CMLL International Gran Prix (2008)

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CMLL International Gran Prix (2008)
Arena Mexico[1]
Attendance16,500 (Estimate)[2]
Event chronology
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Torneo Gran Alternativa 		Next →
Sin Piedad
International Gran Prix chronology
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2007 		Next →
2016

The CMLL International Gran Prix (2008) was a

Mexico City, Mexico, CMLL's main venue. The 2008 International Gran Prix was the eleventh time CMLL held an International Gran Prix tournament since 1994 and the last one held until the 2016 tournament
was announced.

The International Gran Prix tournament featured a 16-man

A.J. Styles, Alex Shelley, Johnny Devine, Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt). Alex Shelley of Team International eliminated Último Guerrero as the last man to win the tournament. The International Gran Prix tournament took place on the same night of the finals of the Leyenda de Plata ("Silver Legend") tournament where Místico defeated Perro Aguayo Jr.
to win that tournament.

Production

Background

Alex Shelley, represented Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and the United States.

In 1994 the Mexican

Torneo Cibernetico elimination match where an eight-man "Team Mexico" would face off against an eight-man "Team International" until only one team or wrestler survived.[3]

Rayo de Jalisco Jr. won both the inaugural tournament as well as the

Headhunter A (1995) and Steel (1997) were the only "Team International" wrestlers to win a tournament prior to the 2008 International Gran Prix tournament.[3] From 2009 through 2015 CMLL did not hold an International Gran Prix but they announced the return of the tournament in May 2016.[4] In 2008 the International Gran Prix took place on the same night as the finals of CMLL's Leyenda de Plata ("Silver Legend") tournament, bringing the three-week long Leyenda de Plata tournament to a close.[5]

Storylines

The CMLL Gran Prix show featured four professional wrestling matches where wrestlers were matched up specifically for the tournament instead of as a result of pre-existing scripted feuds. The wrestlers themselves portray either faces (técnicos in Mexico, the "good guy" characters) or heels (referred to as rudos in Mexico, those that portray the "bad guys") as they perform for the fans before, during and after the matches.

Between June 10 and July 13, 2008 CMLL sent four representatives to Orlando, Florida to compete in

pay per view (PPV). Team Mexico was eliminated little over halfway through the match as Guerrero, Bucanero and Averno all were eliminated.[9] In the final match of the tournament Volador Jr. represented Mexico in an Ultimate X match, winning the match by climbing the structure and retrieving the large X logo suspended over the ring. With his victory Team Mexico won the 2008 World X Cup tournament, with Team TNA (Kaz, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin and Curry Man) runners-up.[10]

In the days after the World X-Cup tournament win, CMLL announced that they were bringing several TNA wrestlers to Mexico for the 2008 "International Gran Prix" tournament. Shelly and Sabin from the World X-Cup were announced for the tournament, joined by TNA regulars

A.J. Styles, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Christopher Daniels to be part of the international side for the Gran Prix.[5]

Event

Picture of masked wrestler Último Guerrero during an outdoor wrestling show.
Último Guerrero, the last man eliminated in the International Gran Prix tournament

The opening match of the show was a

Niño de Acero and Pequeño Ninja. The first two falls were split between the teams in less than five minutes, with the third and deciding fall lasting longer than the first two combined. After 11 minutes, 32 second Pierrothito pinned Pequeño Ninja to win the match for his side.[11] The second match of the night was the only Best two-out-of-three-falls six-man tag team match of the show, normally the most common match type in Lucha Libre. For the match Dragón Rojo Jr., El Satánico and Virus won the first fall when Los Bombardieros (Flash and Stuka Jr.) were forced to submit to Satánico and Virus. In the second fall the third tecnico, Mictlán, pinned Dragón Rojo Jr. to further the ongoing storyline between the two. In the third fall, the rudo team was by disqualification when Dragón Rojo Jr. intentionally unmasked his Mictlán in plain view of the referee. Unmasking an opponent during a match is an automatic disqualification in lucha libre.[1][12]

