The CMLL Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles 2016 or "National Incredible Pairs Tournament 2016" was 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 establis ...

Lucha Libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

'' tournament held by the Mexican wrestling promotion

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 (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

(CMLL). The tournament is based on the Lucha Libre '' Parejas Increíbles'' match concept, which pairs two wrestlers of opposite allegiance, one portraying a

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

, referred to as a "''rudo''" in Lucha Libre wrestling terminology, and one portraying a fan favorites, or "''técnico''". The tournament ran from April 15, 2016 through April 29, 2016, ending at the Arena México 60th Anniversary Show. The tournament was won by the team of

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 works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL ...

and Mephisto defeating the team of Carístico and

Cibernético Octavio López Arreola (born April 12, 1975), better known by the ring name Cibernético, is a Mexican professional wrestler, currently working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). During AAA's short partnership with the World Wrestling Federat ...

History

The Mexican

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...

(CMLL; "World Wrestling Council") held their first '' Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles'' ("National Incredible Pairs Tournament") in 2010, from January 22 through February 5, marking the beginning of an annual tournament. CMLL has previous held ''Parejas Increíbles'' tournaments on an irregular basis and often promoted individual ''Parejas Increíbles'' and ''Relevos Increíbles'' ("Incredible Relay", with teams of three or more wrestlers). The ''Parejas Increíbles'' concept is a long-standing tradition in ''

lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

'' and is at times referred to as a "strange bedfellows" match in English speaking countries, because a ''Pareja Increible'' consists of a

face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

(referred to as a ''técnico'' in Lucha Libre, or a "good guy") and a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

(a ''rudo'', those that portray "the bad guys") teamed up for a specific match, or in this case for a tournament. The 2016 tournament will be the seventh annual ''Parejas Increíbles'' tournament, and like its predecessors will be part of CMLL's regular Friday night ''

CMLL Super Viernes CMLL Super Viernes (Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spani ...

'' ("Super Friday") shows to be 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 Lu ...

, CMLL's main venue in

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. For the ''Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles'' tournaments, CMLL often teamed up a ''técnico'' and a ''rudo'' who are involved in a pre-existing storyline feud at the time of the tournament so that the tournament itself can be used as a storytelling device to help tell the story of escalating confrontations between two feuding wrestlers. In the 2012 ''Torneo Pareja Increíbles'' tournament, long time rivals Rush (''técnico'') and

El Terrible Damián Gutiérrez Hernández (born April 12, 1976), better known by his ring name El Terrible, is a Mexican professional wrestler who works for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a ''rudo'' ("bad ...

(''rudo'') were teamed up for the tournament and ended up facing each other in the main event of the CMLL 79th Anniversary Show. Former friends turned rivals

La Sombra Manuel Alfonso Andrade Oropeza (born November 3, 1989) is a Mexican professional wrestler. , he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the WWE SmackDown (brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Andrade (formerly Andrad ...

(''técnico'') and

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

(''rudo'') teamed up for the 2013 ''Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles'' and won the tournament. In the fall, La Sombra defeated Volador Jr. in a ''

Lucha de Apuestas ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

'', or bet match, forcing Volador Jr. to unmask after the main event of the CMLL 80th Anniversary Show. In 2015, the ''Pareja Increíbles'' tournament was a direct build to CMLL's 2015 ''

Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ''Homenaje a Dos Leyendas'' (Spanish for "Homage to Two Legends") is the collective name of a series of annual ''lucha libre'' (or professional wrestling) major shows promoted by Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha L ...

'' ("Homage to Two Legends"). The team of Máximo (''técnico'') and El Terrible (''rudo'') defeated the team of Volador Jr. (''técnico'') and

Rey Bucanero Arturo García Ortiz (born July 19, 1974) is a Mexican ''luchador'' or professional wrestler best known under the ring name Rey Bucanero. Ortiz, as Rey Bucanero, has worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 1996. His ring name is S ...

(''rudo'') to win the tournament. Three weeks later, the four met again, this time with ''técnicos'' Máximo and Volador Jr. teaming up to defeat El Terrible and Rey Bucanero in the main event of the ''Homenaje a Dos Leyendas'' show, forcing the ''rudo'' team to shave their hair off.

Tournament background

The tournament featured 15

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

with different wrestlers teaming up, some of whom were 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. Backgr ...

feuds or storylines while others were simply paired up for the tournament. Wrestlers portrayed either ''rudos'' or ''técnicos'' as they competed in wrestling matches with pre-determined outcomes. The tournament format followed CMLL's traditional tournament formats, with two qualifying blocks of eight teams that competed during the first and second week of the tournament and a final match between the two block winners. The qualifying blocks were all one-fall matches while the tournament final was a best two-out-of-three-falls tag team match.

