The Motor City Machine Guns are off and running in AEW. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin wrestled their first match since signing with the company on the September 5 episode of Collision, and they didn’t waste the opportunity.
Shelley and Sabin faced The Swirl’s Lee Johnson and Blake Christian, with the Motor City Machine Guns picking up the victory after Sabin planted Christian with a pump-handle slam and scored the three-count.
AEW promoted the match as the Motor City Machine Guns’ debut, but that wasn’t technically the case. Shelley and Sabin previously wrestled for AEW at All Out in 2022, when they teamed with Jay Lethal against FTR and Wardlow. Saturday’s Collision match was different for one major reason — it was their first time actually wrestling as signed AEW talent.
Their road back to AEW opened up after Shelley and Sabin were released from WWE in April. The two veterans suddenly became free agents again after their WWE run, immediately creating questions about where one of wrestling’s most established tag teams would land next. AEW was always sitting there as an obvious possibility. Just days after their WWE departure, Ringside News covered how AEW was already viewed as a likely landing spot for the Motor City Machine Guns.
That prediction ended up being dead on. Shelley and Sabin resurfaced on AEW television in July, and Tony Khan made things official during the July 30 episode of Collision by announcing that the Motor City Machine Guns were All Elite. Their arrival immediately got people talking, especially after fans questioned why AEW chose Collision for such a major signing reveal.
They didn’t stay on the sidelines for long. The Motor City Machine Guns appeared at All In: London and confronted AEW World Tag Team Champions Adam Copeland and Christian Cage after their title defense, putting themselves right in the middle of AEW’s loaded tag team scene. Tony Khan later explained that signing Shelley and Sabin was an easy call once they became available, while the Guns also joined FTR and New Level in confronting the champions at Wembley.
Now they’ve backed up all of that talk with an actual win. The Motor City Machine Guns went from being cut loose by WWE in April to officially signing with AEW in July, walking onto the All In stage in August and winning their first match as contracted AEW wrestlers in September. Shelley and Sabin didn’t need much time to get themselves right back into the tag team picture.
What do you think AEW should do next with the Motor City Machine Guns, and should Shelley and Sabin get a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Titles? Drop your feedback in the comments.
