All-Star Championship Wrestling

Introduction
3,524 fans were packed inside the Joe Louis Arena, eager to usher in the second season of SHOWCASE; the premiere event for the All-Star Academy. Once the clock hit 7:00pm exactly, the house lights dimmed and the video wall crackled to life. The fans were treated to a special recap video of the entireity of the first season of SHOWCASE, starting with the very first episode back in October of last year.
Back then, nobody knew whether the Academy experiment was going to sink or swim. It was decided that if after two months, there was no solid interest, the project would be shelved. Fortunately, the inaugural episode of SHOWCASE turned out to be merely a precursor for so much more... and after eight and a half minutes, the video ended with a cryptic message that promised even more awesomeness for the second season.
The fans? Some were old followers of the product, majority of them were new to the bandwagon. But together, they expressed their shared thoughts with an overwhelming roar of approval.
Indeed, the All-Star Academy was back with a vengeance.

The new Chief made his grand entrance
The premiere of the second season started in earnest when ICU came sauntering out from behind the curtains, without any theme music whatsoever. The very first inductee into the ACW Hall Of Fame raised his right arm in the air, with his right fist all taped up which was his trademark. ICU was accompanied by a very pretty young lady that had a clipboard in her hand. The twosome entered the ring, with the fans having gone absolutely bananas for ICU with a standing ovation.
After waiting for the cheers to simmer down, ICU took control of a microphone and thanked everyone not only for showing up, but for giving him such a fantastic reaction. ICU said that when he got the call to become the new Chief of the Academy, it was something he couldn't turn down. Being inducted into the ACW Hall Of Fame was a tribute to what he'd accomplished in the past, and now being Chief of the Academy would ensure he continued to give back to the industry that had given so much to him.
ICU introduced the pretty young lady by his side, Kelli Tanner, who ICU mentioned was the official Administrator of the Academy and therefore his assistant. Kelli got a lot of cat-calls and wolf-whistles, but she seemed immune to them. ICU went on to business, stating that he wanted to make his mark immediately and that he had a bombshell of an announcement to kick things off. ICU told everyone that while he was a former ACW World Champion, he was also the very first ACW United States Champion of the modern era (which started in September 2002). And thus, he was going to officially bring back the United States Title to serve as the top prize in the Academy! That brought a hearty round of cheers, but ICU wasn't finished.
He went on to explain that there would be a series of qualifiers later on in the episode to determine who would advance in an unofficial tournament of sorts to crown the new United States Champion. On the next episode, quarter-final matches would take place. At the start of the third episode, the two semi-final matches would occur and result in the final two survivors competing in a Ladder Match at the end of the third episode to determine just who would claim the title belt! And to make it all official, the last United States Champion would be on hand to place the title belt around the waist of the new champion -- that's right, ICU basically ensured that Alias (another inductee into the ACW Hall Of Fame) would be present on the third episode! Naturally, there was an explosion of cheers that told ICU he was a hit so far.
But before ICU could proceed any further, Rory Hayes made an unwelcome interruption. He congratulated ICU on a fine idea, and basically suggested that he be included in the tournament to crown the new United States Champion. Rory expressed disgust however that he was not given the title belt outright, considering he was (in his own opinion) the best competitor on the Academy's roster. ICU was about to retort, but there was to be another interruption; Malk Al-Haq and Ulf German! The two friends walked down to the ring, shouting that they too deserved an opportunity to challenge for the United States Title. In a matter of seconds, the likes of JP Boudreau and Art Ajax (a newcomer) and even Peter Phoenix had come streaming out from the back. ICU realised that he'd opened something of a Pandora's box with his announcement, and informed everyone that he would ensure a fair selection of participants for the tournament. He asked his Administrator, Kelli, to take everyone to the back to sort the logistics out... and once again thanked the fans for showing up, promising one heck of ride in the months to come.

