Red Line 3

Red Line 3 Jan 14, 2022 18:16:33 GMT -6

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Post by gvb on Jan 14, 2022 18:16:33 GMT -6

MWE Presents: Red Line 3
From Chicago, IL
Thursday, December 30th, 2021*

*The show will air Wednesday January 5th, 2022 on MENTV

The tradion continues with the third annual Red Line, the last event of the year for MWE. The formula is the same, six qualifying hardcore matches to determine who will take part in the Elimination Chamber, for a granted shot at any title in the company. The show opens inside the usual MWE studio, same glass table behind which Amy Maynard was sitting.

Amy Maynard:
Good evening ladies and gentlemen and Happy New Year on behalf of MWE. Soon we will be back with our regular scheduled programming, starting the road to Millennium Centum, the 100th episode of our Wednesday night show. That will be a very special night for our company, a landmark not many companies can reach in the ever-changing landscape of this business. But before we get there, before we find out what 2022 has in store for our company, how about we take a look at how 2021 ended?

A clip aired on the tron, a quick montage showing some of the most memorable moments of the past year.

Amy Maynard:
Is there a better way to celebrate this incredible year we just had than the MWE End Of The Year Awards? No, I didn't think so. So, without further ado, let's start with the first two. Event Of The Year and Best Poster.

The screen showed the poster of each and every PPV aired in the year that just ended.

Amy Maynard:
Our graphic team will be pleased to know that Dark Web 3 has been picked as best looking poster of 2021, and quite frankly, I agree with it. But will it also be the best show of the year?

Amy took a long dramatic pause.

Amy Maynard:
No, it's not. Your pick as the best show of 2021 was our most recent Pay-Per-View, Below Zero!

A quick recap of the event was shown, culminating with the coronation of the new MWE World Champion BROOKFORD. As the footage ended, the show cut once again to a close up of Amy.

Amy Maynard:
Well, it's time to move on Red Line, with the first of the six qualifying matches. From the Geral Atlethic Center at the University of Chicago, Clyde Eldon Jr, Izzi Grimes and Olly will take part in a cage match. Will CEJ follow up on his big win at Below Zero with another success? Or will Olly get his revenge on him? Or maybe they'l just beat each other up to a pulp and Izzi will walk out of the cage and straight into the Elimination Chamber? Let's have a look.

Steel Cage Match
Gerald Ratner Athletic Center @ University Of Chicago (4:00 PM CST)

Clyde Eldon Jr. VS Izzi Grimes VS Olly

The cage was lowering down on the ring inside the Gerald Athletic Center. One by one the three competitors entered the unforgiving structure, receiving different reactions from the Chicago fans. They went from yelling all sorts of abuse at Olly to a decent amount of cheers for Clyde to the loudest pop for Izzi Grimes. Olly attacked Clyde as soon as the referee locked the door, before the bell could even ring. He leveled CEJ with a clothesline and began to stomp him on his chest with ferocity, leaving the young man coughing and holding his ribs in pain. He only stopped because Izzi drilled him with a reverse hurricanrana, sparing Clyde further punishment. Olly got up to his feet almost immediately, snarling at Grimes and cursing her for getting in his way. He charged toward her but Izzi jumped and hit him with a knee to the face, halting his run. Clyde in the meantime had gotten back to his feet and surprised her with a German suplex, focusing his attention back on Olly. It was clear from the first minutes that Izzi was sort of the odd woman out in this match, the third wheel in this rivalry that clearly wasn’t over as many had hoped after Below Zero. Now Grimes could have just taken advantage, watching from aside as the two beat each other up and then step in to finish them and pick up an easy win, but she wasn’t that type of competitor. If she had to win this match and advance to the Elimination Chamber later that night, she was going to earn that spot. A double dropkick knocked the two brawling men down, ending their back and forth of punches to the face. Clyde was the first to get up and he ate a roundhouse kick to the head. Olly managed to throw a right hand at Grimes, but she ducked the shot and put him in a headlock. Running toward the cage, Izzi stepped onto it to slam him down with a shiranui.

A cage match might seem a tame stipulation when compared to the other matches simultaneously happening in the other locations, but Olly made sure to raise the bar of violence and satisfy the need for blood of the most extreme MWE fans. Of course the first blood he spilled was that of Clyde, and he achieved his goal by slamming his head onto the cage repeatedly and grinding his face against the steel to make the injury even worse. Next on the list was Izzi, though in her case the blood started pouring from her nose after Olly’s Born To Lose. With both opponents down, the former Tag champion started to climb the cage but his ascension was abruptly interrupted by Clyde who stepped on the middle rope to grab him by the ankle and take him down for a nasty fall. Eldon considered trying to reach the top and escape for a moment, but then he noticed that Izzi was back on her feet. Not wanting to suffer the same fate he just put Olly through, Clyde opted for a slightly more cautious approach, jumping from the middle rope with a double axe handle. Izzi was ready for it and greeted him with a dropkick to the chest, knocking him down. Grimes then asked the ref to open the door, quickly walking toward the exit. She almost got there when Olly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back into a sleeper hold. After squeezing the life out of her for a few seconds, he threw her backwards with a sleeper suplex. Not even time for him to get up to his feet and Clyde Eldon cut him in half with his For You Dad spear. This was Clyde’s greatest chance to leave the cage and qualify to the final match but as he was literally a couple of steps away from the door Izzi desperately grabbed his foot and stopped him in his tracks. Clyde turned around and tried to kick her away but soon Olly came back as well and put an end to his victory dreams with a boot to the face.

