The CMLL Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles 2017 or "National Incredible Pairs Tournament 2017" 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 2017 version of the tournament was the eight time in a row that CMLL held the tournament since the first tournament in 2010. The winners are presented with a trophy but not given any other tangible reward for the victory. Sixteen teams competed in the three night tournament, with

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 ...

and

Bárbaro Cavernario Leonardo Moreno Ayala (born November 6, 1993), better known by his ring name Bárbaro Cavernario, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler), working for Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a ...

winning Block A held on February 10, 2017, and the team of

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 ...

and Valiente winning Block B a week later on February 17, 2017. Finally Volador Jr. and Bárbaro Cavernario won the finals on February 24, 2017 to take the entire tournament. It was Bárbaro Cavernario's first Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles victory while Volador Jr. previously won the 2013 tournament with

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 ...

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 2017 tournament will be the eight 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 ...

Tournament

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. For the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles tournaments, CMLL often teamed up a ''técnico'' (those that portray the "good guys" in wrestling, also known as

faces 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 the ...

) and a ''rudo'' (the "bad guy" or

heels High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels (colloquially shortened to heels), are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wea ...

) 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. 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

;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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

* Carístico and

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a Germa ...

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 ...

and

Kráneo El Alebrije (born July 12, 1972) is a Mexican ''Luchador'' '' enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Kraneo. He best known for his work in Asistencia Asesor� ...

Máximo Sexy Maximo or Máximo may refer to: Arts * Capcom video game series ** '' Maximo: Ghosts to Glory'' (also known as just ''Maximo'') ** '' Maximo vs. Army of Zin'', the sequel to ''Ghosts to Glory'' * Maxïmo Park, a British indie rock band * Maximu or ...

and

Máscara Año 2000 Jesús Reyes González (born 10 March 1958) is a Mexican '' Luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Máscara Año 2000 or Máscara Año Dos Mil. His ring name is Spanish for "Mask of the year 2000", originally referr ...

Diamante Azul DMT Azul (born December 20, 1982) is the best known ring name of a Mexican '' Luchador Enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler. He is signed to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. Azul is best known for his time in Mexican professional wrestling ...

and

Pierroth Norberto Salgado Salcedo (born March 10, 1958) is a retired Mexican ''luchador'' (professional wrestler), primarily known under the ring name Pierroth Jr. Salgado made his professional wrestling debut on July 1, 1984, working as a '' luchador en ...

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

and Puma *

and

;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 ...

and Euforia * Dragon Lee and La Máscara * Guerrero Maya Jr. and

Dragón Rojo Jr. Anselmo Rivas Castro (born November 3, 1982), best known by his ring name Dragón Rojo Jr. (Spanish language, Spanish for "Red Dragon Jr."), is a Mexicans, Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador'' (or Professional wrestling, professional wrestler). He w ...

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

Negro Casas José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a ''Lucha libre, Luchador'' in Spanish language, Spanish) and professional wrestling trainer working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) under the ring name Ne ...

* Stuka Jr. and

Hechicero Hechicero ( Spanish for "Wizard") is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler). He is signed to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He also makes appearances on the Mexican independent circuit, as well as in Japan fo ...

* Titán and Ripper * Rush 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 ...

* Valiente and

Ongoing storylines

One of the main CMLL feuds at the time of the 2017 Parejas Increibles tournament was the ongoing rivalry between

and

, a feud that at the time of the tournament was expected to be the main event of the 2017

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") show. The feud often saw Pierroth, with help from his

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 ...

partners Rush and La Máscara, leave Diamante Azul beaten up and with his mask either torn or completely removed during matches. While Atlantis and Euforia were not directly involved in a feud the team had some history prior to the 2017 tournament. Originally Atlantis was part of

Los Guerreros del Infierno ''Los Guerreros Laguneros'' (Spanish for "The Warriors from the Lagoon") is a ''lucha libre'' stable based in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The stable was created in 2001 and has, since its inception, been led by Último Guerrero and has ...

, which also included EUforia. He would later leave the team, turning ''tecnico'' to feud with Último Guerrero, the leader of ''Los Guerreros''. Atlantis teamed with Euforia to win the 2014 tournament. While some of the teams were put together because of ongoing storylines others were teamed up based on previous feuds. The team of

and Puma, played off a storyline rivalry between the two from 2012. During the fall of 2012 the two masked mid-card wrestlers developed a rivalry that led to both wrestlers putting their mask on the line as part of CMLL's 79th Anniversary Show. Rey Cometa was defeated by Puma and thus had to take off his mask and reveal his birth name. Following the mask loss Rey Cometa and Puma moved off in different directions, only crossing path on occasions. Another dormant story-line was the feud between Dragon Lee and La Máscara that carried the main event match of the

CMLL 83rd Anniversary Show The CMLL 83rd Anniversary Show () was a major professional wrestling event which was scripted and produced by the ''lucha libre'' wrestling company ''Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre'' (CMLL; Spanish for "World Wrestling Council") that took place o ...

, which saw Dragon Lee defeating and unmasking La Máscara at the end of the night. Following the match La Máscara and Dragon Lee's brother Rush, reformed

and actually attacked Dragon Lee. The team of Rush and El Terrible had teamed together in two previous Parejas Increibles tournaments, both as part of a long, heated storyline feud between the two that ran from 2011 through 2012. The storyline saw El Terrible defeat Rush to win the vacant

CMLL World Heavyweight Championship The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship () is a men's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling)#World championships, world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Mexican (''lucha libre'') promotion (CMLL). It was ...

, The two were teamed up for the 2012 ''Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles'' as CMLL continued to build the feud. The two were able to work together well enough to make it to the finals of the tournament but lost to Atlantis and Euforia in the finals when they were unable to get along. After the loss Rush made a ''Lucha de Apuestas'' challenge to El Terrible. The storyline culminated on September 14 in the main event of CMLL's '' 79th Anniversary Show'', where El Terrible lost and as a result, shaved bald. In March, 2013 El Terrible and Rush teamed up for the 2013 ''Torneo de Parejas Increibles'' like they had for the 2012 tournament, but the team lost in the first round to Dragón Rojo, Jr. and

Niebla Roja Sergio Raymundo Chávez Velasco (born March 20, 1986), better known by his ring name Niebla Roja (Spanish for "Red Mist"), is a Mexican '' luchador'' (or professional wrestler), who works for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de ...

Tournament brackets

Aftermath

The rivalry between Pierroth and Diamante Azul reached its peak only a few weeks later as the two faced off in a ''Lucha de Apuestas, or "bet match" on March 17, 2017 in the main event of the 2017

show. Diamante Azul won the match and forced Pierroth to unmask afterwards per ''lucha libre'' traditions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cmll Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles 2017 2017 in professional wrestling Lucha libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre tournaments February 2017 in Mexico