Major League Wrestling champ Alex Kane wants Matt Cardona to take him seriously as PPV nears

Alex Kane has been on a roll in the second half of the year with Major League Wrestling.

The Georgia native became the MLW World Heavyweight Champion in July with a win over Alex Hammerstone at "Never Say Never" and has successfully defended the title three times since the victory with his faction – the Bomaye Fight Club – behind him.

Thursday night will be one of Kane’s toughest matches yet as he steps into the ring against the "Indy God" Matt Cardona at "One Shot" in New York City. Kane made one thing clear in a recent interview with Fox News Digital – he is looking for respect.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

"It would be mean a whole lot more if he actually took me seriously," Kane said when asked what it meant to face a pro wrestling veteran like Cardona. "He’s not taking it serious. He thinks it’s going to be a walk in the park, like this is just going to be like a quick payday. That’s really, really bugging me.

"I was watching WWE at the time when he like getting things going with the Edgeheads and that kind of fellow and then he kinda made his own thing with Zack Ryder. I was watching. Would I say I was a huge Zack Ryder fan? I cannot say that. I’d be lying. He’s had a lot of success and I would think that somebody who had the amount of success that he had, been the places where he’s been, wouldn’t be looking through somebody like me."

The "One Shot" pay-per-view will take place at Melrose Ballroom in the borough of Queens starting at 7 p.m. and can also be seen on FITE TV.

Aside from being the MLW World Heavyweight Champion, Kane wants to "provide an opportunity for someone who looks like me."

RISING WWE NXT STAR KELANI JORDAN TALKS 'CRAZY' JOURNEY FROM GYMNASTICS STARDOM TO SQUARED CIRCLE

"It’s huge," he said of pushing for more Black representation in pro wrestling. "I think over the last 5 or 10 years the representation of Black wrestlers has grown to major heights. There’s still work to do, obviously, but to be a part of that work in the spot that I’m in – you can’t ask for much more."

MLW is one of the handful of pro wrestling promotions in the U.S. that has caught fire in recent years. Along with the likes of WWE, All Elite Wrestling, Impact Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance, fans can watch any style they choose on any day.

Kane told Fox News Digital MLW is "much different than anything else on any platform, any streaming service, any television, anything."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"It has that old school feel to it, like a Jim Crockett feel to it but also has some of that new blood in it and nobody else has that," Kane explained. "MLW is giving you al the flavor that you need for professional wrestling and it’s just good stuff."

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.