Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

Acronym	CMLL
Founded	1933
Style	Lucha Libre
Headquarters	Mexico City
Founder(s)	Salvador Lutteroth
Owner(s)	Paco Alonso
Formerly	Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre NWA-EMLL
Website	http://www.cmll.com/

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) (Spanish for Worldwide Wrestling Council) is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico. The promotion is also referred to by its previous name Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) (Mexican Wrestling Enterprise). It is currently the world's oldest pro wrestling promotion still in existence.^[1]

History

The promotion was founded by "The Father of Lucha Libre" Salvador Lutteroth Gonzales when he ran a card under the banner of EMLL on September 21, 1933^[2]. The promotion flourished and quickly became the premier spot for workers. If wrestlers were big in Mexico City, they were considered stars throughout Mexico. With stars like El Santo, Bobby Bonales, Tarzán Lopez, Cavernario Galindo and Gory Guerrero (father of Eddie Guerrero), "La Empresa" was at the forefront of the Lucha Libre movement and for the next 50 years, EMLL would continue its place as the leader.

In the 1970s, Lutteroth left the company in the hands of his son Chavo, but the company weakened with Ray Mendoza along with a few promoters breaking off and forming the Universal Wrestling Association. UWA ran in Mexico City and in nearby Naucalpan against EMLL. UWA would be a tremendous force for 15 years but due to a weakening talent pool and affiliates, it died in the 1990s.

EMLL joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as its Mexican affiliate as NWA-EMLL. In time, it pulled out in the 1980s due to promoter disunity, and the NWA's losing battle to stave off the World Wrestling Federation's expansion and consolidation of the U.S. wrestling scene. At this time, it changed its name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre to make itself sound more international. At the start of the 1990s the company began appearing on Televisa. This led to a big boom in business due to national television exposure (before this, magazines were the sole medium of Lucha Libre). After the initial boom, long time booker Antonio Peña broke off and formed his own promotion, Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, taking many of the young talent with him. AAA took the lead for several years but when the Mexican economy declined in the mid-1990s, AAA scaled-back and CMLL started re-building with the famous El Hijo del Santo vs. Negro Casas feud where Santo shocked the world by turning heel when he dressed up like Negro Casas' brother Felino and attacked him. CMLL followed this up by pushing younger stars, leading to another boom period.

On March 16, 2010, a video was posted on YouTube featuring an interview David Marquez had with NWA Executive Director and Legal Counsel Robert Trobich. Trobich announced that CMLL did not have permission to use the NWA trademark. The rights to usage of the NWA trademark in Mexico is now held by NWA Mexico, represented by Blue Demon, Jr.

From 2007 to 2009, CMLL had a working relationship with American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which saw CMLL's Averno, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero and Volador, Jr. winning the 2008 TNA World X Cup and TNA worker Alex Shelley winning the 2008 CMLL International Grand Prix. In 2008, CMLL established a working relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of "G-1 World", several wrestlers have since toured between the two companies winning titles, including Místico winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and Jushin Liger winning the CMLL Universal Championship. In 2011, CMLL established a working relationship with Japanese women's promotion Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina and announced that the two promotions would create a new championship for women who have been in the business for less than ten years, called the CMLL-REINA International Junior Championship.

Style and Television

Most CMLL events are held in the famous Arena Mexico in Mexico City, with the biggest weekly show being the Friday night Super Viernes ("Super Friday") show. Of all the major promotions in the world, CMLL is one of the most conservative. Matches with blood are not broadcasted and, other than an annual cage match, specialty matches such as ladder matches are never used.

The original logo of Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.

CMLL's main programming, hosted by Alfonso Morales, Leobardo Magadan and Miguel Linares, is broadcast regularly on Televisa in Mexico, on LATV in the United States, and formerly on Telelatino in Canada and The Wrestling Channel in the United Kingdom. CMLL also had a syndicated show called "Sin Limite de Tiempo" ("with no time limit") which shows matches from Arena Coliseo shows and matches they could not fit onto the regular broadcast. It aired in Los Angeles on KWHY. This show was followed up by "Guerreros del Ring" on Canal 52MX. Also, Spanish-language American sports channel Fox Sports en Español recently started broadcasting CMLL programming. Recently CMLL also added the Mexican network Cadena Tres to its list of networks airing CMLL Wrestling. Galavision began airing CMLL wrestling in the spring of 2011.

