CMLL Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles (2018)

The CMLL Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles 2018 or "National Incredible Pairs Tournament 2018" is a tag team Lucha Libre tournament held by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The tournament is based on the Lucha Libre Parejas Increíbles match concept, which pairs two wrestlers of opposite allegiance, one portraying a villain, referred to as a "rudo" in Lucha Libre wrestling terminology, and one portraying a fan favorites, or "técnico". The 2018 version of the tournament was the ninth 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.

CMLL Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles (2018)
Official poster for the tournament finals
PromotionConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
DateFebruary 2, 2018
February 9, 2018
February 23, 2018
CityMexico City, Mexico
VenueArena México
Event chronology
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CMLL Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles tournaments chronology
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2017
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2019

The finals were originally scheduled to take place on Friday, February 16, 2018, but due to an earthquake hitting Mexico City on that day the show was canceled while the building was inspected for structural damage.[1] The finals took place on March 23 instead. The 16-team tournament was won by the team of Rush and El Terrible, who had been long-time rivals from 2011 to 2013, and had previously teamed up for the 2012, 2013 and 2017 tournaments. The duo defeated Volador Jr. and Último Guerrero in the finals of the three-week tournament. After the tournament El Terrible joined Rush's group called Los Ingobernables and together they won the CMLL World Tag Team Championship

History

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Rush, the tecnico winner of the 2018 tournament.

The Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (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.[2] 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 and is at times referred to as a "strange bedfellows" match in English speaking countries, because a Pareja Increible consists of a face (referred to as a técnico in Lucha Libre, or a "good guy") and a heel (a rudo, those that portray "the bad guys") teamed up for a specific match, or in this case for a tournament.[3] The 2018 tournament was the ninth annual Parejas Increíbles tournament, and like its predecessors held as part of CMLL's regular Friday night CMLL Super Viernes ("Super Friday") shows.[4]

Tournament

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The tournament featured 15 professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers teaming up, some of whom were involved in pre-existing scripted 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) and a rudo (the "bad guy" or heels) 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

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Block A
Block B

Ongoing storylines

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The team of Rush and El Terrible had teamed together in two previous Parejas Increíbles 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,[7] The two were teamed up for the 2012 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles 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.[8] 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.[9][10] In March, 2013 El Terrible and Rush teamed up for the 2013 Torneo de Parejas Increíbles and were teamed up again for the 2017 Torneo de Parejas Increíbles unsuccessfully as they were eliminated Atlantis and Euforia in the second round.[11]

Tournament brackets

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Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Atlantis and Mr. Niebla W
Ángel de Oro and El Cuatrero 07:03 Atlantis and Mr. Niebla 07:41
El Terrible and Rush W El Terrible and Rush W
Forastero and Stuka Jr. 07:50 El Terrible and Rush W
Carístico and Euforia W Carístico and Euforia 02:00
Dragon Lee and Sansón 05:55 Carístico and Euforia W
Marco Corleone and Shocker W Marco Corleone and Shocker 02:45
Blue Panther Jr. and Máscara Año 2000 03:34 El Terrible and Rush W
Gran Guerrero and Niebla Roja W Volador Jr. and Último Guerrero 19:41
Blue Panther & Sam Adonis 05:17 Gran Guerrero and Niebla Roja 05:57
Mephisto and Místico W Mephisto and Místico W
El Soberano Jr. & Hechicero 06:01 Mephisto and Místico 07:41
Último Guerrero and Volador Jr. W Último Guerrero and Volador Jr. W
Bárbaro Cavernario and Titán 04:36 Diamante Azul and Pierroth 04:33
Diamante Azul and Pierroth W Último Guerrero and Volador Jr. W
Rey Bucanero and Valiente 02:45

Tournament shows

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February 2, 2018

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No.Results[12]StipulationsTimes
1El Coyote and Templario defeated Astral and EléctricoBest two-out-of-three falls tag team match11:37
2Audaz, Pegasso, and Rey Cometa defeated Kawato San, Misterioso Jr., and Virus by disqualificationBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match14:19
3Diamante Azul and Valiente defeated Niebla Roja, Blue Panther, Soberano Jr., Místico, Volador Jr., and TitánTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles seeding battle royal02:08
4Gran Guerrero and Niebla Roja defeated Blue Panther and Sam AdonisTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles first round match05:17
5Mephisto and Místico defeated Hechicero and Soberano Jr.Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles first round match06:01
6Último Guerrero and Volador Jr. defeated Bárbaro Cavernario and TitánTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles first round match04:36
7Diamante Azul and Pierroth defeated Rey Bucanero and ValienteTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles first round match02:45
8Mephisto and Místico defeated Gran Guerrero and Niebla RojaTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles quarterfinal match05:57
9Último Guerrero and Volador Jr. defeated Diamante Azul and PierrothTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles quarterfinal match04:33
10Último Guerrero and Volador Jr. defeated Mephisto and MísticoTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles semifinal match07:41
11Ángel de Oro, Atlantis, and Carístico defeated Euforia, El Cuatrero, and Sansón by disqualificationBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match09:30

