The ''Torneo Gran Alternativa'' (2010) was 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 ...

annual tournament produced by

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) and took place over three shows between April 16 and April 30, 2010 in Arena México,

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...

. The '' Torneo Gran Alternativa'' ("Great Alternative tournament") is an annual tournament where an established CMLL veteran teams up with a ''Novato'' or rookie in a tag team tournament, although at times the ''Novato'' is not so much a rookie, but either a wrestler who has been given a new ring character or has never participated in the ''Gran Alternativa'' before. The format of the tournament was changed for the 2010 tournament, traditionally it featured 8

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

s and a one night tournament, but in 2010 it featured 16 teams, split over three CMLL Super Viernes shows. Héctor Garza and Pólvora won the tournament, defeating

Volador Jr. Ramón Ibarra Rivera (born January 26, 1981), better known by his ring name Volador Jr., is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador'' (or professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a ''Face (professional ...

and

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 re ...

in the finals.

History

Starting in 1994 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 ...

(CMLL) created a special tournament concept where they would team up a ''novato'', or rookie, with a veteran for a single-elimination

tournament. The tournament was called El Torneo Gran Alternativa, or "The Great Alternative Tournament" and became a recurring event on the CMLL calendar. CMLL did not hold a Gran Alternativa tournament in 1997 and 2000 held on each year from 2001 through 2010. The 2010 Gran Alternativa tournament was the 16th overall Gran Alternativa tournament. All tournaments have been held in Arena México.

Background

The tournament featured 15

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

under elimination rules, which means that you are eliminated if you lose a match. The teams were created specifically for the tournament, with no teams having worked together on a regular basis before, and in the past has not wrestled as a regular team after the ''Gran Alternativa'' is over. The tournament incorporated pre-existing scripted feuds or storylines. Wrestlers portrayed either

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character as ...

(referred to as ''Rudos'' in Mexico) or good guys (''Técnicos'' in Mexico) as they competed in wrestling matches with pre-determined outcomes.

Tournament

Block A

On April 7, 2010 CMLL announced the ''Novato'' participants for Block A of the 2010 ''Gran Alternativa'' tournament, featuring three wrestlers that had been involved in the 2009 '' torneo Gran Alternativa'', ending a two-year practice that stated that you could not wrestle as a ''novato'' in the tournament if you had participated in a previous year's tournament. The returning ''novatos'' are Rey Cometa, Pólvora and

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

. The five first time ''novatos'' were announced as Sensei, Diamante, Cancerbero, Inquisidor and Disturbio. When the full card for the April 16, 2010 CMLL Super Viernes show the full teams for Block A were announced as Diamante & La Sombra, Blue Panther and Rey Cometa, Héctor Garza and Pólvora,

La Máscara Felipe de Jesús Alvarado Mendoza (born January 8, 1982) is a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler best known by the ring name La Máscara for his time working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and was the co-founder and leader of '' ...

and Sensei, Atlantis and Inquisidor, El Terrible and Disturbio, Mephisto and Cancerbero and finally Rey Bucanero and Semental who replaced Camorra. Block A was won by Héctor Garza and Pólvora. ;Block A

Block B

Block B of the 2010 tournament took place on April 23, 2010, and the announced teams were:

(''Novato'') and

Guerrero Maya Jr. Guerrero Maya Jr. (Spanish for "Maya Warrior Junior", born August 8, 1985) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ...

(''Novato'') and Valiente,

Ángel Azteca Jr. Ángel Azteca Jr. (born June 1, 1980) is a Mexican ''Luchador'' '' Enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He is not the actual so ...

(''Novato'') and Shocker, Pegasso (''Novato'') and Toscano,

Raziel Raziel, ( ''Rāzīʾēl,'' "God is my Mystery") also known as Gallitsur ( Hebrew: גַּלִּיצוּר ''Gallīṣūr'') is an angel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism (of the Kabbalah of Judaism) who is the "Angel of Secrets" and the "An ...

(''Novato'') and Averno,

Durango Kid Charles Robert Starrett (March 28, 1903 – March 22, 1986) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the ''Durango Kid'' westerns. Starrett still holds the record for starring in the longest series of theatrical features: ...

(''Novato'') and

El Texano Jr. Juan Aguilar Leos (born July 31, 1984) is a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Texano Jr. Aguilar is the son of Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui, who wrestled under the name El Texano; Aguilar's brother ...

, Puma King (''Novato'') and Último Guerrero and the team of Tiger Kid (''Novato'') and El Felino. Of note in Block B is the fact that Raziel has been a professional wrestler since 1996 but changed from the character Caligula to Raziel in late 2009 and thus is being billed as a ''Novato'' by CMLL. Block B also features Tiger Kid teaming up with his uncle El Felino, the only two wrestlers to have any sort of relationship going into the tournament. Block B was won by Delta and Volador Jr. ;Block B

Finals

The finals was contested under "best two out of three falls" rules and took place on the April 30, 2010 Super Viernes. Pólvora and Héctor Garza defeated Delta and Volador Jr. two falls to one, in 23:46 to win the 2010 ''Gran Alternativa''.

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Torneo Gran Alternativa'' (2010) 2010 in professional wrestling CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa April 2010 events in Mexico