CMLL World Middleweight Championship
Encyclopedia
The CMLL World Middleweight Championship (Campeonato Mundial peso Medio de CMLL in Spanish
) is a professional wrestling
championship
promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
(CMLL). While weight classes
are regularly ignored in wrestling promotions in the United States
, with most emphasis placed on "heavyweights", more emphasis is placed on weight classes in Mexican
companies who still maintain many weight classes. The official definition of a Middleweight in Mexico is a person under 87 kg (191.8 lb), but is not strictly adhered to these days.
Because the championship is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won or lost competitively but instead by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The title is awarded after the chosen champion "wins" a match to maintain the illusion
that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.
(NWA) to avoid the politics of the NWA. In 1991, CMLL decided to create a series of World Championships, one of which was the for the Middleweight division. They use a one night, eight man tournament to determine the first Middleweight Champion. The tournament final saw Blue Panther
defeat El Satánico
to become the first CMLL World Middleweight Champion. The title has not been vacated at any time since it was first created and is current held by the 10th overall champion on the 14th title reign.
is the current champion having won the title on November 18, 2011 from Jushin Liger
. This is Rojo's first reign as Middleweight Champion and he is the 17th overall champion. El Dandy holds the record for most World Middleweight Championship reigns with three and is one of only three wrestlers to hold the title more than once, the others being Negro Casas and Emilio Charles, Jr.
Satánico holds the record for longest individual reign, with 1,561 days. Apolo Dantés
has held the title the shortest with 77 days.
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 a professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
championship
Championship (professional wrestling)
A Championship or "title" in professional wrestling is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations.Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries...
promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion 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). While weight classes
Wrestling weight classes
-For men's freestyle and Greco-Roman:Currently, men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling is divided into four main age categories internationally: schoolboys, cadets, juniors, and seniors....
are regularly ignored in wrestling promotions in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with most emphasis placed on "heavyweights", more emphasis is placed on weight classes in 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...
companies who still maintain many weight classes. The official definition of a Middleweight in Mexico is a person under 87 kg (191.8 lb), but is not strictly adhered to these days.
Because the championship is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won or lost competitively but instead by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The title is awarded after the chosen champion "wins" a match to maintain the illusion
Sports entertainment
Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competitive event using a high level of theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertaining an audience...
that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.
Championship history
In the late 1980s CMLL left the National Wrestling AllianceNational Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA) to avoid the politics of the NWA. In 1991, CMLL decided to create a series of World Championships, one of which was the for the Middleweight division. They use a one night, eight man tournament to determine the first Middleweight Champion. The tournament final saw Blue Panther
Blue Panther
Genaro Vazquez Nevarez is a Mexican professional wrestler currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, better known by his ring name Blue Panther...
defeat El Satánico
El Satánico
Daniel López López is a Mexican Luchador, or professional wrestler best known under the ring name Satánico . López is currently working as a wrestling trainer for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , the company he's worked for most of his career...
to become the first CMLL World Middleweight Champion. The title has not been vacated at any time since it was first created and is current held by the 10th overall champion on the 14th title reign.
Reigns
Dragón Rojo, Jr.Dragón Rojo, Jr.
Dragón Rojo, Jr. born November 3, 1982 is a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado Dragón Rojo, Jr. (Red Dragon, Jr., real name unrevealed) born November 3, 1982 is a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado Dragón Rojo, Jr. (Red Dragon, Jr., real name unrevealed) born November 3, 1982 is a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado...
is the current champion having won the title on November 18, 2011 from 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...
. This is Rojo's first reign as Middleweight Champion and he is the 17th overall champion. El Dandy holds the record for most World Middleweight Championship reigns with three and is one of only three wrestlers to hold the title more than once, the others being Negro Casas and Emilio Charles, Jr.
Emilio Charles, Jr.
Sergio Emilio Charles Garduño is a semi-retired Mexican Luchador or professional wrestler who is best known under his Ring name Emilio Charles, Jr. He is the son of professional wrestler Emilio Charles. Over the years Emilio Charles, Jr...
Satánico holds the record for longest individual reign, with 1,561 days. Apolo Dantés
Apolo Dantés
José Luis Amezcua Muñoz , best known by his ring name Apolo Dantés, is a Mexican Luchador, or professional wrestler, who has been a longtime mainstay of Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre throughout the 1990s and now owns and operates "Dantés Wrestling Factory" in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico...
has held the title the shortest with 77 days.