| Motor City Machine Guns | |
|---|---|
 Chris Sabin (left) andAlex Shelley (right) in February 2016 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Alex Shelley[1] Chris Sabin[1] |
| Name(s) | Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin[1] Echo Boomers[2] Machine Guns[3] Milennials[2] Motor City Machine Guns[1] Murder City Machine Guns[1] Panic in Detroit[2] |
| Billed heights | Sabin: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[4] Shelley: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[5] |
| Combined billed weight | 420 lb (190 kg)[4][5] |
| Hometown | Detroit, Michigan, U.S.[1] |
| Debut | August 25, 2006 |
| Years active | 2006–2012 2016–2018 2020–2021 2022–present |
TheMotor City Machine Guns[a] are an Americanprofessional wrestlingtag team consisting ofAlex Shelley andChris Sabin. They are signed toWWE, where they perform on theSmackDownbrand and are former one-timeWWE Tag Team Champions. They are best known for their tenure inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). The team name is a play on the nickname ofDetroit, the hometown of both Shelley and Sabin. The duo also made appearances for Japanese promotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Originally forming a team inPro Wrestling Zero1 in 2006, Shelley and Sabin have worked together on and off ever since.
They have won threeTNA World Tag Team Championships and oneROH World Tag Team Championship while inRing of Honor (ROH) - and in NJPW they have held theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship andStrong Openweight Tag Team Championship once each.
Shelley and Sabin first started teaming inPro Wrestling Zero1-Max in 2006, winning theZero-1 Max International Lightweight Tag Team Championship fromMinoru Fujita andIkuto Hidaka on August 25. They held the title for almost two years before dropping them back to Fujita and his new partnerTakuya Sugawara.[6] In the United States, the pair had short runs in theindependent promotionsPro Wrestling Guerrilla andRing of Honor under the namesMotor CityMachine Guns[7] andMurder City Machine Guns, respectively. The team's work for other companies eventually ended when their main employer,Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), requested their wrestlers stop taking bookings with certain independent promotions.[8]
It was not until April 2007 that the team debuted in TNA, where they had previously been singles wrestlers in the company'sX Division. After briefly working together while wrestling as opponents in anXscape match at the annualLockdownpay-per-view they became regulars in the tag team division. Initially using the Murder City name, the team's moniker was later changed to the more "PG" Motor City.[9][10][11] After Shelley and Sabin had teamed for a few weeks in TNA,Kevin Nash—who had a history with both men and was also a Detroit native—was brought in as theirmanager, ending his previous alliances withJay Lethal andSonjay Dutt in the process,[9] though his association with the group was short lived.
The team continued to work in independent promotions in parallel with their work in TNA, getting a run with the Illinois–basedAll American Wrestling'sTag Team Championship between September 2007 and January 2008.[12] In October 2007 atBound for Glory the team interfered in a tables match betweenTeam 3D (BrothersRay andDevon) and theSteiner Brothers (Scott andRick), trying to prevent Team 3D from cheating and effectively helping the Steiners win the match.[13] The following month atGenesis the Motor City Machine Guns surprised Team 3D and defeated them in a tag team match.[14] Later in the event Ray and Devon, embarrassed by their loss, attacked theX Division ChampionJay Lethal and his number one contenderSonjay Dutt after their match and declared a war on the X Division as a whole,[14] demanding that the entire X Division and all the members therein be disbanded and removed from TNA. The entire feud focused mainly upon Team 3D (including a new member inJohnny Devine, who was dubbed "Brother Devine") against the Machine Guns and Jay Lethal.[15][16]
During the feud, Team 3D awarded the stolen X Division Championship to Devine,[17] before Devine won the title outright.[18] The two teams faced off in anUltimate X match for the title atFinal Resolution. Prior to the pay-per-view, it was claimed that Ray and Devon were too heavy to support themselves on the cables, so they "broke" Sabin and Shelley's fingers, making them unable to climb. Team 3D won this match by using a ladder to get Devon up to the title belt (which broke the "unwritten rule" of the match).[19] AtAgainst All Odds, Sabin, Shelley, and Lethal won aStreet Fight with the existence of the X Division as a whole (excluding Devine) on the line.[20] Sabin and Shelley were beaten off early in the match, essentially making it a handicap match of Team 3D against Lethal. As agreed in the pre–match stipulations, the win resulted in Lethal being given back the X Division title and the members of Team 3D essentially being disqualified from future matches until they could all drop their weight below super heavyweight status.[21]
They were members ofTeam TNA alongsideKaz andCurry Man in the 2008 edition of theTNA World X Cup, but lost toTeam Mexico atVictory Road.[22] They then slipped into the role oftweeners, showing disrespect toChristian Cage,A.J. Styles,Consequences Creed,B.G. James and TheLatin American Xchange however still being cheered heavily by the fans and showing respect for the fans.
