2026 has been an eventful year for both IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji and Major League Wrestling, which is returning to pay-per-view Saturday night for the first time in seven years.

Tsuji kicked off his year by defeating Konosuke Takeshita at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 to win the then-IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and retain the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship in a Winner Takes All match.

One day later at NJPW New Year's Dash, Tsuji revived the V4 edition of NJPW’s top prize and announced the return of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, combining the lineages of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and the now-defunct IWGP Intercontinental Championship. The move was received mostly positively by NJPW fans and marked a shift back to the roots that influenced NJPW's popularity during its boom period in the 2010s.

Tsuji would go on to lose both titles in the spring but regained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at NJPW Dominion 6.14 in Osaka-Jo Hall after a victory over Callum Newman. Since then, Yota Tsuji has successfully defended the title against Hirooki Goto at NJPW Destruction in Kobe and G1 Climax 36 winner Ryohei Oiwa at NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling.

Earlier this week, Tsuji was pinned in a non-title three-way match at NJPW Power Struggle, setting up a Tokyo Dome showdown with former AEW World Champion and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 21.

Before he gets to January 4, 2027, Yota Tsuji has made it his mission as the leader of the new generation of New Japan Pro-Wrestling to represent his home promotion around the world, but he's doing it on his terms.

Why did Yota Tsuji chose MLW?

Saturday night, at MLW Saturday Night SuperFight in a sold-out Cicero Stadium in Chicago, Yota Tsuji will make his first appearance for an American promotion since winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The announcement of Tsuji’s MLW appearance came mere months after he declined to participate in this year’s Forbidden Door event co-promoted by NJPW and AEW. 

The Takedown On SI spoke with the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, who confirmed that choosing MLW for his American TV debut was a deliberate decision in part one of an exclusive interview. 

“You know, I have had other opportunities [to wrestle in the United States] in the past, like Forbidden Door, but as I have talked about in the past in interviews, I’ve been feeling like AEW does not treat the legacy of the IWGP Heavyweight title as respectfully as [the AEW World title]. I don’t feel comfortable doing shows at AEW until they fix their attitude… MLW, the biggest show, has given me a very tempting offer, an attractive offer, that I could not resist,” Yota Tsuji shared.

Last week on MLW Fusion, it was announced that Tsuji’s opponent at Saturday Night SuperFight will be the current MLW Southern Crown Champion, Trevor Lee, in a non-title match. When asked about his thoughts on his opponent, Yota Tsuji kept his answer short and sweet. “Right now, MLW can be watched through NJPW World, so I have seen a little bit of his moves and matches.”

On Fusion, Trevor Lee expressed his excitement to formally introduce Tsuji to an MLW ring.

No matter who his opponent ended up being, Yota Tsuji was very clear about his personal goals for his first MLW appearance. He said, “Pro wrestling has a long history in the United States. There are big organizations like WWE, AEW, and a strong organization like MLW. I'm proud to be delivering our unique fighting style of New Japan Pro-Wrestling…I am hoping for the U.S. fans to feel that and be at the venue to witness it.”