| Inner City Machine Guns | |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Members | Rich Swann Ricochet |
| Debut | March 12, 2012 |
| Disbanded | August 30, 2015 |
| Years active | 2012–2015[1] |
TheInner City Machine Guns was aprofessional wrestlingtag team consisting ofRich Swann andRicochet, which competed in variousindependent promotions, such asDragon Gate,Evolve,Pro Wrestling Guerrilla,Revolution Pro Wrestling, andWestside Xtreme Wrestling.
Swann and Ricochet began teaming with each other as members of the World-1 Internationalfaction in the Dragon Gate promotion in 2012, and soon expanded into other promotions.[2] The team was moderately successful, winning RevPro'sBritish Tag Team Championshiponce.[3]
After competing in other alliances,Rich Swann andRicochet were paired with each other for the first time inDragon Gate during theGlorious Gate tour on March 12, 2012, competing againstAkira Tozawa andBxB Hulk in a losing effort. AtMemorial Gate in Wakayama,Masato Yoshino formed the WORLD-1 Internationalfaction withNaruki Doi,Pac and Swann. Ricochet later joined the group as its fifth member. Various group members occasionally teamed with each other, with Swann and Ricochet representing the group in tag team matches on various occasions against groups such as Akatsuki, Jimmyz,Mad Blankey and Team Veteran Returns, throughout the year. They also competed at Dragon Gate'sUS subsidiary, first wrestling together atEnter The Dragonpay-per-view event, where they facedAR Fox andCIMA for the vacantOpen the United Gate Championship in a losing effort.[4] They also appeared atUprising pay-per-view, where they lost toSuper Smash Brothers (Player Uno andStupefied).[5]
AtMercury Rising on April 7, 2013, Swann and Ricochet teamed with WORLD-1 International teammateJohnny Gargano to defeat CIMA,Eita andTomahawk TT.[6] In May, Swann and Ricochet teamed with Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi to represent their faction in the go baaan Cup 8 Man Tag Tournament, losing to the eventual winners Jimmyz in the semi-final round. They would then lose to Team Veteran Returns in a match for the third place in the tournament. AtEnter The Dragon in July, Inner City Machine Guns unsuccessfully challengedThe Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) for the Open the United Gate Championship.[7] Their next major performance in Dragon Gate occurred at the2014 Mercury Rising, where they teamed with AR Fox to participate in the Six Man Tag Team Tournament. They defeatedChris Hero,Masato Tanaka andRoderick Strong in the semifinal but lost to The Premier Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese,Caleb Konley andTrent Barreta) in a three-way final, also involvingFire Ant,Green Ant andLince Dorado.[8]
Inner City Machine Guns debuted as a team inPro Wrestling Guerrilla by participating in the2013 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. They were eliminated by the eventual winners The Young Bucks in the quarter-final round.[9] They next appeared atAll Star Weekend 9, defeating AR Fox andSamuray del Sol on the first night.[10] On the second night, Guns teamed with Fox againstKevin Steen and Unbreakable F'N Machines (Brian Cage andMichael Elgin) in a losing effort.[11] AtTen, Guns unsuccessfully challenged Young Bucks for thePWG World Tag Team Championship in a three-wayladder match, also involving Dojo Bros. (Eddie Edwards andRoderick Strong).[12]
On January 31, 2014, Guns participated in that year'sDDT4 tournament, defeating The African American Wolves (ACH and AR Fox) in the quarter-final and Unbreakable F'N Machines in the semi-final but lost toBest Friends (Chuck Taylor andTrent?) in the final.[13] On the first night ofBattle of Los Angeles, Guns received a World Tag Team Championship opportunity againstThe World's Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae andJoey Ryan) in a three-way match, also involvingThe Addiction (Christopher Daniels andFrankie Kazarian). Guns failed to win the titles.[14] Ricochet and Swann participated in thenamesake tournament on the second night. Swann was eliminated by LeRae while Ricochet advanced in the tournament by defeatingChris Sabin.[15] On the third night, Ricochet defeatedT.J. Perkins in the quarter-final,Kenny Omega in the semi-final, and Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong in the three-way final to win the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles tournament.[16]
On May 22, 2015, Guns participated in their third consecutiveDynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. They defeatedBiff Busick andDrew Gulak in the quarter-final but lost to the eventual winnersAndrew Everett and Trevor Lee in the semi-final.[17] On the first night ofBattle of Los Angeles, Guns lost toLos Güeros del Cielo (Angélico andJack Evans).[18] On the second night, both Swann and Ricochet participated in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament, but lost toZack Sabre Jr. andMarty Scurll in their respective matches.[19] On the third night, Guns teamed with Angélico andFenix againstMount Rushmore 2.0 (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Roderick Strong andSuper Dragon) in a losing effort.[20]
Inner City Machine Guns wrestled a few matches for the German promotionWestside Xtreme Wrestling in 2014. Their first wXw match took place at the first night of16 Carat Gold Tournament, unsuccessfully challenging Hot And Spicy (Axel Dieter Jr. andDa Mack) for thewXw World Tag Team Championship.[21] They next appeared atFans Appreciation Night, where they teamed with CIMA to defeat Masato Yoshino and Hot And Spicy in a six-man tag team match.
Inner City Machine Guns made their debut for the British promotionRevolution Pro Wrestling atHigh Stakes on March 15, 2014. They defeatedThe Swords of Essex (Paul Robinson andWill Ospreay) in their RevPro debut to win theBritish Tag Team Championship.[22] The following day, atSittingbourne Spectacular, Guns successfully defended the title against The Young Bucks, before losing the title toThe Kartel (Sha Samuels andTerry Frazier).