A non-traditional introduction for a non-traditional individual
Now that the second season SHOWCASE was a taped event that would be aired soon, there was a slight difference from how things were done in the first season; one of them being backstage happenings being broadcast on the big screen for the fans to see and in a matter of weeks, for everyone that was subscribed to Starz to witness. Amanda Dixon, another pretty young thing who was the new Backstage Interviewer, was thereby backstage with an important news story; a former superstar who had been part of arguably the most infamous organisation of recent history, theAsylum, was about to make his grand entrance to the All-Star Academy.
A loud noise off-camera alerted Amanda to turn to her right, and she excitedly presumed that the mysterious newcomer was about to make himself known! The huge beaming smile on her face transformed to a look of confusion as a man with blue hair and seated on a white horse rode into the frame.
Clearly, she didn't know who he was. But, some of the fans and I knew exactly who the blue-haired individual who used to 'fight' in theAsylum was.
EDDIE.
SCOTT.
POSER.
Eddie had a microphone in his hand and as he dismounted from the horse, let loose with a string of barely-comprehensible words. He started to walk away from the backstage area as he continued to ramble on, bringing the cameraman along for the ride. Amanda shouted at Eddie and the cameraman in exasperation, asking about what to do with the horse, but nobody paid her any attention. Eddie eventually emerged from behind the curtains, still rambling on. Once he saw the fans, however, the former 'superstar' of theAsylum was stunned into silence. Until he aimed a kick at the cameraman who had followed him out to the stage.
The kick, unfortunately, was nowhere close to connecting with the cameraman. Eddie shrugged, and finally said something that everybody could understand: he was the new Colour Commentator for the Academy, which drew groans from the existing PBP Commentators Roger 'The Bull' Lienhard and Maxwell Cohen. Eddie stumbled down to the ring, repeating the fact that he'd been hired as the new Colour Commentator, before promptly passing out in the middle of the ring!
It took some time for security to drag Eddie out of the ring and dump him at the timekeeper's table, where Poser eventually curled up into a ball and started snoring loudly. The fans didn't know what to make of this latest development, but they were soon to be treated to something else entirely different.

Malk Al-Haq vs. JP Boudreau (Referee: Kevin Chang)
The first match of the evening involved two men who were not strangers to each other, and as Timothy Vale (the new Ring Announcer) elaborated, were the first two contestants drawn in the hunt to crown a new United States Championship. JP Boudreau was the first one out, and despite not being in his hometown of Montreal as he'd been for the entire first season of SHOWCASE, JP still got a strong positive reaction from the fans.
Just as his opponent, Malk Al-Haq, got an equally strong albeit more negative reaction. It would be the first time since the middle of December 2009 that these two men would lock horns; that time, it was Malk and JP being the last two survivors of their respective teams in the Tag Team Elimination Match that was the headline of the eight episode of the first season. JP Boudreau won out over Malk in the end, and now, Malk had the opportunity to avenge that loss.
Unfortunately, the Arabian didn't get off to the best of starts, with JP taking him down with a series of armdrags and cockscrew leg-sweeps. JP quickly started to target Malk's legs, obviously working toward any one of the submission finishers in his arsenal. A pop-up spinebuster from Malk bought the latter some breathing room and a follow-up high-angled spinebuster almost secured Malk the victory -- JP got his shoulders off the canvas just in the nick of time. From there, Malk clawed his way back into contention, resorting to using borderline illegal tactics. The referee, Kevin Chang, did admonish Malk on several occasions but Malk ignored the reprimands.
He would soon get a taste of his own medicine, what with JP gouging his eyes as a means of escaping a bearhug attempt. A jumping facebuster from Boudreau almost got the Montreal Frog (which was his nickname for some reason) the win, but Malk kicked out at the death. JP's attempt to follow up with his Quebec Cloverleaf finisher was in vain, for Malk somehow found enough energy in his legs to power out, and moments later, laid JP out with a Babylonian Drop (Samoan drop variation). 1-2-3, and Malk had racked up the hard-fought victory to advance to the next round.
Winner: Malk Al-Haq

