The CMLL Universal Championship 2013 (''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- ...

tournament produced by the

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)

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

, which took place over three shows between August 23 and September 6, 2013, 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.

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 tournament 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, ...

rules, which means that wrestlers were eliminated when they lose a match. There were no specific storylines that build to the tournament, which has been held annually since 2009. 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, who have never taken part in the tournament. Regionally promoted championships such as the

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 ...

and 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 August 23 and August 30, while the final took place on September 6, 2013.

2013 Universal Championship tournament

When CMLL announced the 2013 tournament the following champions were eligible to participate: *Reigning CMLL World Tag Team Champion

Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a trainer. He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having work ...

did not take part in the tournament. For the third year in a row,

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

representative

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, sports executive and Podcast, podcaster. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as the president and representative director of the promotion, and is also an active wrestler. Widel ...

entered the tournament as an outsider. ;Block A LaMascaraLuchador

Block A took place on August 23, 2013, and featured eight champions wrestling for a place in the finals. ;Block B La Sombra

Block B took place on August 30, 2013, and featured eight champions wrestling for a place in the finals.

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 ...

was scheduled to take part in the block, but had to pull out due to an injury and was replaced by CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Champion Okumura. ;Finals The finals of the tournament took place on September 6, 2013, and saw Tanahashi defeat Rush two falls to one to become the 2013 Universal Champion.

References

{{CMLL Universal Championship 2013 in professional wrestling CMLL Universal Championship