WWE 2K25 has released its first DLC pack, and it’s kicking things off with a bang. The New Wave DLC pack features four big-time WWE superstar additions, including the Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley), Stephanie Vaquer, and Giulia, and all four are making their WWE video game debut. ComicBook had a chance to speak to Shelley and Sabin all about that debut and their reaction to the first footage of themselves in the game, though we also discussed their favorite games of all time, what they would love to see added in WWE 2K26, their debuts on SmackDown, what the future holds for them in WWE, as well as an impressive set of wins over Austin Creed and Kenny Omega.
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The New Wave pack is available for download right now, and fans all over are already creating their dream matches with the Motor City Machine Guns. 2K released the entrance and first look at the Tag Team in the game, and while Shelley waited until the live reaction video, Sabin just couldn’t help but take a look when it was first released.
“So I watched it once, and I was totally blown away by it. It looks amazing. It looks so realistic. It looks like us,” Sabin said. “You know, they got the entrance down, they have the pyro down, they have our movements down. It’s actually really amazing just what they were able to capture. I mean, if you were watching from a distance, it would look like real life, but we also have a reaction video that we have to do after this, so we want to, we have to react to it as well.”
Sabin then looked at Shelley and said, “Only watched it one time, and how many times did you watch it? Zero.” Shelley said, “I haven’t seen it. I haven’t. I manage to avoid everything. So I’m very, very happy about this because everybody says it looks really good.”
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Now, if you were in a video game as a playable character, there’s no way you’re not choosing your character when firing up the game, and both superstars already have their dream matches in mind.
“Oh, I know, I know exactly the match I’m gonna make. It’s going to be the Motor City Machine Guns versus Alundra Blayze and Molly Holly,” Sabin said. “You can now do intergender matches.” For Shelley, there are three Tag Teams he’s pitting MCMG against right away. “Brothers of Destruction has been my fantasy answer, but I would very much like New Day. I would very much like the Usos,” Shelley said.
Fighting Games and Taking Down Creed and Omega
During a recent episode of UpUpDownDown, Sabin and Shelley actually went up against New Day, though it was in the form of Fatal Fury and not in the ring. While fighting games aren’t always Sabin’s go-to genre, that didn’t keep him from impressing, and both Sabin and Shelley revealed the fighting games that made the biggest impression on them over the years.
“Fighting games, man. I’m honestly not really big into fighting games, just to be perfectly honest. Like, I had Street Fighter 2 on Super Nintendo. I had Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 on Genesis, and I think I played Street Fighter 4 for Xbox 300. Those are about all the fighting games I played, but before we went on UpUpDownDown, I did do some research on the Fatal Fury games and King of Fighters and all that, and kind of came up with a little strategy beforehand. Like, okay, I’m going to go with this character. These are his moves, at least I know, and I’m not going to look like a total noob on there,” Sabin said.
“I feel like Street Fighter 2 is a game changer. First time I played that, I couldn’t look back. That was the first fighting game that I truly fell in love with, but my favorite is probably King of Fighters 98. I just thought that one had the best controls and I was really, really good at it,” Shelley said. “Not to toot my own horn, but toot toot. Street Fighter 4 was special because I actually have beaten Austin (Creed) in that game and I have beaten Kenny Omega in that game too. And that was in an arcade in Japan, no less. So to be able to beat these, to be able to like, dominate these guys. Well, dominate, yeah, no, let’s say dominate. They’re not here. They can’t argue it. Yeah, to be able to beat them was pretty sweet.”
As for all-time video games, both Shelley and Sabin count some classic RPGs as their favorites. “Oh, mine’s EarthBound, if you know what that is,” Shelley said. I think that is just the most unique, weirdest, quirkiest game of all time.”
“Gosh, for me, it’s some of the old school RPGs that are probably up there with like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7. Those are probably just, it’s hard to say, man. There are so many good video games that exist, but like, they’re definitely up there. And part of it is the nostalgia factor, too,” Sabin said.
WWE x TNA in 2K26?
As for the next iteration of WWE 2K, Sabin and Shelley both have amazing ideas for new features for 2K26, and both would expand the game in very different ways. “You know, I think it would be cool if they added a section of wrestlers that were derivatives of legendary Japanese wrestlers or legendary wrestlers that never had the opportunity to make it to the WWE,” Sabin said. “You know, so it’s like, hey, you can look at this guy. He looks like him, but his name isn’t exactly like him, so it’s not exactly this guy, but you can tell it’s this guy. Kind of like what they did in the old WCW Vs. NWO World Tour. Those games, they had the section of wrestlers where you knew who they were, but they weren’t that wrestler. I think that would be pretty cool.”