Tournament participants

CMLL announced the 2016 version of the tournament, as well as the first four teams, on their official

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account on March 30, 2016. Later that day, CMLL announced the entire field of sixteen teams. ;Block A *

Ángel de Oro Miguel Ángel Chávez Velasco (born August 18, 1988), better known by his ring name Ángel de Oro (Spanish for "Angel of Gold" or "Golden Angel"), is a Mexican professional wrestler who works for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mund ...

(''técnico'') and

Pólvora Pólvora (born July 19, 1979) is the ring name of a Mexico, Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador'' ''Wrestling mask, Enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his work in the Mexican professional wrestling pr ...

(''rudo'') *

Blue Panther Genaro Vázquez Nevarez (born September 18, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler and trainer, best known under his ring name Blue Panther. He made his in-ring debut in 1978. Since then, he has worked for most major Mexican professional wrest ...

(''técnico'') and

Ephesto Ephesto (born July 10, 1965) is a Mexican luchador enmascarado ( Spanish for "masked professional wrestler"). Margarito real name has not been officially documented, a tradition in Mexican lucha libre where masked wrestlers' real names often ar ...

(''rudo'') *

Marco Corleone Mark Robert Jindrak (born June 26, 1977) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under his own name and for his appearance ...

(''técnico'') and Rush (''rudo'') * Euforia (''rudo'') and Dragon Rojo Jr. (''rudo'') *

Máscara Dorada Máscara Dorada is the ring name of a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler). He works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). In CMLL, he is a former Mexican National Lightweight Champion, NWA World Historic ...

(''técnico'') and

Bobby Z Bobby Z may refer to: People *Bob Dylan (born 1941), American musician, born Robert Zimmerman *Robert Zemeckis Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influent ...

(''rudo'') *

(''técnico'') and Mephisto (''rudo'') * Súper Crazy (''técnico'') and

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 start ...

(''rudo'') *

(''técnico'') and Mr. Niebla (''rudo'') ;Block B *

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

(''técnico'') and

Gran Guerrero Gran Guerrero (born 1993) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is the current CMLL World Heavyweight Champion, in his first reign. He portrays a ...

(''rudo'') *

Brazo de Plata José Luis Alvarado Nieves (March 19, 1963 – July 26, 2021) was a Mexican '' luchador'' best known under the ring name Brazo de Plata, a name he had used since his debut in 1977. He is also well known for his appearances in WWE as Super Por ...

(''técnico'') and Kráneo (''rudo'') * Carístico (''técnico'') and

(''rudo'') * Dragón Lee (''técnico'') and La Máscara (''rudo'') * Máximo Sexy (''técnico'') and

(''rudo'') * The Panther (''técnico'') and

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

(''rudo'') *

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

(''rudo'') 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 wrestling, professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CML ...

(''rudo'') * Titán (''técnico'') and

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...

(''rudo'')

Ongoing storylines

In 2011 Rush, Marco Corleone and Máximo began teaming together regularly, forming a trio known as '' El Bufete del Amor'' ("The Law of Love"). The three defeated ''

Los Hijos del Averno ''Los Hijos del Averno'' (Spanish for "The Sons of Hell") was the most well known name of a Mexican professional wrestling group, called a stable in the Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' (Professional Wrestling) promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CM ...

'' ( Averno, Mephisto and

) to win the

CMLL World Trios Championship The CMLL World Trios Championship (Spanish: "''Campeonato Mundial de Trios''") is a professional wrestling championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico. The title has existed since 1991 and is contested for by teams o ...

. In May 2014, Marco Corleone suffered a knee injury, which forced the team to relinquish the trios championship. During the summer of 2015, Rush had begun teaming regularly with

and La Máscara to form a team called ''

Los Ingobernables ''Los Ingobernables'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Ungovernables") is a ''lucha libre'' (Mexican professional wrestling) Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable based in the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) Professional ...

'' ("The Unruly"). With Corleone's injury and Rush teaming with Sombra and La Máscara on a regular basis, ''El Bufete'' was disbanded. In the winter of 2014, Rush broke his leg during a match, which led CMLL to replace him with Marco Corleone for all ''Ingobernables'' matches. When Rush returned, CMLL decided to let Corleone remain with the team, expanding it from a trio to a four-man group. In early 2016, Rush began targeting Máximo, now known as Máximo Sexy. During a match on the February 19 ''

'' show, Corleone protected Máximo Sexy as Rush and La Máscara attacked him repeatedly. Moments later, Rush and La Máscara attacked Marco Corleone and kicked him out of ''Los Ingobernables''. Two months after he was kicked out, Corleone was paired with his former teammate Rush in the ''Torneo''. At the 2016 ''

'', Rush defeated Máximo in a ''Luchas de Apuestas'' match, forcing Máximo to shave all his hair off as a result.

Tournament results

Tournament brackets

Tournament shows

;April 15, 2016 ''Super Viernes'' ;April 22, 2016 ''Super Viernes'' ; Arena México 60th Anniversary Show – April 29, 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cmll Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles 2016 2016 in professional wrestling CMLL Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles April 2016 in Mexico