| La Copa Junior (2016) | |
| Promotion: | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre[1] |
| Venue: | Arena México |
| City: | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Liveevent: | Y |
| Lastevent: | Sin Piedad |
| Nextevent: | Fantastica Mania |
| Event: | La Copa Junior |
| Lastevent2: | 2014 VIP |
| Nextevent2: | 2017 |
La Copa Junior (2016) (Spanish for "The Junior Cup") was a professional wrestling tournament produced and scripted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLLl; Spanish "World Wrestling Council"). The tournament ran from January 5, 2016 to January 19, 2016 in Arena México in Mexico City, Mexico. CMLL's recurring La Copa Junior tournament featured second, third or fourth generation wrestlers completing against each other. The 2016 version of the La Copa Junior was the eight tournament held by CMLL.
The format of the 2016 tournament matched the 2012 version of the tournament and a number of CMLL's other annual tournaments. The 16 wrestlers were divided into two groups of eight that wrestle in a torneo cibernetico elimination match on January 5 and January 12, the survivor of each qualifying torneo cibernetico then faces off against each other in the finals on January 19, 2015. Puma won the first cibernetico and Esfinge won the second cibernetico to qualify for the finals. On January 19 Esfinge defeated Puma to win the 2016 La Copa Junior tournament
Starting in 1996 the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ("World Wrestling Council"; CMLL) held their first ever La Copa Junior tournament. CMLL held the tournament to celebrate the fact that lucha libre in Mexico is often a family tradition, with a large number of second, third, or even fourth generation wrestlers following the footsteps of their relatives.[2] The premise of the tournament is that all participants are second-generation or more, although at times the family relationship is a storylines family relationship and not an actual one. One example of this is Dragón Rojo Jr. being billed as the grandson of Dragón Rojo, when in reality that is simply a storyline created by CMLL.[3] The original La Copa Junior was won by Héctor Garza.[4]
CMLL would not hold another La Copa Junior until the 2005 tournament (won by Shocker),[5] followed by a 2006 tournament won by Dos Caras Jr.[6] The tournament did not return until 2010 where Dragón Rojo Jr. won the 2010 version.[7] In 2012 third-generation luchador La Sombra won the Junior cup[8]
In 2014, CMLL held two La Copa Junior tournaments, first a tournament on January 1, won by Super Halcón Jr.,[9] followed by a VIP tournament, featuring higher card wrestlers than the usual tournaments, which was won by Máximo[10] The semi-regular tournament returned in 2016, won by Esfinge[11] In 2017, Soberano Jr. won the La Copa Junior Nuevos Valores[12] [13]
The tournament featured a number of professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either heels (referred to as rudos in Mexico, those that portray the "bad guys") or faces (técnicos in Mexico, the "good guy" characters) as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[14]
| Wrestler | Family | Relationship | Group | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Panther Jr. | Blue Panther | Father | Block A | [15] | |
| Canelo Casas | Pepe Casas | Grandfather | Block B | [16] | |
| Cuatrero | Cien Caras | Father | Block A | [17] | |
| Esfinge | Magnum | Father | Block B | [18] | |
| Espanto Jr. | Espanto Jr. | Father | Block B | [19] | |
| Hijo del Signo | El Signo | Father | Block A | [20] | |
| Hombre Bala Jr. | Hombre Bala | Father | Block A | ||
| Magnus | Tony Salazar | Father | Block A | [21] | |
| Oro Jr. | Plata | Father | Block A | [22] | |
| The Panther | Blue Panther | Father | Block B | ||
| Puma | El Felino | Father | Block A | ||
| Sansón | Cien Caras | Father | Block B | ||
| Skándalo | Juan Manuel Mar | Father | Block A | ||
| Soberano Jr. | Euforia | Father | Block B | [23] | |
| Super Halcón Jr. | Super Halcón | Father | Block B | ||
| Tiger | El Felino | Father | Block B | [24] |
| Eliminated | Eliminated by[25] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Hijo del Signo | Oro Jr. | |
| 2 | Magnus | Skándalo | |
| 3 | Cuatrero | Hombre Bala Jr. | |
| 4 | Oro Jr. | Puma | |
| 5 | Skándalo | Blue Panther Jr. | |
| 6 | Hombre Bala Jr. | Puma | |
| 7 | Blue Panther Jr. | Puma | |
| 8 | Winner | Puma |
| Eliminated | Eliminated by[26] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soberano Jr. | Sansón | |
| 2 | Espanto Jr. | Super Halcón Jr. | |
| 3 | Canelo Casas | The Panther | |
| 4 | Super Halcón Jr. | Tiger | |
| 5 | Sansón | Esfinge | |
| 6 | The Panther | Tiger | |
| 7 | Tiger | Esfinge | |
| 8 | Winner | Esfinge |