For Shelley, it would be taking the WWE and TNA partnership to the next level, bringing one of TNA’s most iconic matches into a WWE video game for the first time. “I think if they work with TNA and they have Ultimate X, that would be really great. The Ultimate X in 2K26,” Shelley said.
The Future of SmackDown
The Motor City Machine Guns have made a major impact in a short amount of time since making their WWE debut, even holding Championship Gold in under a month. They also delivered a match of the year candidate on SmackDown, so they aren’t slowing down in the least, and I asked what they took away most from that match and from their time in WWE so far.
“I think just hard work pays off, you know, like dedication, not giving up. Just sticking to it. You know, it took us over 20 years to get here,” Sabin said. “Took us, three matches, two weeks to win the Titles. That’s pretty amazing. You know what I mean? So I think it’s just that, if you want something bad enough and you’re willing to put in the work for it and you’re dedicated enough, you’re passionate enough about it, just stick to it. Eventually it’ll pay off.”
“Yeah, I think being here, it’s been almost a year, really just makes me want to work harder because I know full well that there are people who are very eager to take the spots that we currently have,” Shelley said. “And if you want to be on top in WWE, if you want to make a splash in this company, you have to go and go hard, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that since we came in.”
Looking forward, while they might not have the Tag Team Championships at the moment, they plan on changing that as soon as possible, and that’s never going to change. “Well, I think it’s always going to be the same goal. Tag Team Gold. That’s what we want. That’s why we’re here. You know, if we’re the Champions, we want to keep the belts. If we’re not the Champions, we’re going to chase the belts. That’s the ultimate prize in Tag Team wrestling, being the Champions. So I think it’s always going to kind of be that,” Sabin said.
“And I think it’s worth mentioning that the SmackDown Tag Team Division is highly competitive. Los Garza aren’t on the same page right now, but Los Garza and Pretty Deadly and Street Profits and DIY, but also now Fraxium, and we have these teams that are all very different and all have their own unique styles, and then there’s us who can do a little bit of everything,” Shelley said. “And I used to think that, maybe we should be specialists in something, but we are generalists, and I think that means we have to keep up with the Joneses no matter who we’re in the ring with. So really, like he said, if we’re not Champions, we just have to work extra hard to make sure that we’re contenders for the belts and then eventually win them when we get that opportunity.”
Speaking of the Tag Division, Fraxiom is the newest addition to that division, and they are already proving to be a force to be reckoned with. While Motor City hasn’t faced them in the ring yet, they are very much looking forward to that opportunity and recognize the skillset Axiom and Nathan Frazer bring to the ring.
“I think they’re amazing. I’m really looking forward to wrestling them. You know, we’ve wrestled every team here on SmackDown at least one time, and we’ve only lost cleanly one time, and that was against Pretty Deadly. That’s it. We’ve only lost cleanly one time. Everything else has always been interference or something happening,” Sabin said. “So I’m looking forward to just having a straight-up competitive wrestling match with those guys. Hopefully, no interference, just two Tag Teams fighting it out. I think our style would blend well with theirs, and I think we’d have a great match, and I think that the WWE Universe would enjoy it.”
“Yeah, and if I really look at it, until they got here, I feel like, and I don’t think this is up for debate, we were the quickest team, we were the fastest team. We were the team that could change directions the best,” Shelley said. “Now that they’re here, I honestly think they’re a little quicker and they’re a little faster and they can probably change directions more efficiently than we can. So that means we’re going to have to rethink exactly how we approach a match, and that means you get to see a different side of the Motor City Machine Guns when we inevitably wrestle them, because, man, we’re just not going to be able to outpace them.”
A New Threat
There’s plenty going on every week on SmackDown, but before we left, we had to get their thoughts on what’s happening over on Raw, including the newest powerhouse trio of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Paul Heyman.
“Well, I think Paul Heyman is a star-maker, so I think good for all the guys that he can surround or who get to surround themselves with him,” Sabin said. “I think he’s, Paul Heyman’s a wrestling genius, and whoever is around him, he’s going to elevate them. So I think good for those guys.”
“Yeah, it’s Paul Heyman, right? Dangerous Alliance. I mean, that’s what he’s known for and has been since I was a kid. So can’t say I’m surprised by any of this,” Shelley said.
“His cell phone has gotten smaller,” Sabin joked. Shelley laughed and said, “At the same time, he doesn’t have the Zack Morris cell phone anymore, but he’s always going to surround himself with talent because guess what, he’s got an incredible eye for talent.”
You can watch the Motor City Machine Guns every Friday on SmackDown, and you can now recreate new matches in the ring with the New Wave pack, which is available now for WWE 2K25. WWE 2K25 is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
What do you want to see next for the Motor City Machine Guns and the WWE 2K series? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things wrestling and gaming with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
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