The CMLL World Welterweight Championship (Spanish: ''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Welter del CMLL'') is a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in the Mexican

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

(CMLL). The official definition of the welterweight division in Mexico is between and but the official weight limits are not always adhered to. As with other professional wrestling championships, it is not won or lost competitively but is instead scripted by the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The title is awarded after the chosen wrestler "wins" a match. Overall there has been a total of 34 official championship reigns, shared between 22 different wrestlers. Titán is the current champion, having defeated

Soberano Jr. El Soberano or Soberano Jr. (born August 12, 1993 in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Luch ...

in the finals of a tournament for the vacant championship.

Máscara Dorada Máscara Dorada (born August 24, 1988) is the ring name of a Mexican ''luchador'' '' enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He is best known for his time in WWE where he perform ...

is the only wrestler to hold the championship four times. Mephisto's first reign was the longest individual reign, for 1,141 days from 2004 to 2007. The championship has been defended in Mexico and Japan, with three title changes in Japan. The championship has been vacated three times, and CMLL has held three

tournaments A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

for the championship.

History

In the late 1980s, CMLL left the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

(NWA) but retained control of the

NWA World Welterweight Championship The NWA World Welterweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial Welter de NWA) is an inactive professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and most recently promoted by NWA Mexico. The championship was ori ...

as their main championship of the welterweight division. They also promoted the

Mexican National Welterweight Championship The Mexican National Welterweight Championship (''Campeonato Nacional Peso Welter'' in Spanish language, Spanish) is a Lucha libre, Mexican professional wrestling championship (professional wrestling), championship created and sanctioned by Comisi ...

as a secondary title for the Welterweight division. In 1991 they decided to create a series of CMLL-branded world championships, one of which was for the welterweight division. They held a four-man tournament on February 15, 1992, to crown the first welterweight champion. The participants were

Fuerza Guerrera Fuerza Guerrera (born December 13, 1953) is a Mexican ''Luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler) who made his debut in 1978. In his career Guerrera has worked for every major wrestling organization in Mexico including Consejo Mund ...

El Felino Jorge Luis Casas Ruiz (born March 22, 1964), better known by his ring name El Felino ("The Feline"), is a Mexican '' luchador'' (or professional wrestler) working for Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Casas starte ...

, América and El Khalifa; in the finals, Fuerza Guerrera defeated El Khalifa to become the first champion. On July 16, 1992, the Mexican National Welterweight Champion defeated CMLL Welterweight Champion América, vacating the Mexican National Welterweight Championship. In 1993 control of the Mexican National Welterweight Championship was transferred from CMLL to rival promotion

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its o ...

(AAA). In 1996 the championship was vacated after then-champion

El Pantera ''El Pantera'' (English: ''The Panther'') is a Mexican television series that aired on Canal 5 from May 14, 2007 to November 26, 2009. It is based on a comic book of the same name. It narrates the life of Gervasio, a young man who fights crime ...

lost the championship to Super Delfin while on tour in Japan. Pantera left CMLL for AAA after the tour, and lost a match to Super Delfin in Japan, intending to surrender the championship to him. CMLL knew that Pantera was leaving and nullified the championship change, choosing not to vacate the title rather than recognizing the title change. CMLL put together a 16-man tournament to crown a new champion, and Máscara Mágica defeated El Felino in the final to become the seventh official CMLL World Welterweight Champion. Máscara Mágica would later defeat Super Delfin to put an end to any questions about the lineage of the championship. In 1998 the Mexican National Welterweight Championship was returned to CMLL, making it a tertiary title behind the CMLL and NWA branded world championships. In 2010 CMLL returned the NWA World Welterweight Championship to the NWA but immediately replaced it with the

NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship The NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial Historico de Peso Welter de la NWA'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship governed by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL had held the NWA World Welt ...

. In early 2015 then-champion

signed a contract to work for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW) for a year, with CMLL allowing him to take the championship with him to Japan. During his tour of Japan Máscara Dorada lost the championship to Bushi, which was officially acknowledged by CMLL.

Reigns

The championship is designated as a welterweight title, which means that the championship can officially only be competed for by wrestlers weighing between and . In the 20th century Mexican wrestling enforced the weight divisions more strictly, but in this century the rules have occasionally been ignored for some weight divisions. The heaviest welterweight champion on record is

Olímpico Joel Bernal Galicia (born December 6, 1965) is a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler retired, better known under the ring name Olímpico. Olímpico is sometimes Anglicised as "Olympico", and means "Olympian" in Spanish. From his debut ...

who was announced as weighing , above the maximum weight limit. While the heavyweight championship is traditionally considered the most prestigious weight division in professional wrestling, CMLL places more emphasis on the lower weight divisions. All title matches promoted in Mexico take place under best two-out-of-three falls rules, while championship matches promoted in Japan follow the local custom, decided by a single fall. Titán is the current champion after defeating

at a CMLL show in

Arena Mexico An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

on December 8, 2019 He is the 34th overall champion. Mephisto has the longest combined reigns,2,191 days, divided over two separate reigns, he also holds the record for the longest individual reign of all champions at 1,141 days from 2004 to 2007. The first champion Fuerza Guerrera is also the person who has held the title the shortest time, 22 days, except possibly for Mascara Magica, whose second reign was shorter; no specific date for the start of the reign has been confirmed, so his reign may have been as short as 6 days.