CMLL shows have been available in the United Kingdom via BT Vision's download service. As of July 29, 2010 54 episodes of CMLL wrestling is available to view. The first show featured was from CMLL's 75th Anniversary Show from 2008. In Germany you can follow CMLL through online video and Web-2.0 media platform Sevenload.^[3]

Major shows

Each year CMLL promotes a number of signature events, some shown as pay-per-view events and others shown on regular television. Over the last couple of years CMLL have held three regular events each year and a number of one off, special events. The Major show, shown in order of when they happen during the year, include:

Event	Next Date	Notes
La Hora Cero	Not announced for 2010	A Pay-Per-View held on January 11, 2009. No indications of it becoming an annual event
Homenaje a Dos Leyendas	March 18, 2011	Annual show since 2005, honors 2 "legends", one is always Salvador Lutteroth, CMLL's founder.
Infierno en el Ring	September 30, 2011	Infierno en el Ring is an annual "multi-man" Steel Cage elimination match, sometimes it gets it own show, other years it's the main event of another Major Event.
CMLL Anniversary Show	Not announced for 2012	The biggest show of CMLL's year, commemorates CMLL's debut in 1933. The longest running annual show in professional wrestling. Most recent anniversary was the 78th Anniversary.
Sin Salida	Not announced for 2011	Sin Salida is a more recent show, so far held in December and in June

Roster

Main article: Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre roster

Championships and tournaments

CMLL championships

Championship	Current Champion(s)	Held since
CMLL Universal Championship	La Sombra	02011-09-16 September 16, 2011[4]
CMLL World Heavyweight Championship	Vacated	02011-11-11 November 11, 2011
CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship	Rush	02011-02-22 February 22, 2011[5]
CMLL World Middleweight Championship	Dragón Rojo, Jr.	02011-11-18 November 18, 2011[6]
CMLL World Mini-Estrella Championship	Pequeño Olímpico	02011-02-13 February 13, 2011[7]
CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship	Virus	02011-06-07 June 7, 2011[8]
CMLL World Tag Team Championship	Los Guerreros del Atlantida (Dragón Rojo, Jr. and Último Guerrero)	02010-11-02 November 2, 2010[9]
CMLL World Trios Championship	Los Hijos del Averno (Averno, Ephesto and Mephisto)	02011-07-15 July 15, 2011
CMLL World Welterweight Championship	Máscara Dorada	02011-06-18 June 18, 2011[10]
CMLL World Women's Championship	Marcela	02011-10-28 October 28, 2011[11]
CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship	Flash and Stuka, Jr.	02008-06-29 June 29, 2008
CMLL-REINA International Junior Championship	La Silueta	02011-10-18 October 18, 2011[12]

Other championships used by CMLL

Championship	Current Champion(s)	Held since
Mexican National Trios Championship	Los Invasores (Olímpico, Psicosis II and Volador Jr.)	02011-09-20 September 20, 2011
Mexican National Welterweight Championship	Pólvora	02011-07-15 July 15, 2011
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship	La Máscara	02010-10-05 October 5, 2010[13]
Mexican National Lightweight Championship	Pierrothito	02008-09-23 September 23, 2008
Mexican National Women's Championship	Princesa Blanca	02009-01-30 January 30, 2009[14]
NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship	Rey Bucanero	02011-06-21 June 21, 2011[15]
NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship	Averno	02007-11-30 November 30, 2007
NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship	La Sombra	02011-03-13 March 13, 2011[16]

CMLL Guadalajara Championship

These titles controlled by the Guadalajara branch of CMLL.

Championship	Current Champion(s)	Held since
Occidente Heavyweight Championship	Vacant	Unclear
Occidente Light Heavyweight Championship	Okumura	02011-07-12 July 12, 2011
Occidente Middleweight Championship	Palacio Negro	02011-08-14 August 14, 2011
Occidente Tag Team Championship	El Texano, Jr and El Terrible	02008-08-26 August 26, 2008
Occidente Trios Championship	Unknown	Unknown
Occidente Welterweight Championship	Metal Blanco	02010-04-04 April 4, 2010

CMLL Japan championships

These title are now defunct and was only when CMLL toured Japan in 1999 and 2000.

Championship	Last Recognized Champion(s)	Date created	End of Recognition
CMLL Japan Super Lightweight Championship	Ricky Marvin	01999-02-27 February 27, 1999	02000-08-06 August 6, 2000
CMLL Japan Tag Team Championship	Vacated	01999-02-24 February 24, 1999	01999-07-07 July 7, 1999
CMLL Japan Women's Championship	Vacated	01999-10-17 October 17, 1999	02000-02-13 February 13, 2000

Tournaments

CMLL conducts several annual tournaments which usually signify a big push. Tournaments have been left out of the schedule for unexplained reasons. Some tournaments are conducted as torneo cibernéticos, a large multi-man tag team elimination match, others are normal single elimination tournament.

