# CMLL Universal Championship (2017)

The CMLL Universal Championship (2017) (Spanish: Campeonato Universal) was a professional wrestling tournament produced and scripted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; "World Wrestling Council"). The tournament started on June 30, 2017 and ran for three Super Viernes shows with the finals taking place on July 14, 2017 at Arena México in Mexico City, Mexico. The CMLL Universal Championship is an annual tournament exclusively for wrestlers who hold a CMLL-recognized championship at the time of the tournament. The tournament was first held in 2009, making the 2017 version the ninth overall tournament. Being a professional wrestling tournament, it is not won legitimately; it is instead won via predetermined outcomes to the matches that is kept secret from the general public.
The finals saw NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion Volador Jr. defeat NWA World Historic Middleweight Champion Último Guerrero to win the tournament for the first time. On the Universal Championship finals show Pierroth defeated Vangellys in a Lucha de Apuestas match, forcing Vangellys to have his hair shaved off. Atlantis was originally scheduled to participate in the match but was injured in the weeks leading up to the tournament. Atlantis was replaced by Diamante Azul, who held the Occidente Heavyweight Championship at the time, although he had not defended it since 2014.

## Background

The tournament featured 15 professional wrestling matches under single-elimination tournament rules, which means that wrestlers would be eliminated from the tournament when they lose a match. All male "non-regional" CMLL champions at the time of the tournament were eligible to participate in the tournament. The CMLL World Mini-Estrella Championship and Mexican National Lightweight Championship are both exclusively for CMLL's Mini-Estrella division and thus not eligible for the tournament. Regionally promoted championships such as the CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship and the Occidente championships promoted in Guadalajara, Jalisco have not been included in the tournament in the past; only titles that have been defended in CMLL's main venue Arena Mexico, although exceptions have been made to allow New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) champions to compete if they were in Mexico at the time. Reigning Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion was originally scheduled to participate in the Universal Championship tournament, but suffered a serious knee injury prior to the tournament and had to undergo surgery. CMLL replaced Atlantis with Diamante Azul, who held the Occidente Heavyweight Championship, although he had not defended it since 2015. This marked the first time an Occidente champion participated in the Universal Championship tournament.
For the 2017 version of the tournament 14 out of the 16 participants had competed in at least one Universal Championship tournament before. Soberano Jr. had won the Mexican National Welterweight Championship from Rey Cometa on May 13, 2017 to qualify for his first Universal Championship tournament. Hechicero was the other first-time competitor, having won the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship from Rey Bucanero, winning his first CMLL championship.

### Eligible champions

| Champion | Championship held | Block |
| Ángel de Oro | CMLL World Middleweight Championship | Block A |
| Negro Casas | CMLL World Tag Team Championship | Block A |
| Marco Corleone | CMLL World Heavyweight Championship | Block B |
| Diamante Azul | Occidente Heavyweight Championship | Block B |
| Dragon Lee | CMLL World Lightweight Championship | Block A |
| Ephesto | Mexican National Trios Championship | Block B |
| Hechicero | NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship | Block A |
| Luciferno | Mexican National Trios Championship | Block A |
| Mephisto | Mexican National Trios Championship | Block B |
| Místico | CMLL World Trios Championship | Block B |
| Niebla Roja | CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship | Block B |
| Shocker | CMLL World Tag Team Championship | Block A |
| Soberano Jr. | Mexican National Welterweight Championship | Block B |
| Último Guerrero | NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship | Block B |
| Valiente | CMLL World Trios Championship | Block A |
| Volador Jr. | CMLL World Trios Championship NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship | Block A |

## Tournament

| First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Finals | Finals |
| Shocker | W | | | | | | | |
| Valiente | 03:52 | | | | | | | |
| Valiente | 03:52 | Shocker | 04:28 | | | | | |
| | | Volador Jr. | W | | | | | |
| Volador Jr. | W | Volador Jr. | W | | | | | |
| Hechicero | 06:58 | | | | | | | |
| Hechicero | 06:58 | | | Volador Jr. | W | | | |
| | | | | Negro Casas | 05:54 | | | |
| Negro Casas | W | | | | | Negro Casas | 05:54 | | | |
| Ángel de Oro | 02:21 | | | | | | | |
| Ángel de Oro | 02:21 | Dragon Lee | 03:55 | | | | | |
| | | Negro Casas | W | | | | | |
| Dragon Lee | W | Negro Casas | W | | | | | |
| Luciferno | 05:51 | | | | | | | |
| Luciferno | 05:51 | | | | | | Volador Jr. | W |
| | | | | | | | Último Guerrero | 22:42 |
| Diamante Azul | W | | | | | | | | Último Guerrero | 22:42 |
| Ephesto | 03:28 | | | | | | | |
| Ephesto | 03:28 | Diamante Azul | 03:22 | | | | | |
| | | Último Guerrero | W | | | | | |
| Último Guerrero | W | Último Guerrero | W | | | | | |
| Marco Corleone | 01:58 | | | | | | | |
| Marco Corleone | 01:58 | | | Último Guerrero | W | | | |
| | | | | Niebla Roja | | | | |
| Místico | W | | | | | Niebla Roja | | | | |
| Mephisto | 07:28 | | | | | | | |
| Mephisto | 07:28 | Místico | 05:31 | | | | | |
| | | Niebla Roja | W | | | | | |
| Niebla Roja | W | Niebla Roja | W | | | | | |
| Soberano Jr. | | | | | | | | |