Tournaments

1992

On February 15, 1992, CMLL held a one-night, four-man tournament to crown the first ever CMLL World Welterweight Champion. The welterweight championship was the fifth CMLL branded world championship created after the CMLL World Heavyweight, CMLL World Light Heavyweight, CMLL World Trios and

CMLL World Middleweight Championship The CMLL World Middleweight Championship (Spanish: ''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Medio del CMLL'') is a professional wrestling world championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). While lighter wei ...

. In the tournament finals Fuerza Guerrera defeated El Khalifa to win the championship.

1996

In 1996 CMLL decided not to acknowledge that La Pantera had lost the CMLL World Welterweight Championship during a tour of Japan, declaring the title vacant instead. They held a 16-man tournament from May 7 to May 21, 1996, to crown a new champion. In the finals Máscara Mágica defeated El Felino to become the seventh champion.

2014-2015

On May 2, 2015, then-reigning CMLL World Welterweight Champion

Místico Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde (born December 22, 1982), better known by his ring name Místico (Spanish for "Mystic"), is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), who currently works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Li ...

crashed his motorcycle, breaking the

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

and

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

in his right leg. He had surgery the following day. Due to the injury the Welterweight championship became inactive for several months, as Místico was unable to compete. During a press conference on November 19, 2014, Místico announced that he was not ready to return to the ring, which led to the CMLL World Welterweight Championship being declared vacant. On December 26, 2014, CMLL held a 10-man ''

Torneo cibernetico A ''torneo cibernetico'' is a multi-man professional wrestling elimination match that was created and primarily used in Mexican ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotions, especially in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The match format ...

'' elimination match to determine the next champion.

Negro Casas José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a ''Luchador'' in Spanish) and trainer working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Negro Casas. He is the son of former wrestler turn ...

and Máscara Dorada outlasted the other eight competitors;

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

, Fuego,

Kamaitachi is a Japanese yōkai often told about in the Kōshin'etsu region and can also refer to the strange events that this creature causes. They appear riding on dust devils and they cut people using the nails on both their hands that are like sick ...

Pólvora Pólvora (born July 19, 1979) is the ring name of a Mexican ''Luchador'' '' Enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler best known for his work in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Pólvora's r ...

Rey Cometa Mario Alberto González (born March 11, 1983), better known by his ring name Rey Cometa (Spanish for "King Comet"), is a Mexican '' luchador'' (or professional wrestler), currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo M ...

Sangre Azteca Sangre Azteca (Spanish for "Aztec Blood") (born October 5, 1975) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler is primarily known for his work for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Sangre Azteca's real name is not ...

, Titán and Tritón. A week later Máscara Dorada defeated Negro Casas to become the 29th CMLL World Heavyweight Champion. ;Torneo cibernetico order of elimination

2019

On September 27, 2019, CMLL fired then-reigning CMLL World Welterweight Champion Dragon Lee, but at the time did not mention any plans for the championship itself. It was not until November that CMLL announced their plans, as they revealed a tournament to crown a new champion that would start on December 1, 2019. The tournament started with a 12-man ''

torneo cibernetico A ''torneo cibernetico'' is a multi-man professional wrestling elimination match that was created and primarily used in Mexican ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotions, especially in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The match format ...

'' elimination match to determine the two finalists. The match saw

and Titán outlast Audaz,

Drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

, Fuego,

Fugaz Fugaz (born April 12, 1996) is the ring name of a Mexican ''Luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, currently working for the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) wrestling promotion. Fugaz's real name is not a matter ...

Dulce Gardenia Javier Márquez Gómez (born January 30, 1992), better known by his ring name Dulce Gardenia, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler). He is currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), as a '' técnico'' ("Good guy") ...

, Star Jr., Stigma, and

Templario Templario (real name not revealed; born February 27, 1992) is a Mexican ''lucha libre, luchador wrestling mask, enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), currently working for Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CM ...

to qualify for the finals the following week. The following week Titán defeated Sobreano Jr. two falls to one, to become the 34th CMLL World Welterweight Champion. ;''Torneo cibernetico'' order of elimination

Footnotes

References

External links

Official CMLL Website
{{Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre championships Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre championships Welterweight wrestling championships World professional wrestling championships