All-Star Championship Wrestling

Introduction
3,914 fans were packed into the Joe Louis Arena for the fourth episode of SHOWCASE in this second season, and the sight of Administrator Kelli Tanner in the ring was quite a sight to behold; especially considering her outfit was barely there. The expression on Kelli's face remained stoic until the fans quietened down (even some of the woman were whistling at her), prompting Kelli to reveal that the Chief, ICU, was called away because of a family emergency. Which meant she had control of the episode tonight. Kelli stated that she'd be carrying out ICU's plans since she saw no reason to change them, but did express her interest to allow a rather unique start to the episode.

Brand new Champion with brand new representation and brand new laws of the land
That invariably brought out Jack Harris, newly-crowned ACW United States Champion. And by his side was one of the newer recruits to the Academy in Mary-Lynn Mayweather, who was carrying The Pikey Madman's title belt on her shoulder. Administrator Kelli Tanner took her leave just as MLM and Jack Harris entered the ring, with the crowd expressing extreme dissent at the mere sight of the Chancellor Of Excellence.
Mary-Lynn found the ability to speak above the racket, however, and announced that she had struck a deal with Jack Harris to be his representation. MLM figured that she deserved to be associated with the best, and due to Jack's victory on the last episode, The Unit had proven himself to be the undeniable King of the Academy. Mary-Lynn touched on how Jack managed to bounce back from a surprise defeat at the most recent ACW pay-per-view to triumph in the Ladder Match for the United States Title just one week ago, and remarked that Jack displayed immense fortitude. To that extent, she announced that the new United States Champion would be implementing some rules and regulations for his future title defenses.
To begin with, Mayweather revealed that later in the episode, Peter Phoenix would get a chance to compete for the United States Title. That brought a huge round of cheers from the crowd, but Mary ignored them and went right ahead to spill on more details; the United States Title would hereafter be defended in matches with a 10-minute time limit. Should time expire without a conclusive winner, the Champion would retain. However, in the event of a disqualification, the title belt would indeed change hands. Pinfall, submission and count-out rules would still apply, but the Champion would have added advantages; he would have unlimited rope-breaks to fall back on while every challenger would only have three. Mary-Lynn explained that all the aforementioned rules had been agreed upon by ICU and would take effect immediately. In closing, Jack Harris finally took control of the microphone and announced that he had no intention of ever losing the United States Title, and warned fans to watch for him on an upcoming broadcast of ACW's COURAGE. With that, the fearsome twosome left the ring to a hostile reception, the stage having been set for a highly-anticipated main event later in the episode.

Nika Joosta vs. Zyma Toshiro vs. Maggie Kwon (Referee: Belinda Decroix)
Nika Joosta was one of the first female competitors to compete in the All-Star Academy, but had found herself overshadowed by Haley Mulligan. Having last appeared on the final episode of the first season of SHOWCASE, Nika looked as if she'd been hitting the gym and looked eager to take on the other two female competitors stood in her way. Zyma Toshiro and Maggie Kwon, both of whom also hopped aboard the Academy roster late last year. Zyma and Maggie were pencilled in to participate in the now-famous Academy Rumblus last year but fell prey to food poisoning. There seemed to be no problems with them on this night, as they quickly ganged up on Nika Joosta.
Just as quickly as the match started, an intruder swept into the ring like a cyclone destroying everybody except referee Belinda Decroix. It was soon made apparent that this intruder was April Monday, who had showed up on the previous episode to talk smack to Haley Mulligan and Kristinia Kage. April proceeded to absolutely decimate Nika, Zyma and Maggie; to the point where the medical team had to rush out with stretchers.
With the bodies having hit the floor, April Monday called for a microphone and began to let rip a seething and stern rundown of the Academy's female constabulary. She noted that when she looked at the so-called homegrown female talent that the Academy had been boasting about... it made her sick to her stomach thinking the tatters people like this were leaving her own career in, having been associated with ACW previously. In the middle of her antagonism, Mulligan's music hit and the fans played to her tune. The youngster made her way down to the ring and got up into the face of Daddy's Little Demon; issuing a challenge where if April thought she was the teacher, perhaps she could attempt to teach Haley an invaluable lesson. Monday readily accepted and warned Mulligan that anything that happened inside that ring, like her short career ending, would not fall back on April's shoulders because she brought this onto herself.
Winner: No Contest

