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Northeast version)'' ( 3 times) - with Lou Bastien *

:*President (2001-2007) *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF an ...

( 1 time) :* NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) * George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2007 *

:* IWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bill Howard *

NWA All-Star Wrestling NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989. History Early history Although other wrestling promotions e ...

:* NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship ''(Vancouver version)'' ( 1 time) - with Jim Hady * NWA Big Time Wrestling :* NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) :*NWA Texas Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)* :* NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (

) - with

(1) and

Tex McKenzie Frank Hugh McKenzie (July 21, 1930 – May 31, 2001) was an American professional wrestler. During his career, he appeared in the American Wrestling Association, World Championship Wrestling (Australia), IWA Australia, National Wrestling Federati ...

(1) *

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

:* NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (

) :* NWA Americas Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Victor Rivera :* NWA International Television Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

Bearcat Wright Edward M. Wright (January 13, 1932 – August 28, 1982) better known by his ring name "Bearcat" Wright was an American professional wrestler who became popular in the late 1950s and 1960s. Despite racial tension in the United States, he became wi ...

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. ...

:* NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (

) - with Andre Drapp (1) and

(1) :* Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *Professional Wrestling Championship :*Lifetime Achievement Award (2006) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

**Class of 2018 Inducted under Executive and under Tag Team as a member of The Flying Redheads. *

World Championship Wrestling (Australia) World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978. History The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network, which were presented at noon on Saturdays an ...

( 3 times) - with

Mario Milano Mario Bulfone (15 May 1935 – 9 December 2016), better known by his ring name Mario Milano, was a professional wrestler. Milano got his start in wrestling in Venezuela and later competed in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, Mexico a ...

References

External links

Online World of Wrestling profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bastien, Red 1931 births 2012 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Masked wrestlers Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Minnesota Professional wrestlers from North Dakota American professional wrestling executives Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Stampede Wrestling alumni AWA World Tag Team Champions NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA Americas Tag Team Champions NWA Americas Heavyweight Champions IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia) WWWF United States Tag Team Champions NWA Texas Heavyweight Champions WCWA World Tag Team Champions