Tag: Motor City Machine Guns

Motor City Machine Guns To Debut On WWE SmackDown Next Week

“Coming soon” has turned into “next week,” as the Machine City Motor Guns are slated to make their first WWE appearance on the upcoming October 18 episode of “WWE SmackDown.”

Nick Aldis was the first to break the news on WWE programming, informing Legado del Fantasma leader Santos Escobar that he was bringing in “a new tag team” next week, and that the team would be facing Escobar’s stablemates, Los Garzas. Shortly following the segment, a vignette featuring the bright lights of Detroit and the purr of motor engines filled fans’ screens. The letters “M-C-M-G” even briefly flashed at the end of the package, all but confirming the identities of Aldis’ expected new tag team arrival — and likely confirming that they will at least be using the same collective name.

Notably, Fightful Select reported earlier on Friday that Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin were not slated to appear on the blue brand until the October 25 episode of “SmackDown,” though the report allowed that the debut date could be changed even as a result of the report itself. Fightful also claimed the Guns’ upcoming debut had nothing whatsoever to do with the situation surrounding The Lucha Brothers, whose WWE arrival has been delayed by AEW CEO Tony Khan invoking his contractual right to extend Rey Fenix’ deal due to injury.

Shelley and Sabin are no strangers to gold — the Motor City Machine Guns boast tag team title reigns across multiple promotions, including NJPW, Deadlock Pro Wrestling, IGWP, Ring of Honor, and most famously Impact/TNA. The Guns’ contracts with TNA expired in April 2024; by September 2024, reports of Shelley and Sabin’s deal with WWE hit the wrestling news cycle. The Guns were initially reported to be heading to “WWE NXT,” but will instead call the blue brand home.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Update On The Motor City Machine Guns’ WWE Status

On Friday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown, a vignette teasing someone “coming soon” aired. The vignette featured a car revving up its engine and taking off, police sirens and what appears to be the city of Detroit, MI.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1842359898211840046

According to a report from Pwinsider, multiple sources have indicated that the vignette is for the Motor City Machine Guns. The team of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin were originally expected to have a short run in WWE NXT, but that will no longer be happening. Instead, the duo will be coming straight to the main roster.

Finally, it was added that the team was not at this week’s WWE NXT TV tapings in Chicago, IL as originally planned.

Source: eWn

Backstage Update On The Status Of The Motor City Machine Guns

The Motor City Machine Guns have been the subject of much discussion in recent months, as fans around the world are still wondering where they will end up. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin’s contracts with TNA expired at the beginning of April, and rumors have been rampant concerning whether they will choose to sign with WWE or AEW. Initially, it looked as if Sabin and Shelley would become ‘All Elite,’ with the two men already having a brief history with AEW, appearing at All Out 2022. However, that talk seemed to die off, and the word inside the business was that they were WWE-bound.

Now it seems there is an answer, at least according to Dave Meltzer, who claimed in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the Motor City Machine Guns are expected to start in WWE imminently. As far as the destination within WWE, Meltzer claims that, despite the fact that Sabin and Shelley are one of the most influential tag teams of their generation, they will be part of the “WWE NXT” brand when they eventually debut.

“NXT” has a lot of big events coming up in the near future, as the brand will be moving to The CW on October 1. The live debut on October 1 will take place from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, which will then be followed by a live episode in St. Louis, Missouri on October 8, which will go head-to-head with “AEW Dynamite.” Following on from the two live shows on October 1 and 8, “NXT” will be back on the road for the Halloween Havoc PLE, which will take place on October 27 at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

According to multiple reports, the current plan is to have Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin debut in a tag team match during WWE NXT’s Chicago debut on October 1st.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Motor City Machine Guns Expected To Join WWE (Report)

Two highly decorated free agents could be headed to WWE soon.

Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin of the Motor City Machine Guns are expected to join WWE after their contracts with TNA Wrestling expired in March.

Formed in 2007, the Motor City Machine Guns have achieved success in various promotions, including ROH and NJPW. During their tenure in TNA Wrestling, Shelley and Sabin held the TNA World Title, the X-Division Title, and won the TNA Tag Team Championships thrice.

It was previously rumored that the Motor City Machine Guns were headed to AEW, however, they continued to accept independent bookings.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now reporting that there’s talk within the wrestling community that “Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley are expected to be coming here [WWE], or at least that’s the talk within wrestling. Nobody has officially said anything. Of late, the indications were WWE made the better offer but they were expected to be with whichever side made the best offer. Within wrestling the belief is that they are WWE-bound.”

The Motor City Machine Guns bid farewell to indie wrestling at a recent show in Portland, and have a booking scheduled for next month.

