Summary

Phase 1 of the 2026 CMLL Universal Championship Tournament is in the books, and the first finalist is now set for Arena Mexico's 70th Anniversary event.

The tournament stage had already been outlined before the show in CMLL's announcement of Universal Championship Phase 1 for April 3 Viernes Espectacular. Once the matches played out, Máscara Dorada moved one step closer to adding another major tournament win to his record.

Winner

Máscara Dorada won Phase 1 by defeating Averno and Flip Gordon.

The finish came when Dorada hit Averno with a shooting star press to secure the victory. With that result, the World Historic Welterweight Champion advances to the finals of the 2026 CMLL Universal Championship Tournament.

What the final means for Máscara Dorada

Máscara Dorada now heads into Arena Mexico's 70th Anniversary event with a chance to win this tournament for the second time. The result matters because he already won the 2024 edition, when he outlasted Magnus, who also worked as Black Tiger IV, and Titan in the final.

That gives CMLL a clear thread between Dorada's past tournament success and this year's championship chase. It also puts an established champion into one of the promotion's marquee anniversary matches, which raises the stakes for whoever emerges on the other side of the bracket.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.