Another climbing attempt by Olly ended poorly as he was knocked down by Izzi and remained trapped between the ropes and the cage, with his back turned to the middle of the ring. Clyde charged at full speed and squashed him with a running body splash. Without wasting any time, he began to climb the cage, but so did Grimes a few moments later, right next to him. Izzi was faster than Eldon though, quickly making up the disadvantage and even surpassing him in the rush to the top. They inevitably started to battle it out in a very dangerous spot. A long fall would await the loser of this fight at heights, both of them were hanging up there for dear life while trying to knock the opponent down. Olly made sure this battle had no winners as he started to punch and kick and rattle the cage causing both his opponents to fall all the way down, landing hard on the canvas. Clyde rolled over in pain while Izzi was quickly up to her feet but Olly struck her down with a flurry of headbutts. By the time he got rid of her, Clyde had pushed himself up to his feet and brought the fight once again to his rival. The two just exchanged punches and this time there was nobody there. Olly was coming out on top but Eldon completely turned things around with a low knee that caught the former Academy student right down there. With Olly down, Clyde started crawling toward the exit, clawing at the canvas as she slowly dragged himself toward the door. He was so close to the win, literally inches away when Olly turned his lights out with a wicked Random Act Of Violence (running knee to the back of the head), crushing Clyde’s dream. At this point, Olly could’ve just walked out but he wanted to send a message first. Seeing how Clyde’s head was right past the edge of the ring, Olly grabbed the door and just slammed it closed on Eldon’s head. A gratuitous and pointless display of cruelty that earned him another round of boos from the Chicago Crowd. Hearing them and feeling their hatred only caused that smirk on his face to grow bigger as he calmly walked out of the cage, earning his spot on the Elimination Chamber.

WINNER: Olly
BY: Cage Escape, 17:19

Amy Maynard:
Huge win for the former Academy Student, but it's not the only win for him tonight. As part of the longest reigning team in MWE history, K2O, he gets the Team/Faction Of The Year Award.

The Riot commentator rolled her eyes.

Amy Maynard:
Which means we will never hear the end of it from him and Karen. Back to Red Line, though, in the second match we will see Tiff Rollins, the former HELL Extreme champion Judas Hernanedez and the returning Maeve Clarke battling for a spot in the chamber in a three way barbed wire ladder match. We're still at the University Of Chicago, but this one happened in the Henry Crown Fieldhouse. Let's see how it went.

Barbed Wire Ladder Match
Henry Crown Fieldhouse @ University Of Chicago (4:00 PM CST)

Tiff Rollins VS Maeve Clarke VS Judas Hernandez

A small MWE logo was hanging above the ring, that was what the competitors had to retrieve in order to qualify for tonight's main event. Of the three of them, Tiff was the more concerned and less experienced in this kind of match. Truth being told, many people wondered why she entered this tournament in first place, having little to none experience in hardcore matches. She looked like a fish out of the water, watching the barbed wire ropes delimiting the ring uneasily, fearing what an impact against those could do to her body. Maeve Clarke and Judas Hernandez seemed more at ease in this environment, being respectively at her second appearance in Red Line and a former Extreme champion back in HELL. All around the ring were ladders of various heights, some of them also wrapped in barbed wire. Only a few seconds in and Judas already wanted to introduce the former Cloud Gate champion to the barbed wire with an irish whip, but Rollins slid under the bottom rope and landed safely on the outside. Not for long tho as Judas himself ran to the ropes and jumped over them, landing on top of the Five Foot Murder Machine with a tope con hilo. Maeve was less reckless than the Tijuana born when she left the ring, rolling under the barbed wire and picking up one of the ladders from the floor. Seeing her opponents already starting to get up to their feet, she held the ladder horizontally in front of herself and ran against them, taking them both down.She pushed the ladder back inside the ring and set it up under the dangling MWE logo. It seemed all too easy for the English born, and in fact she didn’t go too far before Judas reached her and dropped her down with an electric chair.

A primal scream and curse words in Spanish echoed through the Henry Crown Fieldhouse as a dropkick from Maeve sent Judas into the barbed wire. Clarke pushed herself up and immediately received a hard kick to the thigh from Tiff. Another one followed, then a third hitting Maeve a little higher, right above the hip. Rollins then switched to punches, showing off that boxing style she recently implemented in her arsenal. Clarke tried to dodge them but those punches were too quick and left her stunned, unable to dodge the Peacemaker. Judas was still busy trying to disentangle himself from the barbed wire, offering Tiff an opportunity to climb the ladder and leave this match unharmed. That must have seemed too good to be true, and even the former Cloud Gate champion paid her tribute in blood as Hernandez pushed her off the ladder, causing her ruinous fall to end right on top of the barbed wire, those edges cutting deep into the skin of her back. effectively eliminating the ropes on that side of the ring, turning them into a tangle in which Tiff was trapped in. Getting out of that bloody mess was going to be a long and painful experience for Tiffany, giving plenty of time to Maeve and Judas to tear each other apart. The two even gave rise to a battle on the ladder as they both went for the prize. Maeve’s punches seemed to have given her that edge to reach for the logo, but Judas recovered quickly and slammed her head on the top step before driving her all the way down with a reckless suplex from the top.

Unsurprisingly, all three of them were bleeding as the match reached the 15 minutes mark Judas and Tiff from the back, while Maeve was wearing a crimson mask after Hernandez dragged her face across the rope, leaving a deep cut on Clarke’s forehead from where blood was gushing like a fountain. The Mexican was in full control now, having worn down both opponents with a clever use of the environment. He even introduced a second ladder, the one wrapped in barbed wire. Because of course the Mexican hardcore legend didn’t spill enough blood for his taste. Judas might as well be crazy enough to use it to climb and reach the prize, but for now he had other plans for it. He laid it down on the canvas and bodyslammed the former Cloud Gate champion on it, opening fresh wounds on her already battered back. And while Tiff was left in agony, second guessing her decision to join this event, Judas headed back to Maeve and kicked her in the head. With Rollins still out of the equation, Hernandez made sure that Clarke couldn’t interfere either, grabbing what was once the middle rope and wrapping the barbed wire around Maeve’s leg, tying her to the post. He then set up the ladder under the prize and began to climb, reaching the top undisturbed. He was just about to pull the MWE logo off the hook when the ladder was kicked off from under his feet by the returning Tiff Rollins. Quite literally. Her Death Kick pushed the ladder off, causing Judas to fall from the top on the same side of the ring Tiffany fell on earlier, the one with no ropes. Hernandez fell on the hard floor outside the ring, the ladder fell right on top of him. Tiffany went to pick it up, but then she noticed Maeve trying to free her leg. It won’t be long before the English girl will be free, leaving Tiffany with only one option left. Using the barbed wire ladder to climb. It was slow and painful, but eventually it paid out, allowing her to reach the top and retrieve the token moments before Maeve could break free.

