ConfirmedNJPW

MLW, NJPW and CMLL Tease a 2027 Project at SuperFight

Summary: MLW founder Court Bauer said on stage at Saturday Night SuperFight on Nov. 7 that MLW, NJPW and CMLL are working on a joint project for 2027. NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi was introduced. No details were given.

WrestlingNews.com Staff · 3 min read

The quick version

  • Court Bauer brought NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi out at MLW Saturday Night SuperFight on Saturday, Nov. 7, in Cicero, Illinois.
  • Bauer said MLW is working with NJPW and CMLL on a "special project" coming in 2027, per Fightful.
  • No title, date, format or venue was given. MLW posted "BIG things are coming" afterward.

MLW founder and promoter Court Bauer used the middle of SuperFight on Nov. 7 to tease a joint project with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and CMLL. He did it in the ring in front of a sold-out Cicero Stadium, and NJPW's chairman stood beside him.

What was said

Bauer thanked the crowd for selling out the building, then brought out Sugabayashi, per PWInsider's live report. PWInsider says Bauer told the crowd Sugabayashi was in town to work on a big project in 2027 and that he looked forward to telling everyone about it.

Fightful says Bauer thanked NJPW and CMLL for their partnerships with MLW and said all three were working on a "special project" for 2027. Wrestleview calls it "a big surprise." The outlets agree on the substance and differ only in wording. Bauer then introduced Yota Tsuji, who wrestled Trevor Lee next. Our results story has the match.

MLW's account on X then posted a short message pairing MLW and NJPW that reads "BIG things are coming" and links to the pay-per-view replay, as embedded by Fightful.

What is known

  • NJPW's chairman was at the show. PWInsider's Mike Johnson says NJPW had teased that its officials had dinner with Bauer in Chicago on Friday, Nov. 6. We did not see NJPW's own post.
  • MLW has long-running partnerships with NJPW and CMLL, per Fightful. MLW talent have worked at Arena Mexico, and CMLL and NJPW talent have appeared on MLW TV.
  • NJPW said on Nov. 6 that its U.S. subsidiary will close and that North American events will continue with TV Asahi's backing. See our story. Nobody has linked that notice to the MLW tease, and we are not linking them.

What is not known

Bauer did not say what the project is, whether it is a show, a tour or a media deal, or when in 2027 it lands. NJPW has not said anything about it in the reports we read. We did not contact MLW, NJPW or CMLL.

What to watch

MLW has said it will announce details later. Wrestle Kingdom 21 is Jan. 4, 2027, in Tokyo, and Tsuji defends the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kenny Omega there, per our card story.

How we know

Source: Court Bauer's remarks at SuperFight as reported by Fightful, PWInsider and Wrestleview, and MLW's post on X as embedded by Fightful. All three outlets report the same event. We did not watch the show. Nothing in this story is a rumor.

MLWNJPWCMLLCourt BauerNaoki SugabayashiMLW SuperFight

Sources

How we credit sources: Editorial standards.

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