On the October 30 episode of Impact!, The Machine Guns along with A.J. Styles,Samoa Joe, Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed,Petey Williams,Eric Young andODB formed a faction of younger wrestlers called The TNA Front Line to opposeThe Main Event Mafia.[23]
AtTurning Point, Shelley and Sabin received a shot at theTNA World Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by the championsBeer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode andJames Storm), after their managerJacqueline interfered in the match.[24] Earlier in the evening they disrespectedMick Foley as he was addressing the TNA originals backstage.[24] Despite this and other showings of disrespect, they remained fan favorites and a part of the team opposing the Main Event Mafia. However, they would turnheel months later attackingLethal Consequences (Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed) after losing a tag team match to them. As part of their gimmick they were now described as "TNA Frontline members in name only". AtFinal Resolution, the Guns were attacked by the debutingSuicide[25]
AtGenesis, Shelley defeated Sabin in the finals of a tournament to become the newTNA X Division Champion.[26] AtDestination X, Shelley lost his X Division title to Suicide in anUltimate X match that also involved Consequences Creed, Jay Lethal and Chris Sabin.[27] The Guns and Lethal Consequences spent the next few months unsuccessfully trying to unmask Suicide, initially also claiming that he isDaniels.
On the August 6 episode ofImpact!, Shelley and Sabin both turnedface once again aligning themselves with Daniels against World Elite when an all out brawl broke out in the Impact! Zone.[28] In September Shelley and Sabin began appearing as occasional commentators alongsideMike Tenay andTaz onImpact! broadcasts.[29][30]AtBound for Glory the duo won the pre–show match against Lethal Consequences, and immediately afterwards competed in the Ultimate X match for the X Division Championship which was won by championAmazing Red.[31] On the following episode ofImpact!, they won a tag team Ultimate X match against Lethal Consequences when Sabin retrieved the X, to become #1 contenders for the TNA World Tag Team Championships and challenged the championsBritish Invasion (Doug Williams andBrutus Magnus) atTurning Point.[32] On the November 12 episode ofImpact! Beer Money, Inc. defeated the British Invasion in a non–title match to join the Motor City Machine Guns in the Tag Team Title match at Turning Point.[33] At the pay-per-view The British Invasion defeated Shelley and Sabin and Beer Money, Inc. in a three–way match to retain the TNA Tag Team Championship.[34] The following month atFinal Resolution the British Invasion defeated Shelley and Sabin to once again retain their title.[35] AtDestination X the Machine Guns defeatedGeneration Me (Jeremy Buck and Max Buck) in an Ultimate X match to earn another shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[36] Shelley and Sabin received their title shot on the April 12 episode ofImpact!, but were defeated by World Tag Team ChampionMatt Morgan and Amazing Red, who replaced the injuredHernandez in the match.[37]
The following month atSacrifice the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Beer Money, Inc. and Team 3D in a three–way match to earn another shot at the Tag Team Championship.[38] On July 11 atVictory Road the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Beer Money, Inc. to win the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship for the first time.[39] After Victory Road the Motor City Machine Guns entered a Best of Five Series with Beer Money, Inc., contested for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Beer Money won the first two matches, aladder match and a Street Fight, after knocking their opponents out with beer bottles.[40][41] However, Shelley and Sabin came back to win the two following matches, asteel cage match and an Ultimate X match, to even the score to 2–2 and set up a deciding match for the August 12 episode ofImpact!.