WINNER: Tiff Rollins
BY: Token Retrieval, 18:33

Amy Maynard:
She actually did it! Clearly the underdog in this match, Rollins came out on top with a gutsy performance and joined Olly in the main event of the match. And with the history between them... I just hope they don't kill each other in the Elimination Chamber. Before we move to the third match, a Four Corners Of Pain Deathmatch featuring three wrestlers who defined the hardcore division in MWE, let's reveal a couple more awards.

The face of the male wrestlers in the MWE roster appeared on the tron, giving away what the next award is going to be.

Amy Maynard:
No surprises here as Duke Andrews walked out with the Best Male Wrestler award. Sure, he probably would have preferred ending 2021 with the title still around his waist but, at least in this category, he was able to overcome BROOKFORD.

After a quick change of graphic, we now see the female competitors displayed on the scren.

Amy Maynard:
After the male, it's time to crown the Best Female Wrestler of 2021. It was a closer race than the guys' award, but in the end, Alex Andrews came out victorious, just like she did at Below Zero when she became Riot Champion. Congratulation, Lady Limitless!

Much like for Duke before, a clip with the highlights of Alex' 2021 was shown. At the end of it, we cut straight to the third match.

Four Corners Of Pain Deathmatch
Joseph J. Gentile Arena @ Loyola University (4:00 PM CST)

Kimberly Williams VS Andrew Raynes VS Joey Leclair

The two longest reigning Chicago Way champions and the man set on a course to break their record ready to go to war in what promised to be one of the most brutal matches of the night. On each side of the ring was a bed of different objects. Thumbtacks, broken glass, barbed wire and the always feared legos. Inside the ring, Kimberly wasted no time and sent Joey into the ropes with a shotgun dropkick. She charged at him at full speed trying to knock him over the top rope and send him into the thumbtacks, Joey sent her up and over with a back body drop. Kim landed on the apron, miraculously keeping balance and avoiding falling on the tacks below. Leclair made another attempt with a Prodigal Elbow Smash, but Kim stepped aside and countered with a kick to the head. She jumped on the top rope to springboard herself into the ring but a superkick from the champ knocked her down, causing her to fall flat on the back on the thumb tacks scattered outside. Andrew immediately picked up Joey and delivered some knees to the face from a clinch position. Trying to establish his dominance from the get going, Raynes grabbed Joey from the back of his head and went to throw him over the top rope and into the barbed wire, but Leclair countered the move and sent the champion flying out of the ring. Kim was pulling out tacks from her shoulder and arm, Raynes was trying to disentangle himself from the edgy coils and Leclair took a moment to gloat, before stepping out of the ring and heading toward Kim. The Woman Scorned picked a handful of tacks and just tossed them in Joey’s face, creating a momentary distraction that allowed her to tackle him to the ground. Leclair’s back hit a zone of the floor that wasn’t covered in tacks, but his legs were right in that area and several pins stuck into his thighs. But his main issue now was the Wildcard mounted on top of him and raining down punches to his face. Raynes came to help him, dropping Kim back onto the tacks with a deadlift German suplex, putting himself through the same kind of pain.

Most of the match took place out of the ring, where the three wrestlers could do the maximum damage. Joey was about to piledrive Raynes on the legos, but the Embracer Of Hate was able to resist, dropping on one knee and making it impossible for Joey to lift him. Out of nowhere came Kimberly, blasting the Prodigy with her Shadowblade knee, leaping over the kneeling champion and connecting right on Joey’s face. The impact knocked the canadian down onto the colored bricks, while Kim’s landing was less traumatic as Raynes’ body cushioned her fall. She then got up and dragged the current Chicago Way champion to the other side of the ring, where the broken glass was. Andrew pushed his elbow against Kim’s side, breaking free from her grasp and quickly shoving her into the ring post. Williams’ head bounced against the cold steel, leaving her stunned. Raynes took advantage and delivered a couple of nasty forearm shots to the kidney before grabbing a hold of the redhead and throwing her into the broken glass. Luckily for her Kim was able to deviate at the last moment, changing her body position and landing on the concrete floor, without a doubt a better option than the glass shards. Joey finally got up and tried to sneak up on the Chicago Way champion from behind but Andrew saw him coming and quickly turned around, greeting him with a punch to the jaw. The blow sent Joey back a couple of feet, but the former champion was still standing and ready to fight back. The two went toe to toe for a few seconds while Kimmy recovered on the floor. Joey had the upper hand and whipped the champ into the barricade. At that point Kim climbed on the apron and after a quick run, she jumped toward Joey, hitting him with a knee strike to the back of the head.

Things really escalated by the end of the match. Every single corner of the ring was used, the Chicago Way champion had glass sticking out of his back after Joey dropped him on those with a spinebuster. And the same Leclair was bleeding from his head after Kimberly dropped him on the tacks with a ddt, getting some of those pesky things stuck in her arm as well. Despite most of the action happening outside, the match could only end inside the ring. The Woman Scorned had to struggle a bit to push Leclair back in under the bottom rope, but eventually she managed to, and made the cover with a slingshot senton, but Joey kicked out in two and half. Raynes re-entered the ring as well and despite blood loss, still had the strength to fight. As he took on Kim, Joey rolled out of the ring to regroup and come up with a new plan to turn the match in his favor. His idea was so crazy that it might just work, even though it was going to take a lot out of him too, especially in the event this all worked out according to his plan and he qualified to the Elimination Chamber. He wrapped the barbed wire around his arm and entered the ring, sneaking up behind the Chicago Way champion. As Raynes turned around, Joey fired off with his Prodigal Elbow Smash, but the Embracer Of Hate dodged the strike with a lateral roll. Leclair’s blow didn’t miss though, hitting Kimberly instead. The Woman Scorned went down like a ton of bricks, blood flowing from the side of her head. Joey’s obviously suffered the same fate, the impact with Kim’s skull pushing the barbed wire through his skin. But he grit his teeth, pushing through the pain as he still had a job to do. As soon as he turned around though, Raynes struck with the Code Of The Sith, knocking him down. Blood started trickling down from his forehead, possibly due to a shard of glass that remained stuck in Andrew’s knee pad. The exhausted Chicago Way champion almost collapsed on top of Leclair, covering him for an hard fought victory.