Active tournaments

Tournament	Last winner	Last held	Notes
Torneo Gran Alternativa ("Great Alternative" Tournament)	Escorpion and Último Guerrero	02011-04-08 April 8, 2011[17]	An elimination tag team tournament where an established star teams with a young midcarder with the intent to give the younger wrestler more credibility.
Campeonato Universal (Universal Champion)	Jushin Liger	02010-08-13 August 13, 2010	An elimination tournament consisting of all champions to determine the "Universal champion". Winner received a title belt but it is defended in the annual tournament.
Copa Jr. ("Junior Cup")	Dragón Rojo, Jr.	02010-12-25 December 25, 2010	This tournament features wrestlers who are at least second generation wrestlers, though worked family relations have been accepted as well. This tournament has been held four times in CMLL in 1996, 2005, 2006 and 2010. In 1996 the winner was Emilio Charles, Jr.. The 2005 winner was Shocker. The 2006 winner was Dos Caras, Jr. After a four year hiatus, the tournament was brought back in December 2010, when Dragón Rojo, Jr. emerged as the fourth winner.
Reyes del Aire ("King of the Air")	Ángel de Oro[18]	02011-01-01 January 1, 2011	This tournament is for high flyers. The tournament usually works as a cibernetico with mostly young and undercard tecnicos, with the idea of focusing more attention on the winner.
Pequeño Reyes del Aire ("Miniature King of the Air")	Pequeño Nitro	02010-03-07 March 7, 2010	Like the Reyes del Aire but for Mini-Estrellas
Leyenda de Plata ("Silver Legend")	Volador Jr.	02011-10-07 October 7, 2011[19]	A tournament in honor of El Santo. This is the most prestigious of the CMLL tournaments and the tournament is usually made up of the best in-ring workers.
Leyenda de Azul ("Blue Legend")	Mr. Niebla	02011-07-29 July 29, 2011	A tournament in honor of Blue Demon. It is secondary to the Leyenda de Plata tournament but features most of the top wrestlers in the promotion. It has been conducted as a normal torneo cibernético and as a one night tournament.

Past annual tournaments

These are all the tournament that have been held in the past by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre but have not been promoted in the last two years.

Tournament	Last winner	Last held	Notes
International Gran Prix	Alex Shelley[20]	02008-07-26 July 26, 2008	Previously an elimination tournament, now a tornero Cibernetico. Features a "Mexico vs. International" wrestlers theme with one side being native Mexicans and the other side of the Cibernetico being foreigners, in 2008 it featured several Total Nonstop Action Wrestling wrestlers.
Copa de Arena Mexico	Team Tall (Black Warrior, Lizmark, Jr., and Rayo de Jalisco, Jr.)	02002 2002	A one night tournament for trios teams. The winners earns a trophy; each team comes up with a name for their trio. The tournament was only held in 1999, 2001, and 2002. In 1999, the winners were Satánico, Rey Bucanero and Ultimo Guerrero as "Team Guerreros del Infierno". The 2001 winners were Black Warrior, Shocker, and Apolo Dantes as "Team Shocker".

