MLW returns to PPV on Saturday night with Saturday Night SuperFight. It's a card headlined by Killer Kross vs. Josh Bishop for the MLW World Championship in a Last Man Standing Match, but filled with the type of stylistically diverse matches that MLW is known for.

The big event is in Chicago and during an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, MLW owner and CEO talked about why, while also discussing business strategy, the year MLW has had thus far, and what the company has in store for the future.

"We’ve sold out every show for the last several years (in Chicago)," Bauer said. "It’s been the opposite of a struggle. I think every show has sold out since we came back in 2024. We didn’t do a show there between 2020 and 2024 because of COVID, and then we came back. We come about two, three times a year and typically sell out a few weeks, a few months in advance, which is incredible. Cicero Stadium has been awesome."

So, Chicago equals good business for MLW. In 2026, the company has done plenty of business and finally signed deals that had been years in the making. Time and change is what made the deals happen.

2026 was a year of change for MLW

Bauer said that the company underwent many changes this year, including the onboarding of a new Head of Talent Relations and Wrestling Operation as well as a new Head of Arena Operations. With his team in place, Bauer was able to pivot to some of the bigger strategic moves the company had been trying to make.

"Deals take time," Bauer said. "This year, there was really a lot of changes behind the scenes at MLW. With all these people doing great things in their jobs, it’s given me the time to actually get these deals done and build the company. To do what I’m supposed to do instead of juggling other jobs and trying to be in 30 places at once.

"That’s not a great position, but sometimes you have to do it when you’re a founder and you’re trying to make sure all your bases are covered. When you have the right people empowered, let them rip, man. Let them do what they’ve got to do. They’re doing a great job and it allows me to do my job."

Bauer has owned the MLW brand since 2002 and it's clear he views his lead job responsibility is company growth. This means more eyes and more awareness of his product.

"It’s been a transformative year, and a really positive one, because the real task at hand was to get awareness and get eyes on us," Bauer said.

"Be disruptive in a way where you open the pipelines of distribution and be where the eyes are. Of course, that’s YouTube, but it’s also places like Tubi, which has over 100 million viewers per month. That’s more than Paramount+ and HBO Max combined, and it’s free, so you don’t have to worry about subscription fatigue or the ebbs and flows of the economy. And then of course Amazon Prime, which is massive. To be distributed on those platforms is huge."

The MLW talent strategy

When you talk to Bauer, there is a strong sense of professionalism that's present. Bauer said that most of his talent are under contracts that range between six months to three years. The company used to work with some five-year deals, but stale creative changed that strategy.

Some talent don't have an MLW contract, but that professional system is in place to get the best creative out of his talent. MLW collaborate with talent on storylines and angles and Bauer wants them to get as hot as possible, despite the fact that they may leave his promotion.

"As for the talent, you want to get them hot," Bauer said. "As Terry Funk said, 'Don’t worry about tomorrow. Get them hot today, as hot as you can. Just keep pouring gas on the fire.' I’ve taken that to heart. If talent is hot and over, we’re protected by the contracts, and at the end, if they’re getting a million offers we can’t match, that’s okay, because we’ll have someone else up. We know what’s going to happen and how it’s going to happen, so we’re ready for what’s next on the assembly line."

Last night, he took down @DijakFYE.

Tomorrow night, @realKILLERkross takes on @JoshuaBishop_ in a LAST MAN STANDING match!

📺 https://t.co/y45aGqIdPY pic.twitter.com/X1V5UQU7bB

— MLW (@MLW) November 6, 2026

On Saturday night, the MLW Saturday Night SuperFight will air on VEEPs, yet another distribution partner for Bauer. The show is headlined by a massive world title match, but will also feature a New Japan Pro Wrestling crossover match, a Chicago Street Fight, women's wrestling, and much more. It's a show that will have a lot and that's the company sweet spot according to Bauer.

"There’s a real saturation thing in wrestling. That’s very real," Bauer said. "You’ve got to be consistent, have a good quality product, and let the talent rip out there. You can’t put them in a position where they’re handcuffed and slogging around.

"Figure out what’s going to be authentic and hit it, versus having this long, layered script and executing it. You’ve got to be in the moment and really resonate with the audience. It’s got to be something you feel, something that hits, and hopefully you’re giving them something different. Our strategic alliances with CMLL and New Japan have been really helpful there."

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Yota Tsuji, will make his MLW debut at Saturday Night SuperFight for a crossover match with New Japan Pro Wrestling. His opponent is Trevor Lee, who told The Takedown on SI that he's ready and using the match as a potential New Japan tryout.

MLW and the future

As for the future of MLW coming out of this PPV, Bauer said he's focused on a variety of company initiatives, including a level-up in licensing. The ultimate priority is still building awareness. That's the present and future of MLW.

"Building that audience," Bauer said when asked about what the future looks like for MLW. "Like I said, opening those pipelines, building awareness and growing the MLW Nation larger and larger on a global scale. We’re in 60 countries and we just got turned on by Tubi in Australia, so that light went up. Now they can watch us on Tubi in Australia. As those pipelines keep opening, it’s going to grow our audience, grow our commercial appeal, and our overall commercialization."

The weekly MLW show is Fusion and that can be seen on a variety of different platforms on Thursdays. The show is only one hour in length and that's by design. Why? Must we say it again? Audience growth.

"We try to make it easy to find, and the ask isn’t so big, because we know there’s a lot of great wrestling out there," Bauer said. "We want (MLW Fusion) to be an easy thing to fall into. That’s the task at hand."