The CMLL Universal Championship (Campeonato Universal in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

) is an annual lucha libre

Lucha libre

Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...

 tournament

Tournament

A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...

 held by the Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 professional wrestling promotion

Professional wrestling promotion

A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...

 Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre 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...

 (CMLL) since 2009. The tournament format is a "tournament of champions" with all all officially recognized male CMLL Champions at the time of the tournament participating. The Universal Championship is not defended throughout the year like a traditional tournament, but is a title akin to the FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 that is held until the next tournament.

Tournament winners

Year	Winner	Championship held	Date	Note
2009 CMLL Universal Championship (2009) -Block B:Block B competed on the June 12, 2009 Super Viernes with the winner advancing to the finals on June 19, 2010. Champions in the first round were.Block B-Finals:...	Último Guerrero Último Guerrero Último Guerrero is a Mexican currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where he is also part of the booking committee and former CMLL World Heavyweight Championship...	CMLL World Heavyweight Championship CMLL World Heavyweight Championship The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and has been in existence since 1991...
2010 CMLL Universal Championship (2010) Block BBlock B took place on the August 6, 2010 Super Viernes, featuring eight champions fighting for a place in the final.FinalsThe finals of the tournament took place on the August 13, 2010 Super Viernes and saw Jushin Liger defeat La Sombra two falls to one, after interference from Liger's...	Jushin Liger Jushin Liger , better known as and later, is a Japanese professional wrestler who primarily works for New Japan Pro Wrestling.He has wrestled and beaten many of the top smaller wrestlers in both Japan and the United States, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most revolutionary junior...	CMLL World Middleweight Championship CMLL World Middleweight Championship The CMLL World Middleweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre...
2011 CMLL Universal Championship (2011) Block BBlock B took place on September 9, 2011, and featured eight champions fighting for a place in the finals.FinalsThe finals of the tournament took place on September 16, 2011, and saw La Sombra defeat Averno two falls to one to become the 2011 Universal Champion....	La Sombra La Sombra (wrestler) La Sombra is a Mexican luchador enmascarado . La Sombra's real real name is not a matter of public record, as is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are kept a secret from the wrestling fans...	NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship The NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship governed by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre...

Tournament history

The Universal Championship tournament was created in 2009 to replace the Leyenda de Plata

Leyenda de Plata

The Leyenda de Plata is an annual lucha libre tournament held by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre since 1998. The tournament honors El Santo, Enmáscarado de Plata and has been held every year since 1998 except for 2003 when El Hijo del Santo did not...

as CMLL's top tournament of the year. The Leyenda de Plata commemorated El Santo, a legend in lucha libre, but when CMLL and El Santo's son, El Hijo del Santo

El Hijo del Santo

Jorge Guzmán Rodríguez , better known as El Hijo del Santo , is a Mexican professional wrestler, political activist and one of the most successful stars in Lucha Libre...

 had a very public falling out in 2008 they decided to no longer run the annual Leyenda de Plata tournament. They came up with the concept of the Universal Championship tournament, a tournament exclusively for CMLL champions. The first Universal Championship tournament

CMLL Universal Championship (2009)

-Block B:Block B competed on the June 12, 2009 Super Viernes with the winner advancing to the finals on June 19, 2010. Champions in the first round were.Block B-Finals:...

 took place over three shows in June, with the June 5, 2009 Super Viernes and June 12, 2009 Super Viernes each hosting a three round block of the tournament and the June 19, 2009 Super Viernes featuring the finals as its main event. On June 19, 2009 CMLL World Heavyweight Champion

CMLL World Heavyweight Championship

The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and has been in existence since 1991...

, and one of the tournament favorites, Último Guerrero

Último Guerrero

Último Guerrero is a Mexican currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where he is also part of the booking committee and former CMLL World Heavyweight Championship...

 defeated El Texano, Jr.

El Texano, Jr.

Juan Aguilar Leos is a Mexican luchador, or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name El Texano, Jr.. Aguilar is the son of Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui, who wrestled under the name El Texano; Aguilar also has several uncles and cousins that are professional wrestlers...

 the reigning NWA World Light Heavyweight Champion

NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship

The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship is a currently inactive professional wrestling championship promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance . For the majority of its existence it has been promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where it was known as the Campeonato...

. CMLL later announced the 2010 Universal Championship

CMLL Universal Championship (2010)

Block BBlock B took place on the August 6, 2010 Super Viernes, featuring eight champions fighting for a place in the final.FinalsThe finals of the tournament took place on the August 13, 2010 Super Viernes and saw Jushin Liger defeat La Sombra two falls to one, after interference from Liger's...

, confirming that it will indeed be an annual event. The second annual Universal Championship tournament started on July 30, 2010, ended on August 13 and saw New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...

 representative and CMLL World Middleweight Champion

CMLL World Middleweight Championship

The CMLL World Middleweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre...

 Jushin "Thunder" Liger

Jushin Liger

, better known as and later, is a Japanese professional wrestler who primarily works for New Japan Pro Wrestling.He has wrestled and beaten many of the top smaller wrestlers in both Japan and the United States, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most revolutionary junior...

 defeat CMLL World Trios Champion

CMLL World Trios Championship

The CMLL World Trios Championship is a professional wrestling championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico. The title has existed since 1993 and is contested for by teams of three wrestlers...

 La Sombra

La Sombra (wrestler)

La Sombra is a Mexican luchador enmascarado . La Sombra's real real name is not a matter of public record, as is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are kept a secret from the wrestling fans...

 to become the 2010 Universal Champion. The 2011 edition started on September 2, ended on September 16 and saw La Sombra, now the NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion

NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship

The NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship governed by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre...

, come back to defeat CMLL World Trios Champion Averno in the finals to win the tournament.