The CMLL Universal Championship 2009 (''Campeonato Universal'' in

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 **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

annual tournament produced by

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) that took place over three

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 ...

shows between June 5, 2009 and June 19, 2009 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 ...

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 ...

. The

CMLL Universal Championship The CMLL Universal Championship (''Campeonato Universal'' in Spanish) is an annual lucha libre tournament held by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 2009. The tournament format is a "tournamen ...

is an annual tournament of CMLL Champions that was first held in 2009. All officially recognized male CMLL Champions participated in a 15-match single elimination tournament. In the final

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship () is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Mexican (''lucha libre'') promotion (CMLL). It was introduced in 1991 to signal CMLL's independence from the ...

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 ...

defeated NWA World Light Heavyweight Champion El Texano Jr. to become the first CMLL Universal Champion.

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 ...

under

single elimination A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

rules, which means that wrestlers were eliminated when they lose a match. There were no specific storylines that build to the tournament, rather it was a replacement for CMLL's annual ''

Leyenda de Plata The ''Leyenda de Plata'' ( Spanish for "the Silver Legend") is an annual lucha libre tournament held by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 1998. The tournament honors El Santo, ''Enmáscarado ...

'' that CMLL last held in 2008. All male "non-regional" CMLL Champions at the time of the tournament were involved in the tournament with the exception of the reigning CMLL World Mini-Estrella and Mexican National Lightweight Champions. CMLL promoted championships such as the regional

CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship The CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Campeonato de Parejas de la Arena Coliseo del CMLL'') is a professional wrestling Tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship promoted by the Mexican Luch ...

or the Occidente championships promoted in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

were not included in the tournament, only titles that have been defended in CMLL's main venue

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

were included. The tournament was divided into two qualifying blocks, which took place on the June 5, 2009 Super Viernes and the June 12, 2009 Super Viernes while the finals was the main event of the June 19, 2009 Super Viernes.

2009 Universal Championship tournament

Block A

Block A competed on the June 5, 2009 Super Viernes with the winner advancing to the finals on June 19, 2009. Champions in the first round were. ;Block A

Block B

Block B competed on the June 12, 2009 Super Viernes with the winner advancing to the finals on June 19, 2009. Champions in the first round were. ;Block B

Finals

The finals was contested under "best two out of three falls" rules and was the main event of the June 19, 2009 Super Viernes show. Último Guerrero defeated El Texano Jr. two falls to one to become the first ever Universal Champion.

Aftermath

Like its predecessor the ''Leyenda de Plata'' tournament, the Universal Championship tournament trophy (in this case an actual championship belt) was not defended in the following year.

References

{{CMLL Universal Championship 2009 in professional wrestling CMLL Universal Championship