WINNER: Andrew Raynes
BY: Pinfall (The Code Of The Sith), 19:59

Amy Maynard:
What a match that was, right? Maybe we will see it as one of the nominations for next year's Match Of The Year, even though it technically took place in 2021. Plenty of candidates in this category, from Hearst versus Andrews at Domino Effect, to the Cage Scramble Match, from the two classic between Iser and Andrews to the four way at Below Zero, from Rollins versus Savell to the two out of three falls match between Lowri Moss and Melissa Reeves... Not to mention the crazyness that was the Blackbeard's Revenge match, or the brutal and emotional Echo versus Yulia at the same PPV...

Clips from the aforementioned matches were shown.

Amy Maynard:
But there was one match that topped them all for the MWE fans.. The Fatal Four Way Ladder Match for the MWE tag team titles between K2O, Fabulous, Glorious Golden Era and Warblade 42 at On The Rise!

Plenty of great action in that match, ended with Clyde attacking Olly and costing the champions their titles.

Amy Maynard:
I'm pretty sure some people voted it for the controversial ending to K2O's record reign. Olly and Karen ranked pretty high in the next category we will be awarding, the Top Heel award. And yet, they still they didn't get as many votes as...

Another pause for suspense.

Amy Maynard:
Duke Andrews! Second award for the former World Champion, who got really close to winning this same prize last year, only coming second to Devin Hearst.

The screen behind Amy now showed the UIC, stage for the next match of Red Line 3.

Amy Maynard:
You can't say that MWE doesn't involve their fans. They can vote their awards, choose the stipulations at Dark Web and, this year, bring their favorite weapons to the Credit Union 1 Arena and watch Jordan Parker-Kane, Billy Danielson and Gareth Prichard Jr. beating the hell out of each other with them.

Fans Bring The Weapons Match
Credit Union 1 Arena @ UIC (4:00 PM CST)

Jordan Parker-Kane VS Billy Danielson VS Gareth Prichard Jr.

The biggest pop of the day was, without a doubt, for the hometown boy, The Franchise Billy Danielson. The Chicago Born took his sweet time to greet and thank the fans on his way to the ring, taking selfies with them and exchanging high fives. And that seemed to annoy his opponents, who would have preferred if he just entered the ring and got this match started. When he finally did and the bell sounded, nobody was surprised to see them attacking Billy together, using the number games to get the best of him and throw him out of the ring. Jordan then used his MMA background to attack Prichard, but the Welsh man was able to dodge most of his attacks and eventually took him down with a dragon screw leg whip. It was quite surprising to see how, in a match with no rules where he could use literally every weapon, TAFKA Neal Durden still stuck to a more traditional approach, applying a leg lock to JPK. That quickly came to an end when Danielson came back in the ring with a cheese grate he got from one of the Chicago fans and used it on Gareth’s forehead, drawing the first blood of the match. And while Gareth was still nursing his fresh wound, Billy delivered the first Chicago Blackout of the night, for the joy of the home crowd. A chair shot to the back from Jordan caused Danielson to arch his back in pain, turning around to face the former MMA champion. Another swing from Parker aimed at The Franchise face but Danielson was quick to duck under it and drive his shoulder into the young man’s stomach, doubling him over. Guess what came next? Exactly, another Chicago Blackout to the side of Jordan’s head, knocking him down and allowing Billy to get the first near fall of the match.

We’ve seen some crazy stuff in these kinds of matches, but one female fan handing Billy her underwear to be used like a weapon may be a new high. Or low, depends on how you look at it. Danielson himself seemed surprised by this, unsure on what he could even do with that. Jordan took advantage of this momentary distraction and threw a wild punch at homeboy, but Billy's reaction was immediate as he shoved the garment in Jordan’s mouth and spammed another Chicago Blackout, leaving the man laying flat on the ramp. He had now to deal with a raging and bleeding Gareth Prichard Jr, armed with a MWE Intercontinental Championship replica a fan handed him. Everybody could see the irony in Gareth using the title he scoffed when he cashed in the Briefcase as a weapon to, potentially, earn himself a title shot but GPJ didn’t particularly care about that detail and blasted Billy with it. Sure, it was a replica and therefore it wouldn’t hurt as much as the real thing, but there was enough force behind the impact to knock the Franchise down. And Gareth could always use it as a whip, flogging Billy with it. In the meantime Jordan had recovered from the knee to the face and he was now armed with a frisbee he threw at Prichard, catching the unaware Welsh on the back of the head. Jordan followed up with a running bulldog, smashing Gareth’s face on the concrete floor. But as soon as he got up to his feet, he was speared through the barricade and into the fans by Danielson, who then celebrated with his fellow citizens by grabbing a beer from one of them and pouring it on the fallen opponent.

Billy was having the time of his life interacting with his fans and watching them refuse to hand their weapons to his opponents when they would’ve used them against the Chicago born. GPJ decided to take the matter in his own hands and forced the timekeeper to stand up, stealing his chair and cracking Billy’s skull open with it. The next shots aimed at The Franchise’s leg with the obvious goal to take out the Chicago Blackout from his arsenal. Parker-Kane did Danielson a huge favor when he pushed Gareth into the ring post, causing him to drop the chair on the floor and planting him onto it with a reverse ddt. Finally the match came back inside the ring as Parker attempted a cover on the former Durden, only obtaining a two count. Billy joined the duo a few moments later, and he did so with a Blackhawks hockey stick he used to get his revenge on Gareth while Jordan took a nap on the outside after the Welsh clocked him with his patented ripcord jumping knee strike. Every time the Franchise drove the stick down on Gareth, the fans cheered loudly, and they even started to count along with the ref when he made the cover. Jordan interrupted the count by grabbing Billy’s foot and dragging him out of the ring. He then picked up the chair and tossed it toward Danielson, catching him on the face and forcing him to one knee, in perfect position for his Bomaye. He then grabbed the same chair and placed it on the face of the Welsh as he was recovering in the corner, delivering a second Bomaye. He hurt himself in the process, but the running knee to the face through the chair was enough to keep Gareth down for the three.

