| CMLL Universal Championship (2012) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hiroshi Tanahashi, defeated in the finals byEl Terrible | |||
| Promotion | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre | ||
| Date | August 17, 2012[1] August 24, 2012[2] August 31, 2012[3] | ||
| City | Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Venue | Arena México | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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| CMLL Universal Championship tournaments chronology | |||
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TheCMLL Universal Championship 2012 (Campeonato Universal inSpanish) was aprofessional wrestling tournament produced by theConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL)promotion, which took place over three shows between August 17 and August 31, 2012, inArena México,Mexico City, Mexico. TheCMLL Universal Championship is an annual tournament of CMLL Champions that was first held in 2009.
The tournament featured 15professional wrestling matches undersingle-elimination tournament rules, which means that wrestlers were eliminated when they lose a match. There were no specific storylines that build to the tournament, which has been held annually since 2009. All male "non-regional" CMLL champions at the time of the tournament were involved in the tournament with the exception of the reigningCMLL World Mini-Estrella andMexican National Lightweight Champions, who have never taken part in the tournament. Regionally promoted championships such as theCMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship and the Occidente championships promoted inGuadalajara,Jalisco were not included in the tournament; only titles that have been defended in CMLL's main venueArena Mexico were included. The tournament was divided into two qualifying blocks, which took place on August 17 and August 24, while the finals took place on August 31, 2012.
When CMLL announced the 2012 tournament the following champions were eligible to participate:
Block A took place on August 17, 2012, and featured eight champions wrestling for a place in the finals.[1][4]
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Black Warrior | [1] | |||||||||||||
| Máscara Dorada | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Máscara Dorada | [1] | |||||||||||||
| El Terrible | Pin | |||||||||||||
| El Terrible | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Mr. Águila | [1] | |||||||||||||
| El Terrible | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Rush | [1] | |||||||||||||
| Rey Bucanero | [1] | |||||||||||||
| Rush | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Rush | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Atlantis | [1] | |||||||||||||
| Atlantis | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Negro Casas | [1] | |||||||||||||
Block B took place on August 24, 2012, and featured eight champions wrestling for a place in the finals.[2][5]
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Tanahashi | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Marco Corleone | [5] | |||||||||||||
| Tanahashi | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Diamante Azul | [5] | |||||||||||||
| Diamante Azul | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Pólvora | [5] | |||||||||||||
| Tanahashi | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | [5] | |||||||||||||
| Dragón Rojo Jr. | [6] | |||||||||||||
| La Máscara | Pin | |||||||||||||
| La Máscara | [5] | |||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Máximo | [5] | |||||||||||||
| Volador Jr. | Pin | |||||||||||||
The finals of the tournament took place on August 31, 2012, and saw El Terrible defeat Tanahashi two falls to one to become the 2012 Universal Champion.[3][7]