La Copa Jr.
The La Copa Junior tournament is a reoccurring CMLL event featuring second (or greater) generation wrestlers. The exact name of the tournament has varied at times, sometimes including VIP to indicate the top wrestlers or Nuevo Valores to indicate younger ones but always keeping the same concept. As with many CMLL tournaments, the concept appears some years and not others.
The son of a luchador concept is mostly kept too, though CMLL has snuck in worked relationships and allowed nephews of sons to participate.
| Year | #Participants | Winner | Runner Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 16 | Emilio Charles Jr. | Hector Garza |
| 2004 | 16 | Shocker | Dr. Wagner Jr. |
| 2005 | 16 | Dos Caras Jr. | Hector Garza |
| 2010 | 20 | Dragon Rojo Jr. | Averno |
| 2012 | 20 | La Sombra | Tama Tonga |
| 2014 | 12 | Super Halcón Jr. | Canelo Casas |
| 2014 (VIP) | 16 | Maximo | Mephisto |
| 2016 | 16 | Esfinge | Puma |
| 2017 | 16 | Soberano Jr. | Sanson |
| 2017 (VIP) | 12 | Niebla Roja | Mephisto |
| 2019 | 20 | Universo 2000 Jr. | Esfinge |
| 2021 | 20 | Angel de Oro | Caristico |
The first three incarnations were held near the beginning of the year. Copa Junior returned in 2010 as an end of year tournament, then went back to being a start of the year tournament in 2014.,
The forerunner to this tournament may have been the 1995 CMLL Second Generation Tag Team Tournament.
1996
The first (known) occurrence was in 1996. The 16 participants in the first tournament were Apolo Dantes, Dr. Wagner Jr., El Hijo del Gladiador, El Hijo del Santo, Emilio Charles Jr., Espectro Jr., Hector Garza, Humberto Garza Jr., Karloff Lagarde Jr., La Fiera, Mano Negra, Rambo, Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Scorpio Jr., Silver King and Shocker.
The tournament was held over two Arena Mexico shows. The first, on 02/23, contained 8 opening round matchups. The second show, on 03/01, featured an 8 man tournament to decide the winner.
Son Father Apolo Dantes Alfonso Dantes Dr. Wagner Jr. Dr. Wagner El Hijo del Gladiador none; NOT El Gladiador El Hijo del Santo Santo Emilio Charles Jr. Emilio Charles Espectro Jr. none; Espectro I's nephew Hector Garza Humberto Garza Humberto Garza Jr. Humberto Garza Karloff Lagarde Jr. none; Karloff Lagarde's nephew La Fiera Hercules Poblano Mano Negra El Rebelde Rambo Pepe Mendieta Rayo de Jalisco Jr. Rayo de Jalisco Scorpio Jr. Scorpio Shocker Pato Soria
2005
In 2005, the event was revived (though presented as a new concept) with the idea of making it a yearly event. This time, it was a (for the time) standard 16 man tournament over three weeks: two 8 man tournaments on January 21 (won by Shocker) and January 28 (Dr. Wagner Jr.), followed by the bracket winners meeting on February 4th.
| Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||
| Alan Stone | |||||||||||||
| Apolo Dantes | W | Apolo Dantes | W | ||||||||||
| Averno | Negro Casas | ||||||||||||
| Negro Casas | DQ | Apolo Dantes | |||||||||||
| Blue Demon Jr. | W | Shocker | W | ||||||||||
| Misterioso II | Blue Demon Jr. | ||||||||||||
| Brazo de Plata | Shocker | W | |||||||||||
| Shocker | CO | Shocker | W | ||||||||||
| Felino | W | Dr. Wagner Jr. | |||||||||||
| Mascara Magica | Felino | W | |||||||||||
| Dos Caras Jr. | W | Dos Caras Jr. | |||||||||||
| Mephisto | Felino | ||||||||||||
| Dr. Wagner Jr. | W | Dr. Wagner Jr. | W | ||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | Dr. Wagner Jr. | W | |||||||||||
| Rayo de Jalisco Jr. | Rayo de Jalisco | ||||||||||||
| Brazo de Oro | |||||||||||||
Son Father Alan Stone El Greco Apolo Dantes Alfonso Dantes Averno Rodolfo Ruiz Blue Demon Blue Demon Brazo de Oro Shadito Cruz Brazo de Plata Shadito Cruz Dos Caras Jr. Dos Caras Dr. Wagner Dr. Wagner Felino Pepe Casas Mascara Magica El Troyano Mephisto Kahoz Misterioso II none; Misterioso is his uncle Negro Casas Pepe Casas Rayo de Jalisco Rayo de Jalisco Shocker Pato Soria Volador Jr. Volador/Super Parka
Apolo Dantes took the place of Hector Garza, who was stuck in the US during the show. Mascara Magica took the place of Olimpico, who suffered a neck injury the week before the match. Brazo de Oro took the place of Emilio Charles Jr., who suffered a hand injury.