JP Boudreau vs. Der Deutscher Soldat (Referee: Dick Zhirkov)
Eternal crowd favourite JP Boudreau found himself going up against a monster of a German; nope, not Ulf German. Another one, who went by the name of Der Deutscher Soldat. Eddie Scott Poser, the Academy's one and only colour commentator, shrieked at the sight of Der Deutscher Soldat and promptly took out his cellphone to call somebody. That conversation was held entirely in a foreign language. At any rate, JP didn't look at all fazed by the towering figure of Soldat, even with Soldat easily knocking Boudreau down to the canvas with his hands. JP kept going back for more, and even managed to execute a scoop slam mid-ring to bring the fans to their feet! The back-and-forth nature of the match ended abruptly after JP caught Soldat in a La Magistral cradle pin, and held on long enough to secure the 1-2-3 to some surprise. After the match, Eddie Scott Poser ended his strange phone conversation and threw his cellphone at the departing Der Deutscher Soldat -- but missed horribly and lamented his poor throwing ability.
Winner: JP Boudreau

Mister Brewster & Vick Victory vs. Abilities (Referee: Kevin Chang)
The tandem of Abraham Swift and William T. Rex did battle with Mister Brewster and Vick Victory next, with ring announcer Timothy Vale declaring that the winners would earn a shot at the ACW Tag Team Titles on an upcoming ACW broadcast. With that, it was no surprise that the early portion of the match consisted of all four men abandoning the rulebook and battling all over the ringside area. Once everything had been reined back under control, it was Mister Brewster taking charge, throwing Abraham Swift around the ring with apparent ease. Swift was not to be deterred and fought back, tagging his partner in after a shoulder tackle that saw Brewster land awkwardly on his side. Brewster was able to withstand William T. Rex's punishing attacks to tag in his partner Vick, and from there, Vick opened up a can of whoop-ass on Abilities.
Brewster rolled to the outside, still feeling the effects of the shoulder tackle from before. That proved to be the turning point, as Abraham and William kept on throwing everything they had at Vick who was effectively on his own. As much energy as Victory had, it was no match for the fluid teamwork of Abilities who indulged in frequent tags. Abraham and William eventually laid Vick down with a double powerbomb just as Brewster was attended to by the Medical Team, and Abilities picked up the vital win. Post-match, Victory shook off the cobwebs to shake on his partner, who was apologising profusely for what had happened.
Winners: Abilities to earn a shot at the ACW Tag Team Titles

April Monday vs. Haley Mulligan (Referee: Belinda Decroix)
When the bell tolled, the fans were immediately behind Mulligan but their cheers soon turned to vapours and the boos took their place as April took control of the match early with her athletic style. A headscissors takedown had the fans on their seat as April headed to the top, connecting with a flying double-foot stomp; the subsequent cover ended up being a 2.99999 near-fall. The veteran had control for most of the match and her confidence seemed to grow after nailing Mulligan with a Shining Wizard and refusing to make the pin. The fans booed loudly as Monday pulled Mulligan to her feet, threatening to end her career as she stated earlier that night but a vertical suplex was reversed into a sleeper hold slam and Mulligan took control in the first sign of hope to the fans.
With the fans urging her on, Mulligan was quick with some fiesty chops and near-fall bridging a German suplex. Monday was lit and drove Mulligan into the canvas, reversing an Irish whip and turning it into a 180 degree spinning facebuster astounding the fans and Mulligan as she kissed the canvas with Monday's brute force alone. April rose to the rafters again yet Haley rolled out of harm's way when Monday attempted a somersault kneedrop, that left her incapacitated enough for Mulligan to shock her with a swinging neckbreaker and another near-fall.
When April rose, her hair matched her face -- a brilliant crimson of unadulterated rage, much akin to her father. Mulligan's clothesline attempted was thwarted as April ducked under it and cut her in a half-nelson, then driving her into the canvas with a suplex from said hold. Climbing to the top, April flew and the fans couldn't help but cheer as she nailed her patented Bullet With Butterfly Wings, a 630 degree corkscrew high angle senton bomb that saw the Chip Off the Ol' Block secure the pin and have her hand raised in victory. It would appear as if April Monday is hell-bent on proving her dominance to the rest of the Academy, beginning with the female roster.
Winner: April Monday

A declaration of intent
Backstage, the one and only Orlando Grant was being interviewed by Backstage Interviewer Amanda Dixon. Amanda asked Orlando if he'd fully recovered from his exertions at the ACW pay-per-view a couple of weeks ago and the failure to capture the United States Title the week before. Orlando appeared to be in good spirits, stating that he'd been making people take notice of him, and he'd also taken notice of Jack Harris beating his brains in last week. Orlando indicated that while he was upset with the way Jack Harris injected himself into what would have surely been a classic showdown with Peter Phoenix, he was thankful because The Unit's eventual victory meant that balance was restored. Jack Harris would be the antagonist, and with John Sarsgaard away for unexplained reasons, Orlando insisted he would be the one to slay The Unit. Orlando wished Peter the best of luck in the upcoming battle, but revealed that he had a feeling when push came to shove... it'd be The OG of ACW that would put an end to the evil ways of The Pikey Madman! The fans ate Orlando's words up with a giant spoon.