The third match of the night was the International Gran Prix tournament. Christopher Daniels was originally scheduled to be part of "Team International" but was replaced with Johnny Devine due to a TNA storyline where Daniels supposedly had been fired from the company. The sixteen-man torneo cibernetico match lasted almost a full hour, officially timed at 57 minutes and 37 seconds from the opening bell to the last elimination.[1][12] For the first eighteen minutes of the match Team Mexico and Team International members took turns facing off in the middle of the ring, allowing all sixteen wrestlers to show off their skills before a single man was eliminated from the tournament. Rey Bucanero gave Team Mexico an advantage when he pinned Alex Koslov 18 minutes, 5 seconds into the match.[11][12] The next three eliminations were all from Team Mexico as Averno (by Sonjay Dutt), Volador Jr. (by Jay Lethal) and Rey Bucanero (by A.J. Styles) were eliminated. The fifth elimination of the night happened just over thirty minutes into the match as Sonjay Dutt was pinned by Héctor Garza.[11][12] Five minutes later Último Guerrero took advantage of the referee being distracted to his Styles' with a low blow, allowing Guerrero to pin A.J. Styles evening the sides between the two teams to five-a-side.[11][12] Further eliminations followed with Dos Caras Jr. (by Marco Corleone), Jay Lethal (by Dr. Wagner Jr.), Johnny Devine (by Shocker) and Héctor Garza (by Corleone) brought the numbers down to six in total, three on each team.[11][12]

At this point, Team International's Sabin and Shelley took advantage of their well-developed teamwork, having worked together as the

Lucha de Apuestas, or "bet match", where Shelly would risk his hair against Guerrero's wrestling mask. Shelly said he would think about it and would give Guerrero an answer after he had a chance to relax.[1][12]

The main event for the 2008 Leyenda de Plata tournament was a singles match between CMLL's top tecnico

Dos Caras Jr. and Héctor Garza, allowing Místico to win the third fall and the Leyenda de Plata tournament for the third year in a row.[1][12]

Aftermath

Chris Sabin (right) and Sonjay Dutt (left), who along with Alex Shelley, returned for CMLL's Sin Piedad and CMLL 75th Anniversary Show in 2008.

Shelly, Sabin and Dutt returned to CMLL on August 29, 2008 to work on the

Los Guerreros Negro (Atlantis, Negro Casas and Último Guerrero) in the fifth match of the night.[13][14][15] Due to their victory over the then-CMLL World Trios Champions, Team TNA returned to Mexico on September 19, 2008 for the CMLL 75th Anniversary Show, but were unable to defeat Los Guerreros Negro when the championship was on the line.[16] The Lucha de Apuestas challenge laid out by Último Guerrero after the International Gran Prix loss never happened as the CMLL/TNA working relationship ended a few months later.[17]

The storyline between Místico and Perro Aguayo Jr. was abruptly ended in the fall of 2008 when Aguayo and most of the Los Perros del Mal left CMLL, striking out on their own to form

Xtreme Tiger on March 21, 2015.[21][22]

The undercard storyline between técnico Mictlán and rudo Dragón Rojo Jr. reached its crescendo on August 29, 2008 as both men put their wrestling mask on the line in a Lucha de Apuestas, or "bet match", in the semi-main event of the 2008 Sin Piedad PPV. Dragón Rojo Jr. won the match, forcing Mictlán to unmask and reveal his real name, Jonathan de Jesus Navarro Jímenez, per lucha libre traditions.

Los Guerreros del Infierno ("The Infernal Warriors"),[23] and a founding member of Los Revolucionarios del Terror ("The Revolutionaries of Terror").[24] He was voted CMLL 2009 "Revelation of the year", for his achievements based on the Mictlán mask win and subsequent in-ring success.[25]

Reception

The July 25, 2008 Arena Mexico show drew an estimated crowd of 16,500, which was close to a sell out for the arena and a significant increase in attendance compared to the Super Viernes shows in the weeks prior to the Universal Tournament and the Leyenda de Plata finals.[11] Súper Luchas magazine later described the Universal Tournament as a promising sign of what the CMLL/TNA working relationship would bring, but in hindsight also noted that it turned out that those promises were never fulfilled as the two companies stopped working together by the end of 2008.[11]

Results

No.Results
Best two-out-of-three-falls match, 2008 Leyenda de Plata tournament final.[27]
11:15