2006
The 2006 version of the event was a one night, 16 man tournament. Dos Caras Jr. was ultimately the winner. Due to the format, no match lasted ten minutes, and nothing really came of the win.
| Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||
| Averno | |||||||||||||
| Perro Aguayo Jr. | W | Perro Aguayo Jr. | |||||||||||
| Dr. Wagner Jr. | W | Dr. Wagner Jr. | W | ||||||||||
| Mephisto | Dr. Wagner Jr. | ||||||||||||
| Dos Caras Jr. | W | Dos Caras Jr. | W | ||||||||||
| Heavy Metal | Dos Caras Jr. | W | |||||||||||
| La Mascara | Apolo Dantes | ||||||||||||
| Apolo Dantes | W | Dos Caras Jr. | W | ||||||||||
| Hector Garza | W | Hector Garza | |||||||||||
| Brazo de Plata | Hector Garza | W | |||||||||||
| Mascara Magica | Hijo de Lizmark | ||||||||||||
| Hijo de Lizmark | W | Hector Garza | W | ||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | Olimpico | ||||||||||||
| Olimpico | W | Olimpico | W | ||||||||||
| Misterioso II | Negro Casas | ||||||||||||
| Negro Casas | W | ||||||||||||
Participant Father Dr. Wagner Jr. Dr. Wagner Sr. Brazo de Plata Shadito Cruz Dos Caras Jr. Dos Caras Sr. La Mascara Brazo De Oro Lizmark Jr. Lizmark Heavy Metal Pepe Casas Volador Jr. Remo Banda Negro Casas Pepe Casas Perro Aguayo Jr. Perro Aguayo Sr. Olimpico Roy Aguirre Hector Garza Humberto Garza Apolo Dantes Alfonso Dantes Mascara Magica El Troyano Mephisto Kahoz Misterioso II Misterioso Averno Rodolfo Ruiz
2010
This year's tournament included twenty wrestlers in a new single elimination tournament format. The field was split into two blocks of 10. The traditional battle royals to determine seeding also offered a bye to the block final. The first eight were seeding in the tournament as normal. The final two left in the ring immediately faced off in a normal one fall match, with the winner advancing directly the block finals (the overall semifinals) and the loser eliminated.
All matches were held in Arena Mexico. The first block was held on December 10, 2010. The seeding and tournament structure required Dragon Rojo Jr. to win consecutive matches over La Mascara, Sombra and Volador Jr.. Dragon pulled off the feat to win this block.
The second block was be held on December 17, with Averno earning the short road to the block final and defeating his long time rival Mistico to advance to the final.
The final took place on a special December 25th show. After the referee was knocked down, Dragon Rojo fouled Averno and covered. However, the referee argued with Averno's second Mephisto instead of realizing there was a cover. Dragon Rojo let go to cover, and Averno took advantage to foul Dragon Rojo. The referee noticed the second foul, and disqualified Averno.
| Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||
| battle royal | ||||||||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | W | |||||||||||||||||
| Shocker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shocker | ||||||||||||||||||
| battle royal | ||||||||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||
| La Sombra | W | Dragon Rojo Jr. | W | |||||||||||||||
| Mephisto | La Sombra | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Olimpico | W | Olimpico | ||||||||||||||||
| Rush | La Sombra | |||||||||||||||||
| La Mascara | W | Dragon Rojo Jr. | W | |||||||||||||||
| Felino | La Mascara | |||||||||||||||||
| Dragon Rojo Jr. | W | Dragon Rojo Jr. | W | |||||||||||||||
| Maximo | Dragon Rojo Jr. | DQ | ||||||||||||||||
| Averno | ||||||||||||||||||
| Averno | ||||||||||||||||||
| battle royal | ||||||||||||||||||
| Averno | W | |||||||||||||||||
| Hijo del Fantasma | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hijo del Fantasma | ||||||||||||||||||
| battle royal | ||||||||||||||||||
| Averno | W | |||||||||||||||||
| Texano Jr. | W | Mistico | ||||||||||||||||
| Rotoporky | Texano Jr. | |||||||||||||||||
| Negro Casas | W | Negro Casas | W | |||||||||||||||
| Angel de Oro | Negro Casas | |||||||||||||||||
| Hector Garza | W | Mistico | W | |||||||||||||||
| Delta | Hector Garza | |||||||||||||||||
| Mistico | W | Mistico | W | |||||||||||||||
| Misterioso II | ||||||||||||||||||
Relationships
- ↑ Dragon Rojo Jr. is billed as Dragon Rojo (70s)'s grandson, but the two are actually unrelated
- ↑ Misterioso II is actually Misterioso's nephew
2012
This year's tournament again included twenty wrestlers in two blocks of ten. The format was again changed, from single elimination to ciberneticos. The cibernetico themselves were split between five rudos and five tecnicos, with no battle royal for teams.