WINNER: Jordan Parker-Kane
BY: Pinfall (Bomaye), 16:00

Amy Maynard:
And we're back in the studio, just in time for the next award. We just crowned the most hated, let's balance it out with the fan favorite, aka the Top Face in MWE.

A selection of the MWE roster appeared on the screen, chosen amongst those who receive the most love from the fans in every Arena they set foot.

Amy Maynard:
Not going to lie, you guys were quite split on this. Understandably so, so many factors come into play when it's time to pick the best good guy in the company, including personal preference. But in the end, we were able to determine a winner, and that is... Lowri Moss!

Of course, there was a clip of the former Cloud Gate champion, focusing mostly on the incredible reactions she received in every arena and her connection with the fans everywhere.

Amy Maynard:
Back to Red Line now, back to the UIC at the Flames Athletic Center. Here, we will see Alan Envy, Valkyrie and the mysterious Ixtab fighting to the last... I mean first, blood.

First Blood Elimination Match
Flames Athletic Center @ UIC (4:00 PM CST)

Alan Envy VS Valkyrie VS IXTAB

In the fifth match of the card Alan Envy and Valkyrie were up against a mysterious opponent only known as Ixtab. Very little was known about them, they didn’t have a social media account and a search of the name wouldn’t bring up many results, at least not on the American circuit. You’d have to dig deep into Mexican’s underground scene to find some info about Ixtab, but if you did, you’d know she’s not one to mess with. Valkyrie and Alan looked puzzled as the luchadora made her way to the ring, wearing her traditional mask. That was going to definitely be a factor in this match, taking away the most common target to make someone bleed, but the stakes were high and both Vee and Envy wanted that spot in the chamber and possibly the title shot that would come with winning the whole thing. The match started and shots began flying hard in all directions. None of them was known to be a technical wizard, and luckily for them this match didn’t require them to be. But while Alan and Valkyrie were known to be heavy hitters, Ixtab surprised everyone with her speed and the way she recklessly used her body as a weapon, flying all over the ring and even on the outside to take the opponents down with her unpredictable lucha libre style. A beautiful corkscrew plancha to the outside wiped out both opponents and allowed Ixtab to arm herself with a chair and introduce her opponents to her brand of havoc, placing herself in between the two opponents and delivering chair shots lefts and rights, hitting each one of her opponents whenever they tried to get up to their feet. And the fans seemed to love it, quickly getting behind Ixtab. It was Envy who ended this early dominance from the Mexican, blocking the chair shot with his bare hands and snatching it from her hands. He dropped the chair on the floor and kicked Ixtab in the stomach, doubling her over. With one quick motion he lifted her on his shoulders and threw her in the front row with a running powerbomb, launching the woman into some fans who were insulting him and mocking them with a blessing afterwards. As he turned around though he got brained with a chair shot to the skull by the Great Dane Bitch.

The match continued in a spiral of violence, just like it was meant and expected to be. Multiple weapons were introduced in order to get one of the opponents to bleed and culling the herd. Valkyrie was batting the opponents away with a baseball bat, looking to wear them down more than causing them to bleed. Her strikes in fact were targeting the mid section and back of Alan and Ixtab, and soon both of them were rolling on the floor in a world of pain. Then Valkyrie went fishing under the ring, looking for a new weapon. Her choice fell on thumbtacks, a simple and easy method to cause an opponent to bleed. And most importantly, one that could work on Ixtab too if only she could drop the masked wrestler onto them. But the luchadora proved to be quite the slippery one, managing to stay out of the Warmaiden’s grasp. And even when she finally got a hold of her and was ready to drop the Mexican on the tacks with a bodyslam, Ixtab somehow slipped away and quickly pushed Valkyrie into Envy. The two bumped up, but luckily the impact wasn’t hard enough to draw blood. It was enough to leave them dazed though, buying Ixtab some time to recover. Out of the three of them Alan was the first to regain his bearings and strike, and he did so by picking up Valkyrie and slamming her into the thumbtacks with a spinebuster, drawing blood from her shoulders and back and thus eliminating her from the contest.

And we were down to two, the rookie versus the veteran, old school versus innovative, lucha libre based offense. Alan’s hard punches were an effective method to keep control, until Ixtab was able to dodge one and get ahold of his wrist, running toward the corner for an elaborated springboard armdrag. The Mexican charged at full speed, but Alan blocked her tilt-a-whirl ddt attempt. He adjusted her position on his shoulders into a fireman’s carry and dropped her down to the canvas, following with a quick elbow drop to the chest that knocked the wind off her lungs. Envy headed to the corner and ripped the protective pad away, throwing it out of the ring exposing the steel under it. Then he picked up the opponent and threw her head-first into the turnbuckle, not the best idea since the mask wouldn’t have allowed any possible cut to be seen anyway. Needing to come up with a new plan, Alan left the ring and began to look for a new tool to help his cause, and he found it in a box of light tubes. He actually only grabbed one, and went back in the ring where he swung it at the opponent, aiming at her arm. Ixtab was able to duck the shot and quickly move behind the Lonestar’s back, jumping and connecting a backstabber. Alan lost grasp on the tube that crashed on the canvas, leaving those dangerous shards scattered on the floor creating a spot that both competitors could exploit. And they tried, especially Envy who sent Ixtab flying over his head with a back body drop. But the Mexican landed on her feet, saving herself. Alan charged in an attempt to tackle her down but a knee to the face blocked his momentum. The Luchadora followed with a quick kicking combination, leaving Alan stunned. With quick movements, she positioned herself behind Envy and dropped him with a bulldog. Luckily, he didn’t fall face-first on the glass, landing on his chest instead. This might have saved him from a scarred mug, but it was the end of his Red Line adventure, as blood started gushing from his pecs.