[42][43] On the August 12 episode ofImpact! the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Beer Money, Inc. in aTwo Out of Three Falls match to win the Best of Five Series and retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[44] The following month atNo Surrender, the Motor City Machine Guns retained their title in a match against Generation Me. After the match Generation Me turned heel by attacking the Machine Guns and injuring Shelley.[45] On the following episode ofImpact! Generation Me laid claim to the TNA World Tag Team Championship, claiming that the champions wouldn't be able to defend them for 30 days, due to Shelley's injury, before stealing Sabin's title belt.[46][47] Shelley would however make his return two weeks later and promised Generation Me a rematch for the World Tag Team Championship atBound for Glory.[48] At the pay–per–view the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Generation Me to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[49] Also at Bound for Glory, Team 3D announced their retirement from professional wrestling, but requested one final match against the Motor City Machine Guns, whom they called the best tag team in wrestling.[49] The Motor City Machine Guns accepted and the match took place on November 7, 2010, atTurning Point, where they defeated Team 3D to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship.[50][51] After Jeremy Buck pinned Sabin in an eight-person tag team match, where the Motor City Machine Guns teamed with Jay Lethal andVelvet Sky and Generation Me withRobbie E andCookie, on the November 18 episode ofImpact!, the Motor City Machine Guns challenged Generation Me to anEmpty Arena match.[52] The match took place later that same night onReaction with the Motor City Machine Guns coming out victorious.[53] On December 5 atFinal Resolution the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Generation Me in aFull Metal Mayhem match to retain the World Tag Team Championship.[54] The following month atGenesis the Motor City Machine Guns lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship to Beer Money, Inc., after Roode rolled up Sabin, following a miscommunication between the Machine Guns, ending their reign at 182 days, two days short of the longest reign in the title's history.[55]
The Motor City Machine Guns received their rematch for the title on the January 13 episode ofImpact!, but lost again due to a miscommunication.[56] For the next three months, the Motor City Machine Guns went inactive, as Shelley suffered a collarbone injury and Sabin returned to the X Division.[57][58] On the April 28 episode ofImpact!, Shelley made his return, saving Sabin from a beatdown at the hands ofMexican America (Anarquia and Hernandez).[59] Ironically, the same day Shelley made his return, Sabin suffered a knee injury in his match with Anarquia, who was out of position causing Sabin to tear both his ACL and MCL.[60] Later that same week, Sabin underwent knee surgery, which would sideline him for the rest of the year.[61]
On March 18, 2012, atVictory Road, TNA aired a video, promoting the upcoming return of the Motor City Machine Guns.[62][63] The Motor City Machine Guns returned on the April 5 episode ofImpact Wrestling, defeating Mexican America in a tag team match, before announcing their intention of going for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, held by Magnus and Samoa Joe.[64] On April 15 atLockdown, the Motor City Machine Guns unsuccessfully challenged Magnus and Joe for the TNA World Tag Team Championship in a steel cage match.[65] During the next month, the Motor City Machine Guns did not make another appearance onImpact Wrestling, instead wrestling exclusively on TNAhouse shows.[66][67] On May 21, it was reported that Shelley had chosen not to renew his contract with TNA, instead leaving the promotion and disbanding the Motor City Machine Guns.[68]
On March 30, 2007, in their hometown of Detroit, Shelley and Sabin made their ROH debut as a team under the name The Murder City Machine Guns by challenging and then attackingJay Briscoe after he and his brotherMark, who had injured himself during the match, had won back theROH World Tag Team Championship fromNaruki Doi andShingo.[69] On April 28 in Chicago, IL, atGood Times, Great MemoriesThe Briscoe Brothers successfully defended their tag team title against Shelley and Sabin.[70] After the event TNA pulled all of their wrestlers from any upcoming ROH shows.