All matches were held in Arena Mexico. The first block was held on November 30, 2012.
| eliminated | by |
|---|---|
| Delta | Tiger |
| Olímpico | La Mascara |
| Mascara Dorada | Mephisto |
| Tiger | Angel de Oro |
| La Mascara | Volador |
| Mephisto | La Sombra |
| Angel de Oro | Negro Casas |
| Negro Casas | La Sombra |
| Volador Jr. | La Sombra |
That left La Sombra as the winner.
| eliminated | by |
|---|---|
| Misterioso Jr. | Guerrero Maya Jr. |
| Super Porky | Puma |
| Stuka | Dragon Rojo |
| Puma | Shocker |
| Guerrero Maya Jr. | Tama Tonga |
| Felino | Maximo |
| Dragon Rojo | disqualified for fouling Maximo |
| Maximo | disqualified for pulling off Dragon Rojo's mask |
| Shocker | Tama Tonga |
Tama Tonga advanced to the final.
The final took place on a special December 14th show. Sombra defeated Tama Tonga in a best out of three falls match. The finish was controversial, as Tonga appeared to be kicked out before 3.
2014
La Copa Jr. (January)
The entry list and format changed again in 2014. This time, only young juniors were in the tournament, including luchadors who were debuting in Arena Mexico in the tournament. The tournament itself was a 10 man cibernetico, held on New Year's Day.
| Eliminated | Eliminator | Time | ||
| Robin | Hijo del Signo | 11:48 | ||
| Herodes | Dragon Lee | 15:16 | ||
| Dragon Lee | Cachorro | 16:03 | ||
| Hijo del Signo | Super Halcón Jr. | 18:43 | ||
| Oro Jr. | Guerrero Negro Jr. | 19:46 | ||
| Black Panther | Stigma | 20:47 | ||
| Stigma | Canelo Casas | 21:19 | ||
| Cachorro | Super Halcón Jr. | 22:39 | ||
| Hombre Bala | Guerrero Negro Jr. | 23:32 | ||
| Canelo Casas | Super Halcón Jr. | 25:05 | ||
| Super Halcón Jr. won the cibernetico | ||||
La Copa Jr. VIP (September, October)
The tournament was brought back for a VIP version later in the year. This time, bigger names were included and the tournament switched back to a single elimination format.
| Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||
| Mephisto | W | ||||||||||||
| Guerrero Maya Jr. | Mephisto | W | |||||||||||
| Shocker | W | Shocker | September 26 | ||||||||||
| Misterioso Jr. | Mephisto | W | |||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | W | Volador Jr. | |||||||||||
| Tiger | Volador Jr. | W | |||||||||||
| La Mascara | W | La Mascara | |||||||||||
| Felino | Mephisto | ||||||||||||
| Delta | Maximo | W | |||||||||||
| Stuka Jr. | W | Stuka Jr. | |||||||||||
| Maximo | W | Maximo | W | October 3 | |||||||||
| Puma | Maximo | W[1] | |||||||||||
| Angel de Oro[2] | La Sombra | ||||||||||||
| La Sombra | W | La Sombra | W | ||||||||||
| Rush | W | Rush | |||||||||||
| Euforia | |||||||||||||
- ↑ DQ for Sombra ref attack
- ↑ a replacement for Brazo de Plata
2016
This year's tournament included sixteen wrestlers in two blocks of eight. There was a cibernetico for each block.
All matches were held in Arena Mexico. The first block was held on January 5, 2016.
| Eliminated | Eliminator | Time | ||
| Hijo del Signo | Oro Jr. | |||
| Magnus | Skandalo | |||
| El Cuatrero | Hombre Bala Jr. | |||
| Oro Jr. | Puma | |||
| Skandalo | Blue Panther Jr. | |||
| Hombre Bala Jr. | Puma | |||
| Blue Panther Jr. | Puma | |||
| Puma won the cibernetico | ||||
The second block was held on January 12, 2016.
| Eliminated | Eliminator | Time | ||
| Soberano Jr. | Sanson | |||
| Espanto Jr. | Super Halcón Jr. | |||
| Canelo Casas | The Panther | |||
| Super Halcón Jr. | Tiger | |||
| Sanson | Esfinge | |||
| The Panther | Tiger | |||
| Tiger | Esfinge | |||
| Esfinge won the cibernetico | ||||
The final took place on January 19. Esfinge defeated Puma in a best out of three falls match.
2017
This year's tournament included sixteen wrestlers in two blocks of eight. There was a cibernetico for each block. All matches were held in Arena Mexico.