Ulf German vs. Rory Hayes (Referee: Belinda Decroix)
The next match involved two members of the roster who weren't exactly fan favourites. Ulf German was the first one out, looking on at disgust at the mostly-American crowd. The only non-Americans in attendance were Canadians, who Ulf German already pissed off greatly during the first season of SHOWCASE. Needless to say, Ulf wasn't feeling the love.
Rory Hayes came out next, and he looked absolutely furious for some reason. Not even the sight of the stunningly beautiful Belinda Decroix, who was the appointed official for this match, appeased Hayes. In fact, Hayes charged right at Ulf a second after Belinda signalled for the bell to be rung, much to Ulf's general surprise (he was checking out Belinda's behind and looking rather impressed with what he'd seen). Ulf tried to put his hands up to defend himself when Hayes mounted him and let loose with a barrage of punches, but it was to no avail. Moments later, Hayes very nearly got the victory following a snap swinging neckbreaker.
While the fans were split over who to support since they didn't particularly like either competitor, the sight of Ulf being hammered relentlessly brought much joy to them. Hence, when Ulf raked the eyes of Rory in order to get a reprieve, there was a surprisingly loud chorus of jeers directed at the Efficient German. Ulf followed up with a nice-looking stalling suplex, before tossing Rory through the ropes and out of the ring, to catch a breather.
Or at least, that's what he thought. Rory got right back up and immediately got back into the ring, punishing the unawares Ulf with a kick to the back of the neck! A minute and a half later, Rory put the cap on a very impressive performance by hitting his Boston Massacare. Instead of going for the pin, Rory picked the groggy Ulf up... and connected with a second Boston Massacre! 1-2-3, and Rory Hayes picked up the victory.
After the match, Rory took control of a microphone and chided the crowd for getting behind him during the match. That got the fans to jeer Rory all over again. Hayes explained that he didn't anybody's support, and that the so-called tournament to find the new United States Champion was a joke, because he should have been given the title belt at the start of the episode. Rory promised to mow through the competition and rule over the Academy in a matter of weeks, whether anybody liked it or not. It was obvious that Rory left the ring after that unbothered by the massive amount of jeers directed at him. Ulf German, on the other hand, had to be helped out of the ring by Belinda Decroix. Which, of course, the Efficient German didn't mind a single bit.
Winner: Rory Hayes

Orlando Grant vs. John 'The Hammer' Smith (Referee: Hammond Jones)
Throughout the first season of SHOWCASE, fans watched as Orlando Grant transformed from a young upstart with immense potential to a powerhouse that was ready to break out. And in recent months, Orlando proved himself on the ACW broadcasts. A shockingly inept performance in his defeat to Shawn Jessica Hart was followed up by an improved showing against Vince Jacobs which saw The OG of ACW walk out with a famous victory. And days away from challenging for the ACW Scorpion Fighting Title, Orlando Grant had all the confidence in the world.
It was no wonder, then, that Orlando was in the ring looking like a million bucks and utterly un-impressed with the antics of his opponent; John 'The Hammer' Smith, with whom he had tangled late in the first season of SHOWCASE. John had decided to come out for his match dressed like a male underwear model, and further demonstrated why he had the nickname that he had. It was at that time that our new Colour Commentator, Eddie Scott Poser, woke up from his nap... only to shriek at the sight of John Smith in his underwear. Eddie ran from ringside screaming about having his eyes violated, much to the bemusement of referee Hammond Jones and John Smith himself.
Once the match officially started, John Smith found himself getting dropkicked in the face! Orlando was clearly in the mood for business, and continued to bamboozle John Smith with a series of hooks and haymakers. After just barely managing to kick out after falling victim to a spinning wheel kick, Smith got back into the match by countering a running bulldog attempt into a belly-to-back suplex!
Unfortunately for Smith, that was to be it in terms of momentum. John connected with a sloppy scoop slam after that and made the mistake of posing for the fans, only to find Orlando back on his feet seconds later! A wild swing from Smith found nothing but air, and The OG of ACW connected with his Shoutout quasi-finisher that had the fans going crazy. 1-2-3, and Orlando walked away the victory and advancing in the next stage of the unofficial tournament to find the new United States Champion. It was his second victory over Smith, too.
Orlando was not done, though; grabbing the microphone, Orlando explained that while he had the biggest challenge of his life coming up at the impending pay-per-view, he was fully committed to the Academy and promised that he'd do everything he could to win the United States Title! That brought a large round of cheers from the fans.
As for John Smith? He rolled out of the ring, adjusted himself, and walked away as if nothing had happened.
Winner: Orlando Grant