## Tournament shows

Super Viernes June 30, 2017 :
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | La Sangre Dinamita (El Cuatrero, Forastero and Sansón) defeated Drone, Pegasso and The Panther | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match | 14:09 |
| 2 | Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa and Titán defeated Pólvora, Ripper and Virus | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match | 15:47 |
| 3 | Dragón Rojo Jr., Mephisto and Sam Adonis defeated Atlantis, Blue Panther and Soberano Jr. | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match | 15:19 |
| 4 | Rey Bucanero, El Terrible and Vangellys defeated Misterioso Jr. and Los Ingobernables (Pierroth and Rush) by disqualification | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man Relevos increíbles tag team match | — |
| 5 | Dragon Lee and Luciferno defeated Volador Jr., Ángel de Oro, Valiente, Negro Casas, Shocker and Hechicero | 2017 Universal Championship block A seeding battle royal | 03:12 |
| 6 | Shocker defeated Valiente | 2017 Universal Championship first round match | 03:52 |
| 7 | Volador Jr. defeated Hechicero | 2017 Universal Championship first round match | 06:58 |
| 8 | Negro Casas defeated Ángel de Oro | 2017 Universal Championship first round match | 02:21 |
| 9 | Dragon Lee defeated Luciferno | 2017 Universal Championship first round match | 05:51 |
| 10 | Volador Jr. defeated Shocker | 2017 Universal Championship quarter final match | 04:28 |
| 11 | Negro Casas defeated Dragon Lee | 2017 Universal Championship quarter final match | 03:55 |
| 12 | Volador Jr. defeated Negro Casas | 2017 Universal Championship semi-final match | 05:54 |
Super Viernes July 7, 2017 :
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | La Jarochita, Princesa Sugehit and Silueta defeated Dalys, La Seductora and Zeuxis | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match | 12:58 |
| 2 | Blue Panther, Pegasso and Rey Cometa defeated Sam Adonis, Misterioso Jr. and Virus | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match | — |
| 3 | Ripper and Los Ingobernables (Pierroth and Rush) defeated Shocker, El Terrible and Vangellys | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man Relevos increíbles tag team match | — |
| 4 | Niebla Roja and Soberano Jr. defeated Último Guerrero, Diamante Azul, Mephisto, Marco Corleone and Místico and Ephesto | 2017 Universal Championship block B seeding battle royal | 02:56 |
| 5 | Diamante Azul defeated Ephesto | 2017 Universal Championship first round match | 03:28 |
| 6 | Último Guerrero defeated Marco Corleone | 2017 Universal Championship first round match | 01:58 |
| 7 | Místico defeated Mephisto | 2017 Universal Championship first round match | 07:28 |
| 8 | Niebla Roja defeated Soberano Jr. | 2017 Universal Championship first round match | 03:22 |
| 9 | Último Guerrero defeated Diamante Azul | 2017 Universal Championship quarter final match | 03:36 |
| 10 | Niebla Roja defeated Místico | 2017 Universal Championship quarter final match | 05:31 |
| 11 | Último Guerrero defeated Niebla Roja | 2017 Universal Championship semi-final match | 07:31 |
Super Viernes July 14, 2017 :
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | Akuma, Arkángel de la Muerte and Metálico defeated Astral, Sensei and Star Jr. | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match | 18:17 |
| 2 | La Amapola, Dalys and Zeuxis defeated Marcela, La Vaquerita and Silueta | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match | 15:17 |
| 3 | Sam Adonis, Negro Casas and Dragón Rojo Jr. defeated Blue Panther, Diamante Azul and Soberano Jr. | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match | 10:39 |
| 4 | Pierroth defeated Vangellys | Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, hair vs.hair match. | 06:41 |
| 5 | Carístico, Místico and Dragon Lee defeated Los Hijos del Infierno (Ephesto, Mephisto and Luciferno) | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match | 15:47 |
| 6 | Volador Jr. defeated Último Guerrero | 2017 Universal Championship final match. Best two-out-of-three falls match | 22:42 |