WINNER: Ixtab
BY: Sole Survivor, 14:03

Amy Maynard:
What an impact from the Mexican... Not only she qualified, but she did so in the shortest time. That means that, unless Clyde Sutter, Glory Braddock or Gavin Grimes can win their match in less than 14 minutes and 3 seconds, Ixtab will be the last one to enter the chamber. Before we move the the parking lot of the McGrath-Philips Arena at the DePaul University to see that match, it's time for another award, specificallly the Most Shocking Moment of 2021.

Amy opened the envelop containing the winner, creating some suspense between revealing it.

Amy Maynard:
And the award goes to.. BROOKFORD announcing he'd cash in the Briefcase and winning the World Title at Below Zero!

Even though that moment was still fresh in everyone's memory, it was once again shown on the screen.

Amy Maynard:
We have one last award to give, but we'll get to it after the last qualifying match!

Parking Lot Brawl Match
McGrath-Philips Arena @ DePaul University (4:00 PM CST)

Clyde Sutter VS Glory Braddock VS Gavin Grimes

The rivalry between Glory and Sutter had really ignited in the past month or so, and while many people believed Below Zero would be the end of their rivalry, Red Line added another chapter. Between them was standing a familiar face to the MWE fans and the wrestling aficionados in general, The Captain Gavin Grimes. The three of them were standing in the parking lot of the DePaul University, stage of this epic battle to determine the sixth and last entrant in the Elimination Chamber match. In the early moments Grimes showed some understandable ring rust after six months away from the ring, and that made it easier for Sutter to take control in the early moments. The chaotic and violent nature of this match surely would advantage the Assassin, well known for thriving in situations where rules are lax or absent. He made the best of the environment they were in, driving his shoulder into Grimes’ mid-section and pin him into the concrete column in the parking lot. That quickly took Gavin out and allowed Clyde to deal with his former mentor, and he did so with a compilation of punches and forearm strikes to the face. Braddock quickly adapted to the absence of rules and used that to her advantage by hitting a knee strike to Sutter’s crotch, throwing him into the side of a black SUV. Grimes recovered and grabbed the Best In The World from behind, hitting her with a german suplex on the concrete. As he turned back to attack Clyde, he couldn’t find the Assassin anymore, as he crawled under the car and emerged on the opposite side. Gavin walked behind the vehicle and charged at the MENTV champion who opened the driver’s door and used it as a shield. It was a hard bump for the Captain who bounced against the door and fell on his back.

The former Cult Classic Winner got his revenge on the Assassin when he dropped him on the bonnet of a car with a flapjack. Soon he had to deal with Glory who threw a mirror at him, catching the Captain in the stomach. She followed up with a slingshot to take him down, but as soon as she got up, Clyde dropped a double axe handle on her skull from the hood of the car. He then went back to his original plan of blasting the British Bombshell with a flurry of punches, but Glory managed to duck and catch him with a throat strike that left him breathless. She then knocked him down with her Glory In Excelsis Deo (variation of the codebreaker) and attempted the pin, but Grimes broke it in time. The fight continued and it became even more brutal. Blood started flowing from Sutter’s head as Gavin threw him into the window, smashing his head through the glass. Glory showed great adaptability even in a stipulation that wasn’t favoring her, creatively applying her skills to this situation, climbing on the bed of the pickup truck she threw him on and dropping him on his head with the Beautiful Insanity, but that was only worth a count of two. Grimes came close to the win as well not long after that when he threw Glory off the pickup and recklessly jumped onto her with a shooting star press, luckily hitting the target. In that case, it was a bloodied Sutter who made the save at the very last moment with a pipe to the back of the former UG champion.

That same lead pipe was used several times over the next minutes as Clyde used the weapon to maul Grimes with several shots, leaving him in agony on the floor. Glory wisely disarmed the MENTV champion with a stiff kick to the arm wielding the weapon, sending the pipe flying across the parking lot. Even without it Sutter was a very dangerous competitor, but the former Riot champion was up for the task, flooring the Assassin with a spinning heel kick. Gavin slowly stood up, clutching on his sore ribs but still determined to put up a fight. And he managed to get the upper hand too, overcoming the odds with a quick combination that left Braddock on her knees. He went for the Sac-Town kick to end her, but the Best In The World dodged it and rolled him up for another near fall. They quickly got up to their feet, Glory being the fastest and using that slight advantage for a knee to the face/Glory In Excelsis Deo combination. Grimes was down but he instinctively rolled out of the way, hiding under a bus. Glory went to drag him outside and finally make the pin but as she was going there she realized that Sutter was trying to run her over with a golf cart. The British Bombshell rolled out of the trajectory, avoiding the impact but rolling right into Gavin Grimes who spiked her with his patented The Crowning getting the three before Sutter could come back and interrupt the count.

WINNER: Gavin Grimes
BY: Pinfall (The Crowning), 21:20

Amy Maynard:
What a comeback for the Captain! And while he's the last qualified to the Elimination Chamber, due to his time he will be the first to start, sharing the honor with Andrew Raynes.

The graphic recapped the outcome of the six matches we witnessed.

Amy Maynard:
Before we get to watch that though, it's only fair to find out who, according to the fans, will be the next big thing in MWE? The former students of the Academy ranked all pretty high in this category. JJ Night, Tiana Petrova-Hammond and Faizah Marshall all came to share the second place with the Murder Train, Dustin Douglas. But who is number one?

The graphic anticipated the declaration of the winner by a millisecond.

Amy Maynard:
The Valedictorian of year 1 of the Academy, Faith Savell is the One To Watch in 2022.

The final clip was all for the Cloud Gate champion, a mix of controversial wins and flawless technique that made her the rising star in the company.

Amy Maynard:
Speaking of The Academy, on December 30th I had a special guest commentator calling the action with me. A woman that needs no introduction, but I'm going to do it anyway. Two time Liberty Champion, former MWE Intercontinental champion just to name a few of her accolades and current Team Leader in our developmental territory, Helena Noir.
Thank you for joining us, ladies and gents. See you next Sunday on Riot!

