SHOWCASE: SEASON ONE, EPISODE FIVE

Friday, 27 November 2009
ACW (All-Star) Arena
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

Introduction
Another freezing night in Montreal, another episode of SHOWCASE for the followers of the All-Star Academy. A new record of 683 fans were in attendance, and Joe Bishop kicked off the episode by announcing that there'd be four episodes to take place in December. The first three episodes would feature a variety of matches specially arranged by him to evaluate the students' rankings. These rankings would come in handy for the fourth episode, and the final one of what he called Season One. Bishop explained that at the end of the year, on the final episode of Season One of SHOWCASE, there would be a Academy Rumblus. The winner would receive a Championship Pass, which meant any singles title in ACW could be challenged for at any time during the 2010 calendar year!

The fans ate that announcement up for the spoon, and Joe Bishop promised more news on Season 2 in 2010 whenever it become readily available. Bishop rounded up his announcement by revealing that Iceman would defend the ACW Scorpion Fighting Title against Selby O'Brien later on (again to be fought under Iceman Academy Rules), followed by Orlando Grant taking on Jack Harris in the main event.

***

Mister Brewster vs. Malk Al-Haq
The opening match featured Mister Brewster, the veteran who'd joined the Academy a couple of weeks ago to reunite with his trainee Vick Victory, taking on Malk Al-Haq. Malk was enlisted by his buddy, Ulf German, to attack Brewster and Vick after Ulf was forced to give a rundown of the women of his homeland. Needless to say, this match had a fair bit of antagonism swirling around and it was evident by Brewster attacking Malk a mere few seconds after the bell rung. Malk was up for the challenge, though, and there was a good ol' brawl developing within moments. Brewster managed to pull off a swinging neck-breaker after expertly countering a reverse DDT attempt from the Arabian, but only got a near-fall.

Malk regained momentum with a sneaky eye gouge, and followed up with an impressive high-angle belly-to-back suplex. Brewster, the veteran, managed to get his right foot on the bottom rope however, and the three-count that Malk earned was unfortunately not valid. Malk, of course, was beyond pissed and unloaded with a series of harsh forearm smashes to the lower spinal area of Mister Brewster before booting him out of the ring. Malk then went down to a knee and for a second, looked like he was going to propose to the referee. Fortunately, THAT didn't happen; Malk instead feigned having some sort of ankle cramp. This allowed Ulf German to march out, his eyes locked on Brewster who was still at ringside.

Thankfully for Brewster and the concerned fans, Ulf never got that far. Vick Victory, apparently watching on in the back, dashed right out and took Ulf down with a vicious chop-block! Ulf and Vick began to duke it out on the outside, which caught Malk's attention. By this time, Mister Brewster had sufficiently recovered and hopped up to the apron to catch Malk unawares with a massive uppercut! Malk staggered backwards, and Brewster promptly launched himself back into the ring by way of a sunset flip. Malk had no chance; 1-2-3, and Mister Brewster picked up the victory! Post-match, Brewster and Vick celebrated on the outside, unaffected by the threats of German and Malk in the ring.

Winner: Mister Brewster

***

Jack Harris explained his motivations and his goals
The man known as The Unit was in the ring, seated on a chair with a single spotlight shining down on him. Jack began to explain, through his very heavy Pikey accent that surely left many fans scratching their heads, that he was a man on a mission. He'd been brought into ACW by The Kingdom as part of a masterplan to conquer the federation many months ago, but was just as quickly deserted by his supposed buddies. Rather than join them elsewhere, Harris shed light on why he decided to stay in the ACW: it proved to be a great chance for him to break some bones and gain some infamy along the way. The Pikey Madman acknowledged his checkered and violent past, insisting that he was always a man on the run due to the variety of heinous crimes he'd committed over the year, but figured it was his destiny to rein chaos on people he felt was beneath him. He warned that the students of the Academy were target practice for him, and once he felt his skills were enchanced enough... ACW itself would be put on notice. His goal, Jack summed up, was to claim the ACW World Title and become the benchmark for everybody else to try and surpass. The whole time, the fans jeered and expressed disgust at the arrogance oozing from Jack Harris. The Chancellor of Excellence concluded by saying Orlando Grant didn't stand a chance in their upcoming match, and promised more destructive acts of his superiority were being planned.

***

Nika Joosta vs. Haley Mulligan
It was then time for the rubber match between Haley Mulligan and Nika Joosta. Both women have had an interesting rivalry develop following their first encounter on the third episode of SHOWCASE earlier in the month, and with the score tied at one a piece following Nika's victory on the last episode of SHOWCASE... it was time to see which woman would be able to claim superiority over the other.