February 9, 2018

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No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1El Hijo del Signo and Yago defeated Magia Blanca and MagnusBest two-out-of-three falls tag team match12:14
2La Amapola, Dalys la Caribeña, and Zeuxis defeated Kaho Kobayashi, Marcela, and Princesa SugehitBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match13:22
3Máscara Año 2000 and Shocker defeated Mr. Niebla, El Terrible, Euforia, El Cuatrero, Sansón, and ForasteroTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles seeding battle royal04:26
4Atlantis and Mr. Niebla defeated Ángel de Oro and El CuatreroTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles first round match07:03
5Rush and El Terrible defeated Forastero and Stuka Jr.Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles first round match07:50
6Carístico and Euforia defeated Dragon Lee and SansónTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles first round match05:55
7Marco Corleone and Shocker defeated Blue Panther Jr. and Máscara Año 2000Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles first round match03:34
8Rush and El Terrible defeated Atlantis and Mr. NieblaTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles quarterfinal match07:41
9Carístico and Euforia defeated Marco Corleone and ShockerTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles quarterfinal match02:45
10Rush and El Terrible defeated Carístico and EuforiaTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles semifinal match02:00
11Diamante Azul, Místico, and Volador Jr. defeated Bárbaro Cavernario, Kráneo, and Último GuerreroBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match06:48

February 23, 2018

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No.Results[13]StipulationsTimes
1Mercurio and Pierrothito defeated Stukita and Último DragoncitoBest two-out-of-three falls tag team match11:13
2La Dinastia Casas (Puma and Tiger) and Kawato-San defeated Fuego, Stigma and TritónBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match13:53
3Soberano Jr. vs. Niebla Roja ended in a time limit drawLighting Match (One fall, 10 minute time-limit match)10:00
4Diamante Azul, Marco Corleone and Stuka Jr. defeated Los Guerreros Laguneros (Euforia and Gran Guerrero) and KraneoBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match11:17
5Ángel de Oro, Atlantis and Dragon Lee defeated Nueva Generación Dinamita (El Cuatrero, Forastero and Sansón)Best two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match07:46
6Rush and El Terrible defeated Volador Jr. and Último GuerreroTorneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles tournament finals19:41

Aftermath

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After the victory both Rush invited El Terrible to join Los Ingobernables, an offer El Terrible immediately accepted, joining forces with Rush and El Bestia del Ring. On July 13, Rush and El Terrible defeated Volador Jr. and Valiente to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship as part of an ongoing storyline between Los Ingobernables and Volador Jr. and his family.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Dark Angelita (February 17, 2018). "CMLL: Tras sismo se cancela función en la Arena México". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  2. ^ "Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles". Pro Wrestling History. January 22 – February 5, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  3. ^ Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  4. ^ "Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles". Pro Wrestling History. January 22 – February 5, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Dark Angelita (February 9, 2018). "CMLL: Una mirada semanal al CMLL (De 1 al 7 de febrero de 2018)". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Dark Angelita (February 16, 2018). "CMLL: Una mirada semanal al CMLL (De 8 al 14 de febrero de 2018)". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  7. ^ Mexicool, Rey (January 1, 2012). "Imagen: El Terrible, nuevo Campeón Mundial Completo del CMLL". Súper Luchas Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  8. ^ Martin, Andrew (March 10, 2012). "Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly" (in Spanish). Wrestleview.com. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  9. ^ Mexicool, Rey (September 14, 2012). "¡Terrible pelón, su verdugo Rush en el 79 Aniversario del CMLL!". Súper Luchas Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  10. ^ Salazar López, Alexis A. (September 15, 2012). "Viernes 14 de Septiembre '12". Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  11. ^ López, Gonzalo (February 18, 2017). "Último Guerrero y El Valiente van por el Torneo Increíble de Parejas". Yahoo! Deportes (in Spanish). Yahoo!. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  12. ^ "Volador Jr. y Último Guerrero a la final del Torneo Increíble de Parejas". Esto Enlinea (in Spanish). February 3, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  13. ^ "¡Volador Jr. y Cavernario, Ganadores del Torneo Increíble de Parejas!". CMLL (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2017-02-27. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  14. ^ Valdés, Apolo (July 14, 2018). "Los Ingobernables, nuevos Campeones de Parejas del CMLL". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. Retrieved July 14, 2018.