The ''Gran Alternativa'' 2017 is an ongoing

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 or ...

tournament event produced by the Mexican wrestling promotion '' Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre'' (CMLL; Spanish "World Wrestling Council") that began on June 2, 2017 and will take place over three editions of CMLL's Friday night '' Super Viernes'' shows. The '' Torneo Gran Alternativa'' (Great alternative tournament) was first held in 1994 and is CMLL's oldest recurring tournament. The 2017 ''Gran Alternativa'' tournament will be the 22nd tournament held. In the ''Gran Alternativa'' a ''Novato'', or rookie wrestler, team up with an experienced or "veteran" wrestler for a

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 ...

tournament. The rookie winner is often elevated up the ranks of CMLL as a result of winning the tournament, but there is no specific "prize" for winning the tournament beyond a symbolic trophy. The team of ''novato''

El Soberano 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 ...

and veteran wrestler Carístico won the 2017 ''Torneo Gran Alternativa'' by defeating the team of Sansón and

Último Guerrero José Gutiérrez Hernández (born March 1, 1972), better known by his ring name Último Guerrero (Spanish for ''Last Warrior''), is a Mexican (or professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He is not related to ...

in the finals on June 16, 2017. This marked the third time Carístico had won the tournament and the first time that Soberano had won the ''Gran Alternativa''.

History

Starting in 1994 the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (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 2014, opting not to hold a tournament in 2015. The 2016 ''Gran Alternativa'' tournament will be the 21st overall ''Gran Alternativa'' tournament. All tournaments have been held in

Arena México Arena México is an indoor arena in Mexico City, Mexico, located in the Colonia Doctores neighborhood in the Cuauhtémoc borough. The arena is primarily used for professional wrestling, or ''lucha libre'', shows promoted by Consejo Mundial de Luc ...

, CMLL's main venue and up until 2016 all tournaments had taken place on Friday nights, with the 2016 tournament being the first time the ''Gran Alternativa'' was held as part of CMLL's Tuesday night shows. I 2017 the tournament returned to Friday nights, being held on the June 2, June 9 and June 16, 2017 ''Super Viernes'' shows,

Tournament background

The tournament features 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 ...

with different wrestlers teaming up, some of which may be involved in pre-existing

scripted ''Scripted'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Icon for Hire. It was released on Tooth & Nail Records on August 23, 2011, and went on to break the label's new artist record for albums sold during the first week of release. Back ...

feuds or storylines while others are simply paired up for the tournament. Wrestlers portray 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 a ...

(referred to as ''Rudos'' in Mexico) or fan favorites (''Técnicos'' in Mexico) as they compete in wrestling matches with pre-determined outcomes. The tournament format follows CMLL's traditional tournament formats, with two qualifying blocks of eight teams that compete on the first and second week of the tournament and a final match between the two block winners. The qualifying blocks were one-fall matches while the tournament finals will be a Best two-out-of-three falls tag team match. Each qualifying block started with all 8 ''Novatos'' competing in a "seeding"

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

to determine the brackets for the block. ;''Gran Alternativa'' participants

Tournament results

Tournament brackets

Footnotes

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Torneo Gran Alternativa'' (2017) 2017 in professional wrestling CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa June 2017 events in Mexico