Source: eWn

Motor City Machine Guns Reportedly Finalizing Deal With AEW

Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are reportedly in the process of finalizing deals that will bring the Motor City Machine Guns to AEW, as reported by Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net.

According to Haynes, a contract is not expected to be completed imminently but “the decision has been made and a deal will be worked out.”

The news comes after Shelley filed to trademark the terms “Motor City Machine Guns” and “MCMG” for wrestling purposes on 3/19.

The former TNA World Tag Team Champions finished up with the company at the 3/22 and 3/23 TV tapings in Philadelphia, with their final match set to air on this week’s edition of IMPACT as they face Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards.

Source: F4WOnline via WrestleView

Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin, The Motor City Machine Guns, Reportedly Finished With TNA

Two of the most successful stars in the history of TNA Wrestling have reportedly finished up with the promotion. According to PWInsider, Saturday night’s tapings in Philadelphia marked the final TNA performances (at least for now) of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machine Guns. PWI says TNA held an emotional backstage sendoff for the veteran duo whose contracts are up on April 1. This report was confirmed by Fightful Select, who add that while “the door has been kept open” for the Guns to return, they are not currently expected to remain with TNA.

Sabin and Shelley have spent the majority of their careers in TNA since debuting for the promotion in 2003 and 2004, respectively, and they’ve seen plenty of individual success, with both men having enjoyed a reign with the promotion’s world championship. However, they are much better known as a tag team — the Motor City Machine Guns are three-time TNA tag champs and have won tag team gold in Game Changer Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Ring of Honor (prior to its acquisition by AEW CEO Tony Khan).

The Guns’ final TNA match is reportedly against Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers for the tag titles. Come April, they will be free agents and can sign with any promotion. They previously appeared in one match for AEW, teaming with Jay Lethal in a losing effort against FTR and Wardlow at All Out 2022, and Shelley has been seen on WWE television as well, competing alongside KUSHIDA on “WWE NXT” as part of the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (he also boasts an 2005 appearance on “WWE Sunday Night Heat”). WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” Brian James recently suggested Sabin and Shelley would be “good WWE superstars.” on his podcast, “Oh … You Didn’t Know,”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Motor City Machine Guns’ TNA Contracts Expiring Soon

The Motor City Machine Guns’ TNA contracts are reportedly expiring in the near future.

According to a report from Pwinsider, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin will be working Smash Wrestling’s event in London, Ontario, Canada on April 21st. This is the same day as TNA’s post-Rebellion TV tapings.

According to multiple sources, the belief is that the team’s current TNA deals are expiring, potentially as soon as the end of this month. If their contracts do expire, they could continue working on a per-appearance deal but TNA would no longer have priority booking.

As of this writing, Shelley, Sabin and TNA have yet to comment on their contract statuses.

Source: eWn

Motor City Machine Guns To Debut For AEW At All Out

Legendary Impact Wrestling and ROH tag team The Motor City Machine Guns will team up with Jay Lethal at AEW All Out.

Prior to this Wednesday night, fans understood the Wardlow and FTR to be lined up for a six-man tag team match at AEW All Out against Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh. However, after Lethal defeated Dax Harwood on Dynamite, Dutt got on the mic to claim they’d never said who would represent their team at the PPV. Rather than Dutt and Singh, it will be The Motor City Machine Guns, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, joining Lethal.

Despite their tremendous talent, it’s possible for fans who’ve only followed WWE, WCW, and AEW to have not had The Motor City Machine Guns land on their radar. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are quite arguably the greatest tag team in Impact Wrestling history, in addition to stints in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor. They’re a fast-paced, high-flying team. Yes, they may have lost a step athletically since they first started being featured together fifteen years ago. The duo has the experience and ring savvy to still perform at high level, though, including staging one of the best matches of the night at the recent Ric Flair’s Last Match PPV opposite The Wolves.

It has yet to be seen if the pair will become AEW mainstays, be more associated with ROH, or if this will be a one-off booking. Nonetheless, the idea of them teaming with Jay Lethal has a great deal of promise.

Earlier this summer, FTR’s Cash Wheeler went on the record to say he wanted to face The Motor City Machine Guns. While this trios contest won’t be quite the same as a straight-up tag team match, Jay Lethal is an elite in-ring talent, and Wardlow is a good talent with a lot of momentum, not to mention a powerhouse who thrives on pulling off feats of strength working multiple opponents simultaneously. Add up these factors and the new line-up for this match is more promising than when it appeared Sonjay Dutta and Satnam Singh were involved.

The All Out card had just started taking shape in earnest. While there are still significant puzzle pieces to fill in, Wardlow and FTR vs. Jay Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns offers and additional bout that might threaten to steal the show on September 4.

Source: TheSportster