CMLL World Welterweight Championship
Encyclopedia
The CMLL World Welterweight Championship (Campionato Mundial Peso Welter de CMLL in Spanish
) is a professional wrestling
world championship in the Mexican
wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
(CMLL). The official definition of a Welterweight in Mexico is a person between 70 kg (154.3 lb) and 78 kg (172 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 Welterweight division. CMLL held a four man tournament on February 15, 1992 to crown the first champion. the participants were Fuerza Guerrera
, El Felino
, America and El Khalifa, the finals saw Fuerza Guerrera defeat El Khalifa to become the first Welterweight champion. In 1996 the Championship vacated after then champion El Pantera
lost the title to Super Delfin while on tour in Japan, after which he was planning to leave CMLL for AAA
. CMLL, knowing Pantera was leaving, nullified and did not recognize the title change. Subsequently CMLL put together a 16 man tournament crown a new champion, the tournament saw Mascara Magica defeat El Felino in the tournament final to become the Seventh official CMLL World Welterweight Champion. Mascara Magica would later defeat Super Delfin to put an end to any speculation about the lineage of the championship. Since then the title has only changed hands in Mexico City, until January 2011, when Ryusuke Taguchi
won the title in Tokyo, Japan.
having defeated Ryusuke Taguchi
on June 18, 2011, during Dominion 6.18, a New Japan Pro Wrestling
event in Osaka
, Japan
. It's Dorada's second reign with the title and he is the 26th overall Champion. La Pantera and El Felino have both held the championship three times. Felino also has the longest combined reigns overall with 1,186 days. Mephisto
has the longest individual reign at 1,141 days. The first champion, Fuerza Guerrera is also the person who's held the title the shortest time, 22 days but the possibility exists that Mascara Magica's second reign was shorter as no specific date for the start of the reign can be confirmed.
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...
world championship in 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...
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). The official definition of a Welterweight in Mexico is a person between 70 kg (154.3 lb) and 78 kg (172 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 Welterweight division. CMLL held a four man tournament on February 15, 1992 to crown the first champion. the participants were Fuerza Guerrera
Fuerza Guerrera
Fuerza Guerrera is a Mexican Luchador enmascarado who made his debut in 1978. In his career Guerrera has worked for ever major wrestling organization in Mexico including Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , Asistencia Asesoría y Administración , Universal Wrestling Association , World Wrestling...
, El Felino
El Felino
El Felino , is the ring name of Jorge Luis Casas Ruiz, who is a Mexican professional wrestler or Luchador currently wrestling for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre . He is the son of wrestler and referee Pepe Casas, the brother of Negro Casas and Heavy Metal and the cousin of Black Star...
, America and El Khalifa, the finals saw Fuerza Guerrera defeat El Khalifa to become the first Welterweight champion. In 1996 the Championship vacated after then champion El Pantera
Pantera (wrestler)
Francisco Javier Pozas is a Mexican professional wrestler, or luchador, who is best known under the ring name El Pantera, but has also worked as Pantera II, El Manaya, América, Tritón and TANAKA over the years...
lost the title to Super Delfin while on tour in Japan, after which he was planning to leave CMLL for AAA
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración is a lucha libre professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico...
. CMLL, knowing Pantera was leaving, nullified and did not recognize the title change. Subsequently CMLL put together a 16 man tournament crown a new champion, the tournament saw Mascara Magica defeat El Felino in the tournament final to become the Seventh official CMLL World Welterweight Champion. Mascara Magica would later defeat Super Delfin to put an end to any speculation about the lineage of the championship. Since then the title has only changed hands in Mexico City, until January 2011, when Ryusuke Taguchi
Ryusuke Taguchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion....
won the title in Tokyo, Japan.
Reigns
The current champion is Máscara DoradaMascara Dorada
Máscara Dorada is a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado . Máscara Dorada's real name has not been officially documented, a tradition in Mexican Lucha Libre where masked wrestler's real names often are not a matter of public record...
having defeated Ryusuke Taguchi
Ryusuke Taguchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling , where he is a former one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion....
on June 18, 2011, during Dominion 6.18, a 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...
event in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It's Dorada's second reign with the title and he is the 26th overall Champion. La Pantera and El Felino have both held the championship three times. Felino also has the longest combined reigns overall with 1,186 days. Mephisto
Mephisto (wrestler)
Mephisto , whose birth name is unknown, is a Mexican professional wrestler or Luchador currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre . Mephisto is the son of Luchador Astro Rey/Kahoz and has previously worked both as Astro Rey Jr. and Kahoz Jr. but has been most successful as Mephisto...
has the longest individual reign at 1,141 days. The first champion, Fuerza Guerrera is also the person who's held the title the shortest time, 22 days but the possibility exists that Mascara Magica's second reign was shorter as no specific date for the start of the reign can be confirmed.