Malk Al-Haq vs. Kid Lightning (Referee: Hammond Jones)
In the penultimate match of the episode, Malk Al-Haq went up against Kid Lightning, and the former did not look pleased at all at the fact that Kid Lightning was even sharing the same ring as him. Lightning got the fans behind him right before the bell rang, posing for pictures with a couple of kids in the front row. He paid for that once he stepped into the ring, with Malk turning him inside out with a ferocious clothesline. Kid Lightning recovered nicely and fought back with his unique blend of daredevil offense, at one point executing a tornado bulldog slam for a very close near-fall. Malk's size advantage meant he was always the favourite to win, and after stunting Lightning's burgeoning momentum with a Babylonian Drop, it was only a matter of moments before the victory was solidified. And Malk went about it in the most extravagant way possible, amazingly pulling off an Asai moonsault. 1-2-3, and Malk walked off with his head held high, looking as if he'd earned a little bit of respect after all for the downed Kid Lightning.
Winner: Malk Al-Haq

Peter Phoenix vs. Jack Harris (c) for the ACW United States Title (Referee: Dick Zhirkov)
Finally, after all the anticipation, it was time for the main event. Peter Phoenix came out from the back, looking determined at his opportunity to fight for the United States Title once more. He waved to the fans en route to the ring, and took his place in the middle of the squared circle bouncing on the heels of his bare feet.
Jack Harris hit the scene next, the United States Title hanging around his neck like a dog collar! The fans were quick to shift from resounding cheers for The Warrior From Down Under to overwhelming jeers for The Pikey Madman, who was strangely without his new so-called manager Mary-Lynn Mayweather. Jack climbed into the ring, staring down the fans that were giving him grief, and oblivious to the fact that Peter Phoenix decided he was not going to play nice.
Thusly, the arena erupted in jubilation when Jack Harris turned around and got hammered courtesy of a shuffle sidekick from Phoenix! Harris got hit right in the face, and he actually tumbled right out of the ring, landing at ringside area with a loud thud! Peter followed up with a suicide dive through the ropes as The Unit got back to his feet, and from there, Peter just unloaded on Harris with a series of strikes and chops. Dick Zhirkov, the Academy's most senior referee and appointed official for this contest, had a hell of a time trying to get both men back into the ring... but it eventually happened, about a minute after.
And once it did, Zhirkov signalled for the bell to be rung (thereby meaning the match was officially underway), only to find his officiating was instantly needed. Phoenix had taken the big Harris down and locked in a triangle choke! The fans were on their feet, begging Jack to tap out. It seemed as if we were seconds away from watching a new United States Champion be crowned, but Jack's size meant that he could reach the ropes with either one of his legs, and that's what The Unit resorted to. Peter's hold had to be broken, and the challenger -- not wanting to jeopardise his chances of claiming the title belt -- quickly let go. 10 seconds later, The Warrior From Down Under struck with another shuffle sidekick!
Five seconds later, everybody was celebrating the fact that there was a new United States Champion.
Unfortunately, just as Dick Zhirkov's hand hit the mat for the third time in succession, he looked up to see Jack's right foot was on the rope. The Chancellor of Excellence had once again used the ropes to save himself, relying on the fact that as United States Champion, he had an unlimited amount of rope-breaks to fall back on. Peter Phoenix was already celebrating, none the wiser along with the fans, which gave Dick Zhirkov the unenviable task of having to rescind his decision. Peter was confused when the United States Title that had been given to him by the timekeeper was taken back by Zhirkov, who made the call that the match had to progress as normal. Phoenix was crushed, and if he could have argued with the referee, I'm sure he would have.
Jack Harris, relieved to have been given a reprieve, seized his opportunity by the horns. His first act was to unleash a massive spear on the still-in-disbelief Peter Phoenix. The Unit's second act? His devastating Chokeslam/Spinebuster combination finisher that had been called Execution. 1-2-3, and Jack Harris was once again triumphant. This time, after two very close scares.
Winner: Jack Harris to retain the United States Title

Aftermath
Jack Harris retrieved his title belt and once again hooked it around his neck, gingerly rubbing his jaw. He laid eyes on the motionless Peter Phoenix and laughed at his downed challenger, illicting another hateful response from the crowd. And for the second time in as many shows, the ring filled with rubbish aimed at The Chancellor of Excellence, who continued to stand tall at the top of the Academy mountain. The fourth episode of the second season of SHOWCASE ended with Jack Harris still laughing, arms raised up high above his head in a show of defiance of everyone that hated his guts.

Reported by:
Sally Broxton
ACW Correspondent
07 March 2010