A popular independent tag team are reportedly headed to WWE for the first time in their careers. When The Motor City Machine Guns’ TNA contracts expired earlier this year, early reports indicated they may be headed to AEW. This made sense given their past history with the company having a one-off appearance at a pay-per-view a few years back. AEW President Tony Khan recently opened up about the team and while he couldn’t give a definitive answer as to whether or not they had signed, he explained how much respect he has for them and that he’d love to have them back any time.
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The conversation about where the legendary team will end up next soon began to shift toward them signing with WWE. Like any other free agent, they had only been in talks with both of the top promotions, likely seeing who the highest bidder would be. This past weekend at an independent show they seemed to bid the audience farewell as commentary also indicated it may be their last indie booking.
The Wrestling Observer is now reporting that there is a belief among those within the wrestling-sphere that Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley are on their way to the sports-entertainment giant. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful later confirmed that he had heard much of the same. In early July, one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions Tommaso Ciampa posted a photo of the highly-respected tag team to his social media amidst the ongoing reports that they were likely WWE bound. While Shelley has a few WWE matches under his belt — once as an enhancement talent in the early 2000s and a brief run in NXT before the pandemic — Sabin has never stepped foot into a WWE ring.
The decorated tag team has been together for over two decades, conquering the entire professional wrestling world without ever stepping foot into the WWE. They were an integral part of TNA’s development in the early to mid 2000s and have shown a sense of brand loyalty over the years. As their last contracts were expiring, it makes sense for them to do what will benefit them and their families as their careers begin to wind down. Formed in 2006, the tag team are former three-time IMPACT/TNA Tag Team Champions, NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Champions and ROH Tag Team Champions among many others.
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