References

1. ^ Madigan, Dan (2007). "A family affair". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizare & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. pp. 128–132. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3. 
2. ^ Figure Four Online.com/Wrestling Observer.com news update for September 21, 2011
3. ^ Watch CMLL at Sevenload
4. ^ "La Sombra, Campeón Universal" (in Spanish). Récord. September 16, 2011. http://www.record.com.mx/luchalibre/2011-09-16/la-sombra-campeon-universal. Retrieved September 16, 2011. 
5. ^ Ruiz Glez, Alex (February 23, 2011). "Arena México (resultados 22 de febrero) ¡Rush nuevo campeón mundial semicompleto del CMLL" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2011/02/23/arena-mexico-resultados-22-de-febrero-%C2%A1rush-nuevo-campeon-mundial-semicompleto-del-cmll/. Retrieved February 23, 2011. 
6. ^ González, Fernando (2011-11-19). "Dragón Rojo Jr., nuevo Campeón peso Medio del CMLL" (in Spanish). Récord. http://www.record.com.mx/tmf/2011-11-19/dragon-rojo-jr-nuevo-campeon-peso-medio-del-cmll. Retrieved 2011-11-20. 
7. ^ Ruiz Glez, Alex (February 14, 2011). "Arena México (resultados 13 de febrero) Pequeño Olímpico nuevo campeón mundial mini del CMLL" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2011/02/14/arena-mexico-resultados-13-de-febrero-pequeno-olimpico-nuevo-campeon-mundial-mini-del-cmll/. Retrieved February 14, 2011. 
8. ^ "!Dr. X y Fuego encienden de nueva cuenta su rivalidad! Guerrero Maya y Virus !lucha recompensada con dinero! !El Hijo del Fantasma y el CMLL les cierra la boca!" (in Spanish). Los Coliseinos. June 8, 2011. http://loscoliseinos.blogspot.com/2011/06/dr-x-y-fuego-encienden-una-nueva.html. Retrieved June 8, 2011. 
9. ^ Ruiz Glez, Alex (November 2, 2010). "Arena Coliseo (resultados 2 de noviembre) Último Guerrero y Dragón Rojo Jr. nuevos campeones mundiales de parejas del CMLL" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2010/11/02/arena-coliseo-resultados-2-de-noviembre-ultimo-guerrero-y-dragon-rojo-jr-nuevos-campeones-mundiales-de-parejas-del-cmll/. Retrieved November 3, 2010. 
10. ^ "Dominion 6.18" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. http://www.njpw.co.jp/match/detail_result.php?e=230. Retrieved June 18, 2011. 
11. ^ Santamaría, Jorge (October 28, 2011). "Repiten la dosis" (in Spanish). Récord. http://www.record.com.mx/luchalibre/2011-10-28/repiten-la-dosis. Retrieved October 29, 2011. 
12. ^ Santamaría, Jorge (October 18, 2011). "Doblegó La Sombra a Mr. Niebla" (in Spanish). Récord. http://www.record.com.mx/luchalibre/2011-10-18/doblego-la-sombra-mr-niebla. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 
13. ^ Ruiz Glez, Alex (October 6, 2010). "Arena México (resultados martes 5 de octubre) La Máscara nuevo campeón nacional semicompleto" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2010/10/06/arena-mexico-resultados-martes-5-de-octubre-la-mascara-nuevo-campeon-nacional-semicompleto/. Retrieved October 6, 2010. 
14. ^ polazky (January 31, 2009). "Resultados Arena México (30 en 08)" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/?p=14181. Retrieved July 14, 2009. 
15. ^ Elías, Agustín (June 21, 2011). "Bucanero, nuevo monarca" (in Spanish). Récord. http://www.record.com.mx/luchalibre/2011-06-21/bucanero-nuevo-monarca. Retrieved June 22, 2011. 
16. ^ Ruiz Glez, Alex (March 14, 2011). "Arena México (resultados 13 de Marzo) ¡La Sombra nuevo campeón mundial histórico NWA de peso Welter!" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2011/03/14/arena-mexico-resultados-13-de-marzo-%C2%A1la-sombra-nuevo-campeon-mundial-historico-nwa-de-peso-welter/. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
17. ^ Salazar López, Alexis A. (April 8, 2011). "La Gran Alternativa 2011 fue para Escorpión y Ultimo Guerrero !!" (in Spanish). Estrellas del Ring. http://estrellasdelring.blogspot.com/2011/04/la-gran-alternativa-2011-fue-para.html. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 
18. ^ Ruiz Glez, Alex (January 2, 2011). "Arena México (resultados sábado 1 de enero 2011) Ángel de Oro es el Rey del Aire 2011" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2011/01/02/arena-mexico-resultados-sabado-1-de-enero-2011-angel-de-oro-es-el-rey-del-aire-2011/. Retrieved January 3, 2011. 
19. ^ Rodríguez, Édgar (October 8, 2011). "Volador Jr. se llevó la plata" (in Spanish). Récord. http://www.record.com.mx/luchalibre/2011-10-08/volador-jr-se-llevo-la-plata. Retrieved October 8, 2011. 
20. ^ Miguel, Jose (July 25, 2008). "Gran Prix México – Resultados Rápidos – Alex Shelley de TNA, gana el Gran Prix 2008" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. http://superluchas.net/2008/07/25/gran-prix-mexico-resultados-rapidos/. Retrieved August 30, 2009. 

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)
• EMLL/CMLL Title Histories
• CMLL Coverage by Tony Galvan