The match began tentatively, which made sense considering both women knew each other fairly well. After a minute or so of Nika and Haley feeling each other out, it was the former that raced into the advantage with a fierce clothesline over the ropes. Nika followed up with a baseball slide underneath the bottom ropes, and the result saw Haley crash harshly against the ringside barricade! Haley didn't look too hot after that, only managing momentary fight-backs against Nika's relentless offense. Nika made the mistake of getting too cocky, however, and paid for it when a desperate Haley moved out of the way of an attempted cross-body block off the top turnbuckle with five minutes on the clock.

That was all the invitation the young English lassie needed to stamp her authority in the match, and the resulting spinning heel kick got her a very close near-fall! Nika tried to claw her back into the driver's seat, but Haley kept on the pressure with renewed vigour and a sense of aggression that was new to everyone that was watching. Determined to put Nika away for good, Haley attempted her what looked to be a reverse DDT at around the eight-minute mark... but Nika's experience came in handy as she countered into her trademark double-armed DDT finisher! Shockingly enough, Haley managed to get her shoulder up at the very last nanosecond.

While she was stunned, Nika didn't spend too long reflecting on what have been. And for a moment, it seemed that the Dutchwoman would try to put Haley away with a second double-armed DDT but instead decided to lift Haley up for a what appeared to be a suplex. With whatever little she had left, Haley countered with a harsh knee-jab to the ribs and connected with a front suplex onto the ropes that left Nika stranded there! Eeriely reminiscent of their very first encounter (only with the roles reversed), but the young English lassie would not make the same mistake Nika did in that match. No, Haley instead decided to take Nika down with her OWN version of a double-armed DDT while Nika was still stranded on the ropes, and that was that. 1-2-3, and Haley Mulligan had triumphed against her rival!

Winner: Haley Mulligan

***

Ramping up the hype for END GAME 2009
Once again, the fans in attendance then got a very special treat in the form of another hype video for ACW's upcoming SuperShow; END GAME 2009. This time, the hype video focused on the 2005 pay-per-view edition, where Khristian Keller took on Vince Jacobs for the ACW World Title. With not one, but two special guest referees in the form of Alias and LLB. The fans were reminded of how Khristian Keller claimed the ACW World Title after a whole lot of high drama. The video ended with a reminder that in just a few weeks, END GAME 2009 would deliver plenty of shocks and surprises that would leave many a ACW fan wondering just how much crazier ACW would get in 2010.

***

Selby O'Brien vs. Iceman (c) for the ACW Scorpion Fighting Title
Selby O'Brien came out to a rousing round of cheers, as the fans knew it was time for some violent action to unfold. Unlike the previous week, Selby's brother Sheamus did not come out and take a seat in the crowd. Selby was alone, and looked eager to get his hands dirty. And with an opponent like Iceman, the ACW Scorpion Fighting Champion, it was important to gain any sort of edge -- whether it was clean or dirty.

That was why Selby got the contest kicked off in unorthodox fashion, by jumping through the ropes and taking the unaware Iceman (who was calling a young fan some questionable things) down with a suicide dive. Selby followed up by waving for someone to come down and kicking Iceman in the face. The fans cheered loudly, as Sheamus raced out with a chair, and smacked the already-groggy Iceman over the head with it. Sheamus high-fived his brother, then took off to a standing ovation. Selby picked Iceman up and piled on the pressure with a standard suplex, before going for the cover. Since the match was contested under Iceman Academy Rules, some fans celebrated prematurely when Selby got the 3-count. Unfortunately for Selby, Iceman kicked out right before the referee got to 5. Selby didn't waste time reflecting, and went back to work, unleashing a flurry of forearm smashes. Iceman, however, managed to recover in style by reversing an Irish whip, and sending Selby flying into the steel steps.

From there, Iceman quickly went to work on Selby's neck, letting loose with some hard kicks while having several screaming matches with the fans. When Iceman finally got Selby into the ring, the ACW Scorpion Fighting Champion took Selby down with a spear-like charge and went for his Icecap submission finisher. One problem; Selby stayed alive with a simple eye-poke, and trapped Iceman in his own version of a camel clutch submission. Iceman grunted and swore like a sailor, with the fans egging him on to tap out. Unfortunately, Iceman inched his way towards the ropes, and Selby had to figure out another way to beat his adversary.

Selby wouldn't get the chance; Iceman managed to somehow counter a suplex attempt with a knee-strike into Selby's ribcage, and booted his brash young challenger out of the ring with a dropkick. Iceman then retrieved his title belt and blasted Selby in the face with it, before re-applying his Icecap finisher. The result was academic, as Selby tapped out considerably quickly.

