La Copa Junior (1996)
# La Copa Junior (1996)

La Copa Junior (1996) (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 February 23, 1996 to March 1, 1996 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 1996 version of the La Copa Junior was the first held by CMLL. The first show featured the opening round of the tournament, while the second show featured the Quarter finals, semifinals and the finals of the tournament. Héctor Garza defeated Emilio Charles Jr. in the final to win the La Copa Junior.

## Production

### Background

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. 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. The original La Copa Junior was won by Héctor Garza.

CMLL would not hold another La Copa Junior until the 2005 tournament (won by Shocker), followed by a 2006 tournament won by Dos Caras Jr. The tournament did not return until 2010 where Dragón Rojo Jr. won the 2010 version. In 2012 third-generation luchador La Sombra won the Junior cup

In 2014, CMLL held two La Copa Junior tournaments, first a tournament on January 1, won by Super Halcón Jr., followed by a VIP tournament, featuring higher card wrestlers than the usual tournaments, which was won by Máximo The semi-regular tournament returned in 2016, won by Esfinge In 2017, Soberano Jr. won the La Copa Junior Nuevos Valores

### Storylines

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.

### Family relationship

| Wrestler | Family | Relationship |
| - | - | - |
| Emilio Charles Jr. | Emilio Charles | Father |
| Apolo Dantés | Alfonso Dantés | Father |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. | Dr. Wagner | Father |
| Espectro Jr. | Espectro I | Uncle |
| El Hijo del Gladiador | El Gladiador | Storyline father |
| El Hijo del Santo | El Santo | Father |
| Héctor Garza | Humberto Garza | Father |
| Humberto Garza Jr. | Humberto Garza | Father |
| Karloff Lagarde Jr. | Karloff Lagarde | Uncle |
| La Fiera | Hercules Poblano | Father |
| Mano Negra | El Rebelde | Father |
| Rambo | Pepe Mendieta | Father |
| Rayo de Jalisco Jr. | Rayo de Jalisco Sr. | Father |
| Scorpio Jr. | Scorpio | Father |
| Silver King | Dr. Wagner | Father |
| Shocker | Rubén Pato Soria | Father |

## Tournament

### Brackets

| First round | First round | Quarter finals | Quarter finals | Semi finals | Semi finals | | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dr. Wagner Jr. | W | | | | | | | |
| Espectro Jr. | | | | | | | | |
| Espectro Jr. | | Dr. Wagner Jr. | | | | | | |
| | | Héctor Garza | W | | | | | |
| Héctor Garza | W | Héctor Garza | W | | | | | |
| Rambo | | | | | | | | |
| Rambo | | | | Héctor Garza | W | | | |
| | | | | Apolo Dantés | | | | |
| Rayo de Jalisco Jr. | W | | | | | Apolo Dantés | | | |
| Karloff Lagarde Jr. | | | | | | | | |
| Karloff Lagarde Jr. | | Rayo de Jalisco Jr. | | | | | | |
| | | Apolo Dantés | W | | | | | |
| Apolo Dantés | W | Apolo Dantés | W | | | | | |
| El Hijo del Gladiador | | | | | | | | |
| El Hijo del Gladiador | | | | | | | Héctor Garza | W |
| | | | | | | | Emilio Charles Jr. | |
| Silver King | W | | | | | | | | Emilio Charles Jr. |
| Humberto Garza | | | | | | | | |
| Humberto Garza | | Silver King | W | | | | | |
| | | Mano Negra | | | | | | |
| Mano Negra | W | Mano Negra | | | | | | |
| El Hijo del Santo | | | | | | | | |
| El Hijo del Santo | | | | Silver King | | | | |
| | | | | Emilio Charles Jr. | W | | | |
| La Fiera | W | | | | | Emilio Charles Jr. | W | | |
| Scorpio Jr. | | | | | | | | |
| Scorpio Jr. | | La Fiera | W | | | | | |
| | | Emilio Charles Jr. | | | | | | |
| Emilio Charles Jr. | W | Emilio Charles Jr. | | | | | | |
| Shocker | | | | | | | | |

### Results

**February 23**

| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Guerrero del Futuro and Guerrero Maya defeated Olímpico and Olimpus | Best two-out-of-three falls tag team match |
| 2 | Bronco, Máscara Mágica, and Pantera defeated Astro Rey Jr., Guerrero de la Muerte, and Mocho Cota | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match |
| 3 | Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Espectro Jr. | 1996 La Copa Junior first round match |
| 4 | Héctor Garza defeated Rambo | 1996 La Copa Junior first round match |
| 5 | Rayo de Jalisco Jr. defeated Karloff Lagarde Jr. | 1996 La Copa Junior first round match |
| 6 | Apolo Dantés defeated El Hijo del Gladiador | 1996 La Copa Junior first round match |
| 7 | Silver King defeated Humberto Garza | 1996 La Copa Junior first round match |
| 8 | Mano Negra defeated El Hijo del Santo | 1996 La Copa Junior first round match |
| 9 | La Fiera defeated Scorpió Jr. | 1996 La Copa Junior first round match |

**March 1**

| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Bronco, Máscara Mágica, and Pantera defeated Astro Rey Jr., Cadáver de Ultratumba, and Espectro Jr. | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match |
| 2 | Héctor Garza defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. | 1996 La Copa Junior quarterfinal match |
| 3 | Apolo Dantés defeated Rayo de Jalisco Jr. | 1996 La Copa Junior quarterfinal match |
| 4 | Silver King defeated Mano Negra | 1996 La Copa Junior quarterfinal match |
| 5 | Emilio Charles Jr. defeated La Fiera | 1996 La Copa Junior quarterfinal match |
| 6 | Héctor Garza defeated Apolo Dantés | 1996 La Copa Junior semifinal match |
| 7 | Emilio Charles Jr. defeated Silver King | 1996 La Copa Junior semifinal match |
| 8 | Héctor Garza defeated Emilio Charles Jr. | 1996 La Copa Junior final match |
