MLW Returns to Arena México May 1 for Second Annual CMLL Clash
Major League Wrestling will return to Arena México on May 1 for the second annual MLW vs. CMLL interpromotional event, continuing what has become one of the most active international partnership strategies in independent wrestling.
The announcement, made during CMLL's weekly Informa broadcast and confirmed on MLW.com, sets up a rematch between the two promotions at the venue widely known as the Cathedral of lucha libre. Last year's inaugural card on May 2, 2025, marked the first time an American wrestling promotion co-produced a show from the historic arena.
The first MLW vs. CMLL event delivered real consequences. Ultimo Guerrero defeated Matthew Justice to capture the MLW National Openweight Championship, while Los Depredadores (Magnus and Rugido) took the MLW World Tag Team Championships from CozyMax (Satoshi Kojima and Okumura). Místico headlined with a win over KUSHIDA, and Donovan Dijak and Ikuro Kwon earned MLW's lone victory of the night in a tag team elimination match. Paul London wrestled Neon to a no-contest.
CMLL then defended those captured MLW titles on its own weekly cards throughout the rest of 2025. Ultimo Guerrero racked up five successful defenses of the Openweight Championship before Blue Panther took it from him in September. The relationship wasn't just a one-night thing; it became part of CMLL's regular programming.
A Pattern Two Decades in the Making
MLW's international strategy didn't start with CMLL. It traces back to the promotion's founding in 2002, when Court Bauer launched MLW with the blessing of All Japan Pro Wrestling. The original concept was to build a North American brand operating within the AJPW ecosystem, blending styles from day one. Satoshi Kojima first appeared in MLW during that initial run and would later become one of the promotion's most important champions after the 2017 relaunch, holding both the World Heavyweight and World Tag Team titles.
When MLW returned as a full-time promotion, the international playbook expanded rapidly. A working agreement with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide brought a wave of lucha talent to MLW Fusion starting in 2018. A collaboration with Mexican promotion The Crash led to an MLW Azteca taping in Tijuana in December 2021. Partnerships with Pro Wrestling NOAH and Dragon Gate brought Japanese fighters into the roster mix, and Yoshihiro Tajiri won the MLW World Middleweight Championship in late 2021, later defending it in AJPW.
The 2023 Alliance That Changed Everything
The current structure took shape on September 27, 2023, when MLW, CMLL, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced a three-way strategic alliance for crossover events and talent exchanges. The deal had been in discussion since early July, and it required MLW to shift away from AAA talent entirely to align with CMLL's exclusivity expectations.
KUSHIDA's MLW debut at Fury Road in September 2023 kicked off the NJPW side. That same month, MLW brought in Maki Itoh from Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling. The CMLL pipeline opened in October, with Salina de la Renta positioned as the central on-screen figure linking the promotions. By early 2024, CMLL luchadores were regular fixtures on MLW programming.
The alliance produced co-promoted events on both sides of the border. MLW's Azteca Lucha at Cicero Stadium in Chicago has become its own annual tradition, featuring CMLL talent prominently. The sold-out 2024 edition brought CMLL general manager Salvador Lutteroth Lomelí as a special guest and showcased matches between the two rosters. A second co-promoted event, Lucha Apocalypto, followed in November 2024, also at Cicero Stadium.
NJPW's Battle in the Valley 2024 in San Jose featured MLW talent alongside AEW and CMLL fighters, showing all three alliance partners working on a single card.
Beyond the Americas
MLW's reach hasn't been limited to Mexico and Japan. In 2021, the promotion partnered with Revolution Pro Wrestling in the United Kingdom. In 2022, a deal with One Pro Wrestling sent then-World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone across the Atlantic for his first UK match. MLW signed a broadcast agreement with Ayozat TV for UK distribution that same year. A partnership with Oceania Pro Wrestling in Australia expanded the promotion's footprint even further, with plans for talent exchange and broadcast collaboration. The promotion also forged a relationship with Germany's Westside Xtreme Wrestling in 2023, which saw wXw wrestlers bring their titles to MLW shows.
What's Coming in 2026
The May 1 event in Mexico City sits within a packed international calendar for MLW. Just weeks before, on April 12, MLW and NJPW will co-present CMLL Fantastica Mania USA from Festival Hall in Charleston, South Carolina, MLW's new headquarters city. That event will feature NJPW's Taiji Ishimori, El Desperado, DOUKI (the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion), and Kojima returning alongside MLW's own roster and CMLL luchadores. Another Azteca Lucha event is also scheduled for Cicero Stadium later in 2026, with CMLL talent expected to appear.
No matches have been announced yet for the May 1 Arena México show. Given last year's card produced two title changes and a Místico main event, expectations are high. Additional details on matchups and participating fighters are expected in the coming weeks.
For MLW, the strategy is straightforward: use partnerships to give its roster international exposure while bringing in talent that would otherwise never appear on an American independent card. For CMLL, holding MLW championships on their weekly programming adds a cross-promotional layer to a product built on tradition. The relationship runs both directions, and it runs deeper than a handshake deal once a year.