Elimination Chamber Match
Enterprise Arena (9:00 PM CST)

Winners of qualifying match

Amy Maynard: "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the main event of Red Line 3! Joining me at commentary tonight is a very special referee, the former MWE Intercontinental champion and currently trainer at The Academy, Helena Noir."

Helena Noir: "Thank you, Amy. It's a pleasure to be here."

Amy Maynard: "Helena, you've been a very successful hardcore wrestler early in your career. Tell us how you prepare for an Elimination Chamber match."

Helena Noir: "I can tell you how you don't prepare. Wrestling an hardcore match four hours before it. It's a very demanding match as it is, but if you walk in after a grueling match like those we’ve seen this afternoon? Then it’s no longer a matter of preparation. It becomes survival.”

Amy Maynard: “I see what you mean. and I agree. This is going to be brutal, a high price for a shot at ANY title in the company. Eighteen competitors started, six are left, only one will become the Red Line 3 winner. Gavin Grimes, Andrew Raynes, Tiff Rollins, Olly, Jordan Parker-Kane and Ixtab. This is going to be the entrance order, based on the qualifying time they achieved in their previous match. Who’s going to be the last one standing?”

Gavin was pretty banged up after the Parking Lot Brawl, a huge bandage around his chest and various bruises all over the body. The Four Corners Of Pain match definitely took its toll on the Chicago Way champion, but the Embracer Of Hate wanted to defend his crown of King Of Extreme in MWE and went on the attack right away, firing a huge right hand at the Captain. Gavin ducked the blow and went for a quick tiger suplex, dropping Raynes on his neck. Grimes then unloaded a flurry of punches to Raynes’ head, pushing him all the way into the corner. From there he went with an irish whip but the Chicago Way champion reversed it and charged right in. Gav grabbed the ropes and went up and over, landing behind the Embracer Of Hate’s back while he crashed into the corner. As soon as Andrew turned around, Gavin went for a running uppercut but he ate a boot to the face, followed by a lariat that leveled the former MWE superstar. Always favoring his ribs, Gavin picked himself up but the Canada born blasted him with the Code Of The Sith (running single leg high knee), knocking him down. He made the cover, sure that this would be enough to keep the Chosen One down and could buy him a couple of minutes to recover before the next contender would enter the match, but Grimes still had some left in his tank. The two kept fighting, mostly brawling in the middle of the ring until the clock ran down and Tiff’s pod opened.

Amy Maynard: “I’m surprised to see Tiffany in the chamber. Then again, I was surprised to see her name in the tournament as well. She’s not know as a hardcore wrestler, and she’s not been in a great shape recently.”

Helena Noir: “True, but do you remember her year-long run as Cloud Gate champion? We’ve all seen what she’s capable of, how her heart and determination pushed her to defeat the odds and make history. If she’s able to find that again in herself, sky’s the limit for this young girl. No pun intended.”

The fans present in the Enterprise Arena welcomed Tiffany with a loud pop. Despite all the difficulties she’s been through, and perhaps because of them, the fans were firmly behind the blonde whose back looked like a map with all the bruises and closed cuts from the Barbed Wire Ladder Match. Upon entering the ring, the blonde immediately received a warm welcome from Andrew in the form of a kick to the face, but she managed to dodge and quickly grabbed the Chicago Way champion by the shoulder and threw him through the second and top rope for a rough landing on the metal platform through the pod. Alone with Grimes she waited for him to get up and rocked him with her boxing combination, paying homage to her new mentor Jackie Fowler who had quite the rocky past with the Captain. She had him at the ropes when a springboard knee strike from Raynes knocked her down. She rolled under the bottom rope taking a moment to regroup before she started getting up. Inadvertently, she ended up close to Olly’s position and the former Academy Student began slamming his fists against the plexiglass, yelling insults at the former Cloud Gate champion.

Helena Noir: “Never take your eyes off what’s happening in the ring in a match like this…”

Grimes left the ring and slammed her head against Olly’s pod, Inside the ring, Raynes was only now getting up to his feet after the Captain’s sitout jawbreaker. Gavin was inviting him to come fight on the steel floor, and the Chicago Way champion was up to the task. Rollins joined the fight, attacking Andrew as soon as he got the upper hand but the Embracer Of Hate quickly put her down on the mat with a knee strike to the chin. He saw Grimes slowly getting up and didn’t think twice, spearing him through the pod left empty by Rollins. The fans began chanting “Holy Shit” over and over but the Captain wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Another one of the pods opened, bringing up the total of competitors to four. It was Olly’s turn and the former Tag champion went straight for the Five Foot Death Machine, grinding her face against the steel chains on the wall of the chamber.

Amy Maynard: “The former tag team champion wasted no time and immediately went for the woman who cost him the match at Below Zero.”

Helena Noir: “Olly is dangerous, and dangerously underrated. I’ve been keeping an eye on him since his match against Dez Ali one year ago, when he was still in the Academy. He thinks outside the box, he can take a beating as well as dishing one and he knows how to get under people’s skin.”

Amy Maynard: “All true, but his attitude… I think it made him more enemies than he can handle. And it’s all coming back biting him in the ass.”

So far though, he was surely taking his pound of flesh on Rollins, manhandling the former Cloud Gate champion. Ruthless in his offense, he raked her back while she was leaning face-first against the cage wall, causing some of those wounds to open and bleed again. Not happy with it, he picked her up with a belly to back suplex onto the steel. Gavin and Raynes brought the fight back inside the ring. The Chicago Way champion seemed in control, but the Chosen One quickly turned the momentum with a step-over spinning kick. He earned a round of applause with a running shooting star press but unfortunately for him, it didn’t earn him the elimination. If inside the ring the competitors were actually wrestling, on the outside it was pure and unadulterated violence. The smaller Rollins managed to turn the tide with some sharp elbows to the stomach and a bulldog that slammed his face onto the cold steel. Finally Tiffany had the chance to avenge months of abuse and mockery, if not on Faith herself, at least on her boyfriend, accomplice in all those misdeeds. Olly crawled toward the pod he came out from, and even in this moment of great difficulty, he had to run his mouth, taunting Rollins with some harsh words. Tiffany shook her head and told him to shut up before she started unleashing a flurry of kicks to the chest.