In April 2008 Shelley and Sabin returned to Ring of Honor, losing tothe Age of the Fall (Tyler Black andJimmy Jacobs) and defeating the Briscoe Brothers on the 18th and 19th respectively.[71][72]
They returned to Ring of Honor in August 2008. On August 1 in Manassas, VA they foughtAustin Aries andBryan Danielson to a 20-minute time limit draw and then a 5-minute overtime draw.[73] The next day in New York City they were defeated byKevin Steen and El Generico when Steen forced Sabin to submit to theSharpshooter.[74] The team was scheduled to return to ROH on October 24 and 25, but were pulled from the events by TNA and replaced by the Latin American Xchange.[75]
On February 13, 2010, Ring of Honor announced at their 8th Anniversary Show that the Motor City Machine Guns would return to the company on May 8 in New York City.[76] On May 8, the Motor City Machine Guns were defeated by the ROH World Tag Team ChampionsThe Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero andClaudio Castagnoli) via disqualification, when the Briscoe Brothers interfered in the match.[77]
On February 26, 2016, at the14th Anniversary Show, Sabin and Shelley re-formed the Motor City Machine Guns, when the former turned on his Knights of the Rising Dawn (KRD) stablemate Christopher Daniels, helping Shelley defeat him in a singles match.[78] At the following day'sRing of Honor Wrestling tapings, Sabin and Shelley defeated Daniels and Frankie Kazarian,The Addiction, in their return match.[3] This led to the two unsuccessfully challenging The Addiction for the ROH World Tag Team Championship on June 24 atBest in the World '16.[79] On September 30 atAll Star Extravaganza VIII, the Motor City Machine Guns took part in a three-way ladder match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship, which was won byThe Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) and also included The Addiction.[80] Sabin and Shelley then formed a stable named "Search and Destroy" withJay White,Jonathan Gresham andLio Rush.[81][82]
On September 22, 2017, atDeath Before Dishonor XV, the Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Young Bucks to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship for the first time.[83] They would retain the titles until March 9, 2018, when they lost them against The Briscoe Brothers at ROH 16th Anniversary Show. In June, Shelley suffered an injury. On July 20, 2018, Shelley left the promotion and retired from active competition, disbanding the tag team.[84][85]
On January 4, 2009, Sabin and Shelley defeatedNo Limit (Tetsuya Naito andYujiro) atNew Japan Pro-Wrestling'sWrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome to win theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[86] They became the secondgaijin team to win the championship afterAmerican Dragon andCurry Man. After three successful title defenses, two of which took place in TNA,[87][88][89] Shelley and Sabin lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title toApollo 55 (Prince Devitt andRyusuke Taguchi) on July 5, 2009, at NJPW'sCircuit 2009 New Japan Soul.[90] On November 8, 2010, NJPW announced that the Motor City Machine Guns would be returning to the promotion the following month, competing at events on December 11 and 12.[91] On December 11 the Motor City Machine Guns were defeated by No Limit in their New Japan return match.[92] The following day they defeated Apollo 55 in the fourth ever match between the two teams.[93]
On July 31, 2016, NJPW announced that the Motor City Machine Guns would be returning to the promotion on August 21.[94] In their return match, the Motor City Machine Guns unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[95]
After defeating theStrong Openweight Tag Team Champions,Aussie Open on the September 15th episode ofImpact!, Sabin and Shelley made their return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling atRumble on 44th Street on October 28. At the event, the duo defeated Aussie Open to win the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships, in a three-way match, also involvingThe DKC and Kevin Knight.[96]