Order of elimination

# Eliminated[12] By[12] Time[2] Team
1 Alex Koslov Rey Bucanero 18:05 Team International
2 Averno Sonjay Dutt 23:26 Team Mexico
3 Volador Jr. Jay Lethal 26:29 Team Mexico
4 Rey Bucanero
A.J. Styles
 		28:22 Team Mexico
5 Sonjay Dutt Héctor Garza 30:11 Team International
6
A.J. Styles
 		Último Guerrero 35:05 Team International
7
Dos Caras Jr.
Marco Corleone
 		36:28 Team Mexico
8 Jay Lethal Dr. Wagner Jr. 39:14 Team International
9 Johnny Devine Shocker 40:59 Team International
10 Héctor Garza
Marco Corleone
 		42:24 Team Mexico
11 Dr. Wagner Jr. Alex Shelley 47:22 Team Mexico
12
Marco Corleone
 		Shocker and Último Guerrero 48:46 Team International
13 Shocker Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley 51:59 Team Mexico
14 Chris Sabin Último Guerrero 53:05 Team International
15 Último Guerrero Alex Shelley 57:37 Team Mexico
16 Alex Shelley (Winner) 57:37 Team International

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ascencio, Alfredo (July 26, 2008). "Místico sigue haciendo historia". ESTO Enlina (in Spanish). Organización Editorial Mexicana. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "CMLL Super Viernes – Gran Prix: CMLL vs. TNA & Leyenda de Plata". Cagematch.net (in German). July 25, 2008. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "CMLL Gran Prix Tournament". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "Regresa El Gran Prix International" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. May 24, 2016. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Ocampo, Jorge (July 25, 2008). "Hoy en la Arena México: 11o Torneo Gran Prix de la Ciudad de México". Súper Luchas Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved August 30, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  6. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original
    on April 25, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  7. ^ Caldwell, James (July 3, 2008). "Caldwell's TNA Impact report 7/3: Ongoing coverage of Spike TV show". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  8. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original
    on January 15, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  9. ^ Martin, Adam (July 13, 2008). "Victory Road PPV results – 7/13 – Houston, TX (Samoa Joe vs Booker)". WrestleView.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  10. ^ Caldwell, James (July 13, 2008). "Caldwell's TNA Victory Road PPV report 7/13: Live on-site coverage from Houston". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Lo Mejor de la Lucha Libre Mexicana 2008". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). January 6, 2009. 296. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Miguel, Jose (July 25, 2009). "Gran Prix México – Resultados Rápidos – Alex Shelley de TNA, gana el Gran Prix 2008". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved May 24, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ a b Ocampo, Jorge (August 29, 2008). "Resultados; CMLL SIN PIEDAD 2008 – Mictlán pierde la Máscara, Amapola pierde la Cabellera". Súper Luchas Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  14. ^ "March 2008 PPV". ProWrestlingHistory.com. August 29, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  15. ^ Súper Luchasstaff (September 7, 2008). "Sin Piedad!". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). issue 278.
  16. ^ Ocampo, Ernest (December 26, 2007). "Anniversario 75 de CMLL". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). pp. 2–7. issue 282. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  17. ^ "Alex Shelley > Matches > Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre". Cagematch. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  18. ^ Súper Luchasstaff (December 14, 2008). "Perros del Mal". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). issue 292.
  19. ^ "WWE releases Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde". WWE. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  20. ^ Zellner, Kris (2014-06-05). "Original Sin Cara update". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  21. ^ Caldwell, James (March 21, 2015). "New information on death of El Hijo Del Perro Aguayo; match video of Mysterio's 619 spot". PWTorch.com. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  22. ^ Mullen, Jethro. "Mexican wrestling star Hijo del Perro Aguayo dies after kick in-ring". CNN. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  23. ^ "La Oportunidad se presentó y fue para mí..." (in Spanish). El Pancracio. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  24. ^ Barradas, Bibiana (May 9, 2015). "Resultados Arena México® Viernes 8 de Mayo '15". Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  25. ^ Ruiz Glez, Alex. "Termina la votación para lo mejor del CMLL en el 2009 – Volador Jr. el más popular". Súper Luchas Magazine (in Spanish).
  26. ^ "Gran Prix Cibernetico 2008". ProWrestlingHistory.com. July 26, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  27. ^ "Leyenda de Plata 2008". ProWrestlingHistory.com. July 4–25, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
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