CMLL.com posted details this morning. The “Forjando a un Idolo” tournament teams:
Group Alpha (Negro Casas): Hijo del Signo, Hombre Bala Jr., Puma King, Diamante
Group Bravo (Ultimo Guerrero): Palacio Negro, Angel de Oro, Escorpion, Rey Cometa
Group Charly (Shocker): Guerrero Maya, Metal Blanco, Delta, Dragon Lee
Group Delta (Blue Panther): Angel de Plata, Magnus, Polvora, Fuego
I’d say Ultimo Guerrero > Negro Casas > Shocker > Blue Panther.
That’s thirteen of the rookies from about to conclude Gran Alternativa tournament
Out: Mortiz, Tiger Kid, Lestat
In: Angel de Oro, Delta, Polvora
Tournament is league format, with luchadors getting 3 points for a win and 1 in the highly unlikely situation of a draw. All matches will be one fall with a fifteen minute time limit. Judging from Puebla’s announced matches (Signo vs Bala & Diamante & Puma), the matches will be intra-group, rather than group vs group.The top 2 from each group advance to the playoffs
The tournament runs from April 11 to May 20th. There’s no breakdown of what happens where, so guessing
Block matches: April 11 to May 8 (2 matches on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays)
Quarterfinals: May 9 & 10 (Puebla & Tue Mexico)
Semfinals: May 16 (Arena Coliseo)
Final: May 20 (Arena Mexico)
No mention of what the winner receives.
CMLL’s press release has Marcela, Amapola, Mima Shimoda and Zeuxis as the women going over to Japan in May. Those first three will be traveling from May 5th to May 9th, but Zeuxis will be leaving April 18 and staying until July to train with the promotion.
Also leaving for a while: Mascara Dorada. He’s not just going to Japan for the upcoming title shot against Lyger, but for a three week stint. NJPW hasn’t announced lineups for it’s next tour (04/16 to 05/01), but he’s presumably on that. If Metal Blanco wins tonight, his vet probably won’t be around to team with him next week.
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Being a big fan of Lightning matches escpecially those involving younger members of the roster I am very excited for this tournament. Guerreros group of 4 looks the most well rounded a great base and some great flyers, it’s nice that they kept Escorpion associated with Ultimo Guerrero after the GA. Panther’s group is interesting because it’s three guys witha good amount of expierence with one very new guy.
I <3 tournaments! I <3 round robin league format tournaments!
YES! I echo Nikita’s sentiments.
Trivia note: Last time CMLL did something like this was October/November 1996. I believe it may have been to qualify for the Gran Alternativa but I’m gonna have to go back and take screencaps to be sure since we never got results.
It’s a shame whoever came up with this idea couldn’t hold off until later in the year b/c it makes no sense to do it at the same time as the Gran Alternativa.
Only stumbling blocks now are CMLL screwing up the format like AAA did when they tried this similar deal for their tag tournament in 2006 and of course the person booking it having no clue how to make things dramatic and thus we have our winners of each block set in stone before the tournament is even close to being done.
How does Rey Cometa always get stuck in an impossible to win situation?
Speaking of tournaments, when is CMLL going to have Los Reyes del AIre at Arena Mexico again?
I’m writing the massive wiki page for this and I’m very confused about Delta not being in group Delta.
Only 3 group matches for each luchador (and 6 matches per group) should make it really easy for them to pull off – barring injury and silliness. The hard decision is scheduling, but they can easily do it without scheduling a match on Friday nights until the final, and Monday/Tuesday/Sunday cards should be very flexible for this sort of thing.
Thinking about it now, I would guess we’re going to see a surprising number of time limit draws, or some yet to be announced tiebreakers.
Double pins! Double count-outs! Double mask pulling! So many great non-finish finishes!