Winner: Iceman to retain the ACW Scorpion Fighting Title

***

Iceman expressed his anger at ACW management
After managing to successfully defend the ACW Scorpion Fighting Title, Iceman grabbed hold of a microphone and explained how upset he was at the recent recap retrospectives that featured Alias defending the ACW Scorpion Fighting Title. Iceman insisted that since he was the one who beat Alias to win the title belt, the focus of the recap retrospectives should be of him and his rise to superstardom. Iceman's rant was cut off by Sheamus joining his brother Selby to attack the loudmouth degenerate. Suffice to say, Iceman got a proper beating from The SOBs, who were lauded for their actions.

***

Peter Phoenix vs. John 'The Hammer' Smith
John 'The Hammer' Smith was in the ring first for the second-to-last match of the evening, and the big man had a microphone. He thanked the fans for coming to see him in action, which drew puzzled looks from many in the audience. John Smith proceeded to announce that he'd been offered to become a runway model in Milan, but he turned it down so that he wouldn't disappoint his fans. The fans were really confused by this point, but John Smith went on to insist he couldn't in good consience let down everybody that paid good money to see him compete. Clearly, John was oblivious to the fact that not many people in the crowd really knew he was.

The fans, however, knew who his adversary was: Peter 'The Warrior From Down Under' Phoenix, who was the only wrestler that couldn't speak that many people had the pleasure of knowing. Despite only appearing once so far, Peter had apparently already become a favourite for some of the fans.

Once the bell rang, Peter Phoenix -- who was much shorter than John Smith -- seemed to have won over the rest of the crowd with a fantastic shuffle sidekick that caught John Smith square in the face. The Warrior From Down Under bounced on the heels of his bare feet for a few seconds, waiting for Smith to recover, before decking The Hammer with a fierce jumping spinning backfist. 1-2-3, and Peter Phoenix had won the match in about 50 seconds. On his way out, The Warrior From Down Under slapped the hands of several fans and saluted them for their support, while John Smith limped out of the ring with his head hung low in utter shame.

Winner: Peter Phoenix

***

Orlando Grant vs. Jack Harris
Finally, it was time for everybody's most anticipated match of the evening. Jack Harris came out first, and expectedly, to a very heated reaction. However, the behemoth dubbed the Pikey Madman didn't make it to the ring as Orlando Grant came hurtling out from behind the curtains and knocked Harris to the ground with a vicious chair-shot! That got the fans all hyped up. Grant continued to lay into Jack at ringside, without the aid of the chair, and once again got the fans standing on their feet cheering when he took down Jack with a moonsault executed from the ring apron down to the ground!

The first thing that happened when the OG of ACW got Jack Harris back into the ring? The bell rung to signify the official start of the match. The second thing that happened? Orlando Grant going for the quick pin. Harris managed to get the shoulder up, but it was so very close. Orlando didn't let up a single iota, and continued to throw his blistering offense at The Unit, who was finding it hard to keep up. Jack Harris, being in awesome shape, was not to be outdone and tired out by Orlando Grant though. The Chancellor of Excellence ducked underneath a high-leg clothesline attempt from Orlando, and put an end to his advesary's momentum with a crushing tilt-a-whirl powerslam!

After which, Jack Harris took over... and it was not pretty. Repeated powerslams put an enormous strain on Orlando's lower spine, and Jack Harris smartly followed up after some tough strikes with a camel clutch submission! The OG of ACW would not tap out, and it appeared as if The Unit didn't want him to tap out. In fact, Jack Harris broke off the submission after about a minute and challenged Orlando to get up. After which, Jack invited Orlando to land a free shot. Alas, it was simply a goading technique by the Pikey Madman, who clotheslined the weary Orlando Grant into oblivion. Harris' feared Chokeslam/Spinebuster followed suit moments later, much to the crowd's displeasure. 1-2-3, and Jack Harris picked up the win in some style after being dominated early on.

Winner: Jack Harris

***

Aftermath
Jack Harris soaked in the overwhelming jeers of the crowd, seemingly feeding off it. And as Orlando Grant started to recover, it appeared as if The Unit was going to open a fresh can of whoop ass on him. The sight of John Sarsgaard charging down to the ring brought relief not only to Orlando but to the fans. Surprisingly, the usually up-for-a-fight Pikey Madman decided to bail, and the episode ended with a heated staredown between Sarsgaard and Harris.

***

Conclusion
The continuation of the Academy's main rivarly between Sarsgaard and Harris continued to win over fans, and Joe Bishop loved the intensity of the entire episode after his announcement at the beginning. SilverHAWK mentioned that he continued to be blown away with Orlando Grant's progress, and gave special props to Peter Phoenix and Selby O'Brien for their ability to connect with the fans really well. The next episode, as mentioned by Bishop, would kick off the build-up to the Academy Rumblus at the end of the year and SilverHAWK personally promised that there'd be some interesting matches served up by the students throughout the month of December.

Reported by:
Sally Broxton,
ACW Correspondent
30 November 2009