The Kole Brothers vs. Abilities (Referee: Dick Zhirkov)
There was to be no time for the fans to breathe, for another match was about to get started. Timothy Vale, our Ring Announcer, shocked everyone by saying that the match was a tag team match whereby the winners would advance in the hunt for the new United States Champion!
The first team? A semi-familiar face for longtime ACW fans; The Kole Brothers, who were in the tag team scene way back in 2003! Andrew Kole and Joseph Kole, the brothers from England, walked out to a mostly lukewarm response but there were a few fans -- and myself -- that were in awe over the fact that a tag team from seven years ago was back in the fold, albeit in the Academy. Andrew asked for a microphone as he and his brother entered the ring, and the older brother stated that it was good to be back in the States. Andrew explained that after their stint in ACW in 2003, they went on to wrestle in Mexico and throughout Europe. Andrew was just about to touch on his and his brother's motivation for being back in ACW, but the entrance of their opponents put a stop to that.
Abraham Swift and William T. Rex, better known as Abilities, hit the scene. Another pair of newcomers to the ACW scene, Abraham and William walked down to the ring not looking a single bit impressed with The Kole Brothers. In fact, Abraham yanked the microphone out of Andrew's grasp and basically stated that he was ashamed to be in the same ring as two wrestlers who had zero charisma whatsoever. Abraham went on to say that nobody was interested in hearing what The Kole Brothers did in the last seven years; that was then, this is now. Andrew and Joseph looked at each other, nodded and got the match started prematurely with a double clothesline to Abraham!
The moment referee Dick Zhirkov rang the bell, however, Andrew and Joseph found themselves bundled out of the ring by Abraham's partner, William (who was nicknamed The King Lizard). William towered over the two brothers on the outside of the ring, smacking them silly with kicks to the faces and elbow strikes. Just as Abraham recovered and joined his partner on the outside, though, The Kole Brothers turned the tide on The King Lizard with a double-flapjack! The four men spent a while more brawling on the outside, before referee Dick Zhirkov finally got them back into the ring.
Once that happened, it was Joseph Kole squaring off against Abraham Swift. Both men seemed equally matched, trading counters and counters to counters, looking as if they might have trained under the same master. Abraham was just a tad bit faster than Joseph on one particular exchange, and pulled off an impressive tilt-a-whirl atomic drop! Abraham almost got the win there, but Andrew saved his brother.
From there, The Kole Brothers engaged in a spot of hit-and-run attacks on poor Abraham Swift, racking up no less than eight tags in the space of two minutes while absolutely giving Swift a right beating. William roared at The Kole Brothers' systematic decimation of his partner, as Abraham tried his hardest to make it to the other side of the ring for the tag. Even when Swift managed to counter a brainbuster attempt from Andrew Kole into a sitout inverted piledriver, he wasn't able to tag in his behemoth of a partner for Andrew had somehow mustered enough strength to tag in his brother Joseph, who dashed Abraham's hopes of a tag out with an elbow drop to the head. And then, Joseph flipped The King Lizard a middle finger, while rubbing the heel of his boot against Swift's forehead.
That sparked off another brawl amongst four men, as the enraged William T. Rex marched into the ring and hammered Joseph with a fierce clothesline! The recovering Joseph Kole connected with a dropsault into the face of the distracted Abraham Swift, who collided with his partner and sent The King Lizard tumbling out of the ring. From there, Joseph tagged in his brother Andrew, who quickly took advantage of Abraham Swift being pissed that he'd sent his partner flying out of the ring by executing a move that could be best described as a reverse Codebreaker; 1-2-3, and Andrew Kole picked up the victory for himself and his brother! The Kole Brothers were to advance, a fact that left Abilities fuming post-match.
Winners: The Kole Brothers

