MLW Never Say Never preview: Title fights, mystery manager reveal, draft picks, weapons, music, and more!

MLW is going live for the Never Say Never special event on Saturday, July 8 in Philadelphia. The card is shaping up to be a wild night of entertainment with a marquee main event, the reveal of a mystery manager, draft picks, a musical performance, and weapons. let the violence commence!

The Never Say Never PPV card, which will be available for live streaming at 8 pm ET through the Fite+ subscription, in Philadelphia on July 8 currently includes:

• MLW World Heavyweight Championship: Alexander Hammerstone (c) vs. Alex Kane
• MLW National Openweight Championship: Jacob Fatu (c) vs. Calvin Tankman
• MLW Women’s World Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo vs. xWx Women’s World Champion Ava Everett in title vs. title
• MLW World Tag Team Championship: Samoan Swat Team (Lance Anoa’i & Juicy Finau) (c) vs. The Calling (Rickey Shane Page & Akira) (fans bring weapons)
• Country Whipping Match: Mance Warner vs. Sam Adonis
• Timothy Thatcher vs. Tracy Williams
• B3CCA live pop star performance
• 2023 Open Draft

The Fusion TV taping portion, to air at a later date, contains:

• Second Gear Crew (1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice) vs. The Calling (Delirious & a masked goon)
• Microman & Mane Event vs. FBI & Jesus (Ricardo) Rodriguez
• Willie Mack vs. O’Shay Edwards vs. Ken Broadway vs. Nolo Kitano vs. Love, Doug
• Gene Snisky returns
• Ichiban vs. TJ Crawford
• Tiara James vs. B3CCA
• Mandy Leon in action
• Mr. Thomas vs. J Boujii in Bomaye Fight Club tryout challenge

The main event of the evening is a power hoss battle when Alexander Hammerstone defends the MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Alex Kane. On paper, my money is on Hammerstone to retain. He has held the world title for 641 days and counting. It’s at the point that I won’t believe Hammerman will lose until I see it with my own eyes. That’s not to say this will be a lock for Hammer to retain. No, no, no.

Kane is a rising star, and MLW has put a lot of effort into building his momentum. The Suplex Assassin earned the title shot in impressive fashion by submitting rival Davey Boy Smith Jr. to win the Battle Riot match. It was the kind of performance to turn Kane’s image from mid-carder to main event talent.

In addition, MLW is running a storyline of a financial backer behind Kane and the Bomaye Fight Club. That mystery person’s identity will be revealed at Never Say Never. If MLW really wants to turn Kane into their next superstar, then this is the night to do it by winning the world title.

On the topic of reveals, MLW is holding the first two rounds of the 2023 Open Draft. That is a gimmick MLW uses to announce free agent signings, injury returns, and confirm top names who will be in the company for the next few months. Being that this is on the PPV, I’m expecting the picks to be on the surprise side.

One of the draws of MLW is their ability to offer a wide variety of wrestling styles in their matchmaking. Never Say Never will have primo hoss fights with Hammerstone versus Kane and Jacob Fatu versus Calvin Tankman, a technical wrestling chess match for Timothy Thatcher versus Tracy Williams, and hardcore hitting where the fans bring the weapons for the Samoan Swat Team versus The Calling as well as a Country Whipping Match between Mance Warner and Sam Adonis. Ole Mancer won’t be holding nothing back.

Buckle in, because Never Say Never should be a crazy time.

Catch all the action from Never Say Never through the Fite+ package.

Which matches are you most eager to see? Share your predictions for Never Say Never.