On July 18, 2020, atSlammiversary, Motor City Machine Guns returned to Impact Wrestling and defeatedThe Rascalz (Zachary Wentz andDezmond Xavier) after answering their open challenge. On the following episode ofImpact Wrestling, they defeatedThe North to capture theImpact World Tag Team Championship for the first time in over ten years and second time overall, ending The North's record-setting 383 day reign.[97]After retaining the titles against The North in a rematch and against The Rascalz, they would lose the titles back to the North atBound for Glory in a Fatal Four way tag team match after Shelley was attacked before the match and Sabin was left alone to defend the championships.[98] With Shelley out of commission for the next two months, James Storm would fill in as Sabin's partner, defeating XXXL (Acey Romero andLarry D) atTurning Point on November 14.[99][100]
After Shelley returned to action on the December 1 episode ofImpact!, resuming the team with another victory over XXXL, The Guns were scheduled to team up withRich Swann to faceKenny Omega and The Good Brothers atHard To Kill on January 16, 2021, but Shelleylegitimately had to back out due to "unavoidable circumstances", later revealed in that his outside career as a physical therapist required him to step away from wrestling for the time being until he was able to get theCOVID-19 vaccine.[101]Moose would replace Shelley in the match atHard to Kill, and Storm would be brought back to occasionally team with Sabin through the early months of 2021 as The Guns quietly disbanded for the third time.[102][103][104][105] Later, in September 2021, Shelley announced that he left Impact, but was open to returning at a later time.[106]
On the March 10, 2022, episode ofImpact!, the Motor City Machine Guns reunited as Sabin came out to back Shelley in his feud with their former protégéJay White, leading to a match scheduled against White andChris Bey on the March 17 episode.[107] On December 9, 2022, The Guns captured the Impact World Tag Team Championships from Heath and Rhino in Pembroke Pines, Fl.
On the March 2, 2023 episode ofImpact, The Motor City Machine Guns lost their titles toBullet Club membersAce Austin and Chris Bey, ending their reign at 78 days.
On the March 23, 2024 tapings forTNA Impact!, the Motor City Machine Guns, wrestled their final match for TNA in a losing effort againstThe System (Eddie Edwards andBrian Myers), as both Shelley and Sabin's contracts expired on April 1, 2024.[108]
On the August 24, 2022, episode ofDynamite,Sonjay Dutt announced thatJay Lethal would team with the Motor City Machine Guns at theAll Out PPV, where they would take onWardlow andFTR in a six-man tag-team match, with Sabin and Shelley set to make theirAll Elite Wrestling debut. At the event, Wardlow and FTR would win the match, with assistance fromSamoa Joe, who attackedSatnam Singh early in the match.[109]
In September 2024, it was reported that Shelley and Sabin signed withWWE.[110] They made their debut on theSmackDown brand on October 18 on a qualifying match againstA-Town Down Under (Grayson Waller andAustin Theory) andLos Garza (Angel andBerto),[111] and won theWWE Tag Team Championship the following week after they defeated#DIY (Johnny Gargano andTommaso Ciampa), and thenthe champions,Tama TongaandTonga Loa, in consecutive matches after the interference fromJey Uso.[112] On the November 15 episode ofSmackDown, Shelley and Sabin defended the titles againstThe Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins andMontez Ford), but the match ended in a no contest after Ciampa attacked both teams.[113] On the December 6 episode ofSmackDown, Shelley and Sabin lost the titles to DIY after Gargano hit Sabin with a low blow, ending their reign at 42 days.[114]
They tried to regain the titles in a2 Out of 3 Falls Match at theRoyal Rumble event, but were not successful.[115] On the April 25 episode ofSmackDown, they would attempt to regain the titles in atables, ladders, and chairs match, where the Street Profits retained.[116][117]
In 2008, the team appeared in an episode of theMTV seriesMade, teaching a school boy the basics of professional wrestling.[132] The two are also members of a rock band named The High Crusade, along with former TNA wrestlerPetey Williams, Adam Tatro and Chris Plumb.[133][134] The band released their debut album,It's Not What You Think, on September 7, 2010.[134]
February 24, 2007 [...] Holy Diver Down [...]Motorcity Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) b Chris Bosh & Scott Lost
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