The SOBs vs. Kristinia Kage & Haley Mulligan (Referee: Kevin Chang)
The next match was to be another tag team match to determine who would advance in the hunt for the new United States Champion, and the moment The SOBs marched out from the back, the fans knew they were in for a treat. Selby and Sheamus, who surely had part of their shared focus on their showdown with the Pop Culture Phenoms at the upcoming ACW pay-per-view, nonetheless looked like they were in the zone. As they were talking strategy in the ring, the sight of one member of the opposing team brought another round of cheers; it was Haley Mulligan, who had just turned professional late last year and thus far doing a bang-up job in the Academy.
Her partner? Another female competitor, who like The SOBs also had a match at the upcoming ACW pay-per-view; it was Kristinia Kage! The fans were delighted with the surprise, and judging by the look on the faces of Selby and Sheamus, many felt that this curveball meant a last-minute change of tactics for the twin Irish brothers. As far as Haley and Kristinia were concerned? They shook hands, had a quick pow-wow on the outside and quickly proceeded to enter the ring with the referee Kevin Chang looking like he'd died and gone to heaven. It ended up being Haley and Sheamus starting things off.
Sheamus swiftly took control of the match, grounding Haley with a side-headlock takedown followed by a lightning-quick rolling legdrop off the ropes! Haley was not to be outdone, squirming out of a rear waistlock and hitting a clothesline following a cartwheel off the ropes. The two traded blows for a while more, before Haley surprised Sheamus with a discus clothesline! Instead of going for the pin, Haley tagged in Kristinia. Kage quickly imposed herself on Sheamus, unleashing a variety of judo takedowns on Sheamus and looking more comfortable than she did in her last two matches on ACW programming.
Just as it appeared as Kristinia was going for a sleeper hold submission, Sheamus got out of it and hit a neckbreaker, before diving across the ring and tagging in his brother. Selby was a house of fire, blasting Kristinia in the face with a running knee-smash and knocking Haley off the apron with a forearm smash. Kristinia found herself down on the canvas again a moment later, as Selby springboarded off the ropes and scored with a fantastic clothesline. Kage kicked out, and Selby decided to tag his brother in.
Sheamus looked surprised at how quickly he had to get back into the ring. After shooting his brother a glare, Sheamus ascended to the top of the turnbuckle and took flight, hoping to level Kristinia with a flying clothesline of his own. The veteran female competitor caught Sheamus in mid-air and took the older Irish brother down with what looked like a modified single-arm DDT. Seconds later, Kristinia slapped on a variant of an extended armbar submission. Selby was mortified, and tried to get into the ring to break up the submission; Haley, who had been knocked off the apron earlier, decided that was the most opportune time for revenge and she surprised Selby by pulling him off the apron and started brawling with him near the timekeeper's table.
In the ring, Sheamus had somehow managed to get to the ropes, but Kristinia merely relinquished her hold on Sheamus and waited for him to turn around. Once Sheamus did, Kristinia took him down in a triangle choke! Within seconds and possibly with one eye on the upcoming ACW pay-per-view, Sheamus quickly tapped out. Kristinia and Haley Mulligan had won, and the two women would therefore advance to the next round!
Winners: Kristinia Kage & Haley Mulligan

