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On one of the most emotional nights in American Championship Entertainment history took place on February 7, 2014, as we celebrated the life of Mike Morgan, Jr. AKA Michael Viruet. A packed house at the Jose Marti Freshman Academy in Union City, NJ, combined with television cameras from Telemundo, Hudson County View, and News 12 New Jersey, made for an incredible atmosphere as ACE presented “A Hero’s Celebration”!
The show started with a 10 Bell Salute to Mikey, which led to one of the most emotional speeches of the night from Mikey’s father, ACE Owner Mike Morgan. Tears were flowing early as the night was dedicated to his son.
In our opening contest, the team of Mike Donovan and Ricky Richards, who came within an eyelash of winning the ACE Tag Team championships at Crossroads X in November, defeated Mike Draztik and Angel Ortiz of EYFBO. Donovan and Richards start the road back to a future shot of the ACE Tag Team titles.
The Battle of “The Backfist Vs. The Boot” culminated when Eddie Kingston, who was accompanied by former ACE Women’s champion Missy Sampson, pinned TJ Marconi after not one, BUT TWO Backfists to the Future! The contest was a downright hard hitting affair!
Josh Glide persevered in his first defense of the ACE Fight For Flight championship, as he defeated “the Selfie Superstar” Too Hot Steve Scott, Chris Taylor, “All Star” Lou Torres, Chris Raze, and the returning Benny Martinez by pinning Taylor. People in the crowd were comparing this to a “human demolition derby”.
In a match billed as “Five Years in the Making”, Dan Maff and Stockade went to a no-contest due to interference by TJ Marconi and Eddie Kingston. An impromptu No-DQ tag started up, which led “the Bayonne Badass” and “the Last of a Dying Breed” defeated Stockade and Marconi.
After Intermission, El Proffe’s ACE Diamond Division Champion Astro Morales, Puerto Rican legend El Gran Apolo and his son, Apolo Jr., defeated the Mike Lewis Enterprise of #AbsoluteAlvin and the ACE Tag Team champions Bad Company in a hard hitting SIX-MAN WAR.
It was announced before the show that former WCW star Crowbar broke his ankle the night before, training feverishly for his ACE championship match. However, thanks to Vince Steele’s open contracts, Ghana, West Africa’s King Mega stepped in on 24 hour notice for an opportunity!
ACE Heavyweight champion Vince Steele defeated King Mega after “the Remix of Pro Wrestling” went old school, delivering a Steele Beam and a South Boogie Bomb OFF THE TOP ROPE for the victory! The 6’4, 390 lbs champion has one goal: to be the most dominant ACE champion in history!
In an absolute technical spectacle, Rob Vegas defeated ROH’s Jay Lethal when Vegas caught “the Greatest First Generation Wrestler” with the Checkmate Cloverleaf and made Lethal tap. Afterwards, both men got the ACE Nation chanting “MIKEY! MIKEY!”, which sparked the crowd.
Before the main event, Mike Morgan announced that in March 2015, the Mike Morgan, Jr. Arena will open in Wallington, NJ. The Next Chapter of ACE’s history BEGINS!
In the Mike Morgan, Jr. Memorial Rumble, William Wyeth survived 30 men and last eliminated both Jamal Jackson and FNB of the Movement to win the Mike Morgan, Jr. Memorial Cup! Overcome with emotion, Will and Mike Morgan embraced and the entire ACE roster came out to the ring. Picked up on the roster’s shoulders, Mike held the Cup in the air and pointed at the sky.
It was truly one of the greatest nights in ACE history and it was all done in dedication to one young man. Mikey, we miss you.
#ACE4Life
For photos from this show, please credit Lauryn Nolan:
http://public.fotki.com/
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