Amy Maynard: “We all know what’s coming next…”

Helena Noir: “We do, but I’m not sure we’ll see the happy ending we’d like.”

Rollins took a step back and fired off with her Death Kick, but Olly saw it coming and ducked. The force behind the kick dug a hold through the plexiglass, in which Tiff’s foot remained stuck in.

Helena Noir: “This is what I was talking about. Olly made her think she was in control, took a few hard kicks but when it mattered the most, he was ready. And now Tiff is in big trouble.”

The former champion was trying to get free, but Olly was right on her. He hit her in the calf, kicking her leg into the hard pod wall and eliciting a groan of pain from the blonde. He used the broken plexiglass to punish her, damaging that leg to the point where it started bleeding. Finally she was able to free her foot, grabbing her leg with both hands and rolling over in pain. It wasn’t enough for Olly who began stomping her on the wound, making sure she couldn’t throw another kick or even stand for the rest of the night. He even walked on it, but this meticulous and maniacal punishment ended up costing his chances to win the EC. Grimes in fact surprised him with the Roll-Up Of Doom, getting the three and scoring the first elimination, right when the third pod opened.

Helena Noir: “In the span of two minutes we saw Olly’s greatest strength and his worst flaw. What a shame.”

Amy Maynard: “Yeah, he was so focused on Tiff that… OUCH!”

Olly didn’t like being eliminated and before leaving the chamber, he blasted Grimes with a clothesline from behind, dropping him on his knees. Perfect position for his Random Act Of Violence, followed by a second one to Tiffany as well. A name that summed up pretty well this whole situation. He left the chamber, leaving a trail of broken bodies behind him. Inside the ring the fresh Jordan Parker-Kane was showing Andrew Raynes that, if Valentine didn’t get involved, he would have taken the title from him at Below Zero. The former MMA star was combining his martial arts background with his new found flair for violence and extreme, repeatedly kneeing his face into the punishing structure, The Embracer Of Hate didn’t stay down, pushing himself up to his feet and beginning his comeback, punch after punch, elbow after elbow. Eventually, he got a near fall himself with a brainbuster on the steel plate. On the other side of the chamber, Tiff finally managed to get up to her feet as well, looking down at her wounded leg that would definitely be a factor in the rest of the match. Grimes got up as well, visibly dazed after Olly’s attack. He seemed ready to go though, or at least try. He only managed to take a couple of steps toward Tiff when the last competitor entered the match. First thing Ixtab did was braining the Captain with a reverse hurricanrana, cutting down to four the number of active competitors still in this thing.

Helena Noir: “That’s how you make an impact..”

Amy Maynard: “Ixtab is hands down the surprise of this edition of Red Line 3. She beat Valkyrie and Envy, eliminated Grimes and she’s now going to do the same to Tiff!”

The former Cloud Gate champion fought back tooth and nail, but just when she seemed close to get the best of the Mexican, Ixtab kicked her on the injured leg. The Luchadora showed no mercy and insisted on the wound. An unexpected help came from her fellow Rise graduated, Jordan Parker-Kane who, after eliminating Raynes with his Bomaye, flinged on Ixtab with a reckless but effective suicide dive. As the two fought it out, Rollins got some time to recover, watching as the two tore each other apart. Highlight of the night was Ixtab’s shooting star press legdrop on Parker, who incredibly kicked out in two and half. Tiff joined the fight and suddenly the crowd came alive, cheering loudly as she planted the Mexican on the canvas with a rare spinebuster, still not enough to eliminate the masked woman.

Amy Maynard: “Jordan Parker-Kane, Tiff Rollins and Ixtab. One of these three competitors will leave this chamber with a cash prize and a shot at a title of their choosing. The question is, who will it be?”

Helena Noir: “It’s a make it or break it moment, so close and yet still so far from the goal. Stay focused, stay sharp and ready. This is not the moment to be reckless and take risks, the occasion will eventually come. And when it does, you have to be ready.”

The three seemed to be aware of that, the tension was palpable. Tiff got Ixtab on the ropes with a series of chops, but when she went for the clothesline, the Mexican threw her over the top rope. Rough landing on the steel for the former Cloud Gate champion who immediately arched her back and let out a groan of pain. This was the opening, this was the chance to score the elimination and get one step closer to the win. That was what Jordan must’ve thought as he caught Ixtab from behind and threw her across the ring with a suplex. The luchadora landed on her feet and immediately hit him with a calf kick. She walked to him as he started getting up and finished him with an axe kick. Another elimination scored by Ixtab, who didn’t even have time to celebrate it before Tiff knocked her down with a Death Kick.

Amy Maynard: “THE DEATH KICK! It’s over, Tiff is the winn…..NO!”

Helena Noir: “The leg… Olly definitely did a number on it, that’s why she couldn’t put the usual force in that kick.”

Tiff herself couldn’t believe Ixtab kicked out. Seeing the opponent surviving her best shot would’ve been a fatal hit for the morale of the recent version of Tiff Rollins, but the girl inside the ring tonight, that looked a lot like the record breaking champion at her peak, at least for the determination and fire shown. She fought with Ixtab for a couple more minutes, flooring her with the Peacemaker. Rollins considered the pin, but she was exhausted and needed to be sure Ixtab was staying down this time. Limping, she walked to the corner, climbed to the second rope and, to everyone’s surprise, to the third. That right leg was in a bad shape, covered in blood and visibly in pain. But she still managed to jump and land on top of the opponent with the Thrillkiller (swanton bomb), obtaining an incredible win. The best way to end this awful year on a high note.

WINNER: Tiff Rollins
BY: Pinfall (Thrillkiller), 34:19

Post by gvb on Jan 14, 2022 18:16:33 GMT -6

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