Peter Phoenix vs. Art Ajax (Referee: Dick Zhirkov)
The final match of the evening looked set to be a classic, as newcomer Art Ajax (a rising star on the lucha libre circuit) would face off against Peter Phoenix, one of the fan's all-time favourites. The Warrior From Down Under, who had lasted the longest during the Academy Rumblus that was held on the final episode of the first season of SHOWCASE, was looking as jovial as always and looked ready for another show-stealing performance.
It was the masked Art Ajax, however, who started off strongly by taking down Phoenix with a single-arm DDT out of a hammerlock. Art went to work on Peter's legs after that, well aware of the Australian pit-fighter's deadly strikes. A scintillating cockscrew leg-sweep was followed up by an ankle-lock attempt, but Phoenix squirmed out of Art's grasp and connected with a jumping knee-smash to his opponent's face that garnered a two-count.
Both men knew they were fighting for the last spot in the unofficial tournament to crown the United States Champion, and kicked it up a notch after that. Art's amazing speed was a sight to behold, and a sunset flip powerbomb out of nowhere almost secured victory for Art! Peter barely got the shoulder up, and promptly laid Art out with a tilt-a-whirl neckbreaker, but Art too showed his fortitude by kicking out at the last second. The match was only five minutes old, but both competitors were already throwing everything but the kitchen sink at each other!
Art Ajax went back to the legs after evading Peter's shuffle sidekick of doom, catching the Australian pit-figher in a figure four leglock. Peter was too near to the the ropes, and after being seperated, Peter shook off the pain in his legs and Art's sneaking evasive tactics to finally hit his shuffle sidekick of doom! That's when the biggest shock of the night occured, for Art Ajax somehow managed to get his left shoulder up a nanosecond before referee Dick Zhirkov's hand hit the mat for the third time!
Gaining his second wind, Art stunned Peter with a hurricarana counter to a gut-wrench powerbomb attempt. From there, Art evoked the styles of the great Rey Misterio Jr, thoroughly blizting the Warrior From Down Under with a barrage of high-impact moves! After managing to ground Peter with an overhead bicycle kick off the ropes, Art Ajax ascended to the top of the turnbuckle and took flight with a 720° splash. Unfortunately for the young masked rookie, Peter rolled out of harm's way. And as if the crash-and-burn wasn't enough, Art Ajax found himself picked up and driven to the canvas courtesy of a sweet-looking half-spin cradle DDT from Phoenix. 1-2-3, and Peter Phoenix emerged victorious after 10 breathtaking minutes of wrestling.
Winner: Peter Phoenix

Aftermath
Basking in the adulation from the crowd, Peter Phoenix helped Art Ajax up and the two men shook hands, obviously having earned each other's respect. The cheers of the fans suddenly turned to jeers, for Rory Hayes raced out from the back with a steel bat and jumped into the ring, swinging away like his life defended on it. Peter Phoenix went down, and so did Art Ajax. Hayes made sure to kick Art in the groin, before turning his attention back to Peter Phoenix and clubbing the Australian pit-fighter twice more with his steel bat... before referee Dick Zhirkov and members of the security detail (headed by Bob Carsley the Security Team Leader) intervened and separated both men. It was at that juncture that the video wall crackled to life, and everybody in attendance got to see ICU in his office, chillin' like a villain.
Well, actually, ICU was looking a little worse for wear. The new Chief of the Academy admonished Rory Hayes for his actions, before revealing that it was probably quite fitting that Rory and Peter Phoenix were to square off in the quarter-finals of the United States Title Tournament! ICU went on to explain why he was looking so disheveled, as there was practically an outpouring of requests from everybody on the roster with regards to being given the chance to prove they were worthy to win the United States Title. ICU expressed sorrow that he could only do what was within his power, and also revealed that on the next episode -- which would take place on the very next right -- the quarter-finals would whittle down the contenders for the United States Title! ICU wished everybody a good evening, and promised more fun tomorrow.
And as the image of ICU faded away from the video wall, the sight of Peter Phoenix and Rory Hayes locking eyes left the fans salivating at the end of the premiere episode of the second season of SHOWCASE.

Reported by:
Sally Broxton
ACW Correspondent
20 February 2010