MLW One-Shot preview and predictions: Kane vs. Cardona world title fight, bodybuilding contest, more!

MLW is ready to rock the house with One-Shot from New York City on Thursday night (Dec. 7, 2023). The show is co-promoted by the World Titan Federation. The theme of WTF is Mister Saint Laurent crafting professional wrestling into his sports entertainment image.

The current MLW One-Shot lineup includes:

• MLW World Heavyweight Championship: Alex Kane (c) vs. Matt Cardona
• MLW Women’s World Featherweight Championship: Janai Kai (c) vs. Maki Itoh
• MLW World Middleweight Championship & CMLL World Historic Welterweight Championship: Rocky Romero (c) vs. Mascara Dorada
• MLW National Openweight Championship: Rickey Shane Page (c) vs. Jimmy Lloyd
• TJPW Princess of Princess Championship: Miyu Yamashita (c) vs. Delmi Exo
• Satoshi Kojima vs. Tom Lawlor
• Bodies by Saint Laurent bodybuilding contest

The PPV goes live at 8 pm ET and will be available for streaming through the Fite+ package on Fite TV.

Matt Cardona is the crown jewel of the World Titan Federation. He’ll get his chance to challenge Alex Kane to bring the MLW World Heavyweight Championship to WTF. Cardona isn’t impressed by Kane as the face of MLW. The Indy God is going to take his rightful place at the top.

Kane is chomping at the bit to get his payback.

Salina de la Renta represents two champions on the card with financial backing from Promociones Dorado. Janai Kai aims to use her martial arts skills to silence Maki Itoh. That is easier said than done. Itoh is a tough cookie. Rocky Romero is so cocky in his belief of beating Mascara Dorada that he is putting both his championships on the line.

Satoshi Kojima returns to MLW after 20 years. The bread maker was the original MLW heavyweight champion. WTF superstar Tom Lawlor is intent on proving he is the best MLW heavyweight champion of all-time.

Prediction time!

Kane versus Cardona is a tough one to call. Kane has been stacking his résumé with high-quality PPV main events and hard-fought wins. On paper, I’d go with Kane all day, every day. However, Cardona brings the intangible of popularity to the table. I believe that Cardona with the world title would bring more eyes to the MLW product, and then it is MLW’s job to hook the newcomers to stick around. Plus, the World Titan Federation storyline would hit a major roadblock if Cardona fails in his first major test. Mister Saint Laurent will have his WTF superstars at the ready to provide sinister support. For those reasons, I’m leaning toward Cardona winning gold by hook or by crook.

MLW is featuring a lot of outside talent for One-shot. Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, and Satoshi Kojima are visiting from Japan. Mascara Dorada arrives from CMLL in Mexico. I’m rolling with a clean sweep by the champions in those matches. There isn’t a lot of story build for each particular contest. The outsiders are here to put on a show for a unique flavor in MLW without upsetting the order of things. I’ve got my eye on Rocky Romero versus Mascara Dorada to steal the show. The masked luchador is a star on the rise, and this could be his breakout performance for the MLW audience. As for the battle of former MLW heavyweight champions, I’m leaning toward Kojima earning the feel-good win in his return.

In the national openweight title scene, Rickey Shane Page will bring pain to Jimmy Lloyd. RSP is going to chew up Lloyd and spit him out. It won’t be an easy win, but I don’t think RSP will be in any true danger of defeat.

The spectacle I’m most curious about is the Bodies by Saint Laurent bodybuilding contest. WTF is a complete rib mocking WWE’s idiosyncrasies from the 1980s and beyond. It has potential to be a hoot of chuckles or veer into ‘so bad it’s good’ train wreck territory.

For those attending live, the One-Shot event will also include matches taped for Fusion to air at a later date:

• Jacob Fatu vs. Alexander Hammerstone (TV taping)
• Matthew Justice vs. Josh Bishop (TV taping)
• Salina de la Renta vs. Ichiban (TV taping)
• Tony Deppen vs. Kevin Blackwood (TV taping)
• Tiara James vs. Notorious Mimi vs. Zayda Steel (TV taping)
• Mane Event vs. Wasted Youth vs. TJ Crawford & Griffin McCoy with the winner earning a tag title shot (TV taping)
• Scramble Match: Akira vs. Love, Doug vs. Nolo Kitano vs. J Boujii vs. Alec Price vs. Brett Ryan Gosselin (TV taping)

Share your predictions for One-Shot. Which matches excite you most?