The first block was held on April 14, 2017.
| Eliminated | Eliminator | Time | ||
| El Hijo del Signo | The Panther | 08:14 | ||
| Oro Jr. | Canelo Casas | 09:03 | ||
| Espanto Jr. | Drone | 14:04 | ||
| The Panther | Cuatrero | 15:40 | ||
| Canelo Casas | Soberano Jr. | 19:39 | ||
| Drone | Cuatrero | 26:00 | ||
| Cuatrero | Soberano Jr. | 30:34 | ||
| Soberano Jr. won the cibernetico | ||||
The second block was held on April 21, 2017.
| Eliminated | Eliminator | Time | ||
| Artillero | Star Jr. | 08:20 | ||
| Stigma | Forastero | 10:18 | ||
| Star Jr. | Sansón | 12:12 | ||
| Magnus | Blue Panther Jr. | 14:10 | ||
| Esfinge | Sansón | 17:03 | ||
| Forastero | Blue Panther Jr. | 18:47 | ||
| Blue Panther Jr. | Sansón | 22:36 | ||
| Sansón won the cibernetico | ||||
Sansón defeated Soberano Jr. in the final on April 28th.
2017 VIP
A "VIP" tournament of higher ranked wrestlers was held on December 1st in Arena Mexico. Sansón, who finished second in the first 2017 tournament, was included. Winner Soberano Jr. was not included.
| Eliminated | Eliminator | Time | ||
| Stuka Jr. | Euforia | 07:39 | ||
| Felino | Dragon Lee | 09:35 | ||
| Dragon Lee | Sansón | 14:18 | ||
| Euforia | Caristico | 15:00 | ||
| Shocker | DQ (foul to Volador) | 16:54 | ||
| Volador Jr. | DQ (foul to Shocker) | 16:54 | ||
| Negro Casas | Caristico | 18:00 | ||
| Mistico | Sansón | 19:00 | ||
| Sansón | Caristico | 23:22 | ||
| Caristico | Mephisto | 23:56 | ||
| Mephisto | Niebla Roja | 27:45 | ||
| Niebla Roja won the cibernetico | ||||
2019
This year's tournament included twenty wrestlers in two blocks of ten. There was a cibernetico for each block.
All matches were held in Arena Mexico. The first block was held on December 3, 2019
| Eliminated | Eliminator | Time | ||
| Leono | Oro Jr. | 07:08 | ||
| Sangre Imperial | Hijo del Signo | 07:42 | ||
| Toro Bill Jr. | Drone | 09:08 | ||
| Yago | Tiger | 10:12 | ||
| Hijo del Signo | Blue Panther Jr. | 11:04 | ||
| Oro Jr. | Guerrero Maya Jr. | 11:29 | ||
| Drone | Tiger | 13:03 | ||
| Tiger | Blue Panther Jr. | 14:01 | ||
| Blue Panther Jr. | Guerrero Maya Jr. | 19:53 | ||
| Guerrero Maya Jr. won the cibernetico | ||||
The second block was held on December 10, 2019
| Eliminated | Eliminator | Time | ||
| Principe Odin Jr. | Magnus | 08:02 | ||
| Bengala | Robin | 10:01 | ||
| Halcon Suriano Jr. | Espanto Jr. | 11:35 | ||
| Magnus | Stigma | 14:19 | ||
| Espanto Jr. | Universo 2000 Jr. | 15:46 | ||
| Robin | Black Panther | 16:25 | ||
| Black Panther | DQ (Esfinge mask removal) | 17:19 | ||
| Stigma | Universo 2000 Jr. | 18:58 | ||
| Esfinge | Universo 2000 Jr. | 20:36 | ||
| Universo 2000 Jr. won the cibernetico | ||||
Universo 2000 Jr. defeated Guerrero Maya Jr. in the final on December 17.
2021
The tournament originally was scheduled on December 18, 2021 but postponed due Mexico City shutting down after a spike in COVID cases. The tournament was rescheduled to March 26th in Arena Mexico, remaining a one night cibernetico.
Dragon Rojo Jr. made his return to CMLL after two years off due to injury, replacing Niebla Roja (who was replaced after the Decemeber show was postponed.) The December date was meant to be the debut of Tiger as Felino Jr.; he held of the official name change for three months until coming into this match.
| Eliminated | Eliminator | Time | ||
| Mephisto | Stuka Jr. | |||
| Felino | Mistico | |||
| Star Jr. | Caristico | |||
| Stuka Jr. | Negro Casas | |||
| Soberano | Atlantis | |||
| Negro Casas | Dragon Rojo Jr. | |||
| Felino Jr. | Mistico II | |||
| Atlantis Jr. | Angel de Oro | |||
| Mistico II | DQ | |||
| Dragon Rojo Jr. | Caristico | |||
| Caristico | Angel de Oro | |||
| Angel de Oro won the cibernetico | ||||
Mistico II was DQed for accidentally unmasking Dragon Rojo Jr.
