ConfirmedNJPW

Tsuji Says He Chose MLW Over AEW for U.S. Debut

Summary: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji said in an interview Sports Illustrated published on Nov. 7 that he picked MLW over AEW for his U.S. debut, which was booked for MLW SuperFight that night in Chicago.

WrestlingNews.com Staff · 3 min read

The quick version

  • Tsuji told SI's The Takedown he does not want to work AEW shows "until they fix their attitude."
  • He said MLW made him an offer he "could not resist." He was booked against Trevor Lee at SuperFight on Nov. 7.
  • AEW has not responded in anything we found. Part two of the interview is due next week, per SI.

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji said he chose MLW over AEW for his first U.S. appearance since winning the title. He made the comments to Lyric Swinton of Sports Illustrated's The Takedown, in an exclusive published Saturday, Nov. 7, the day of MLW Saturday Night SuperFight in Cicero, Illinois.

What he said

Tsuji said AEW had offered him chances to work in the United States before, and named Forbidden Door. He then said: "I don't feel comfortable doing shows at AEW until they fix their attitude." He said he feels AEW does not treat the legacy of the IWGP Heavyweight title as respectfully as it treats its own world title, according to SI.

On MLW, he said the company "has given me a very tempting offer, an attractive offer, that I could not resist." On his goal for the night, he said he was "proud to be delivering our unique fighting style of New Japan Pro-Wrestling" and hoped U.S. fans would feel it.

SI notes Tsuji turned down this year's Forbidden Door, the NJPW and AEW co-promoted show, before MLW announced him. SI says part two of the interview, covering Kenny Omega, Wrestle Kingdom 21 and the AEW and NJPW relationship, comes next week.

Where this sits

Omega pinned Tsuji in a three-way match at NJPW Power Struggle on Nov. 3, which set up Tsuji vs. Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom 21 on Jan. 4, 2027, at the Tokyo Dome. See our card story. Tsuji's remarks the next day, relayed by 411Mania from NJPW's site, were that the match "could change the relationship between NJPW and AEW entirely."

MLW's own Nov. 6 preview described the booking as a major moment in its alliance with NJPW. Our opinion piece covers the risk of the trip.

What is not known

  • We could not find a result for Tsuji vs. Lee. Fightful's SuperFight results page showed only part of the card when we checked.
  • AEW has not commented in anything we found. We did not contact AEW or NJPW.
  • SI does not give the date of the interview. It was published Nov. 7.
How we know

Source: Sports Illustrated's The Takedown, quoting Tsuji directly. This rests on one outlet's interview. We did not hear or see the interview ourselves. The Nov. 4 remarks come from 411Mania's relay of NJPW's site.

Yota TsujiMLW SuperFightAEWKenny OmegaWrestle Kingdom 21

Sources

How we credit sources: Editorial standards.

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