Folks, the wrestling world just got a massive shot of nostalgia and adrenaline as the Motor City Machine Guns, Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley, are officially WWE bound! After months of speculation, false starts, and twists worthy of a soap opera, the legendary tag team has left TNA and inked a deal with WWE. That’s right, the high-flying, fast-paced duo that defined an entire era of tag team wrestling is headed to the land of Titan Towers.
The news broke this week courtesy of the ever-reliable Pro Wrestling Nexus, with confirmations rolling in from Fightful and Pro Wrestling Insider. Although no official word yet on which brand they’ll land on, PWN is claiming the Guns are revving their engines for a debut on WWE NXT, possibly on October 1—the night NXT premieres on The CW Network. That’s right, NXT is about to get vroom-vroomed right into the stratosphere.
For those of you keeping score at home, this deal has been in the works for months. After leaving TNA (or Impact Wrestling if we’re being formal) back in March, many expected Sabin and Shelley to land in All Elite Wrestling. After all, AEW loves a good nostalgia act, and the Guns were already familiar faces, having wrestled at AEW’s All Out 2022. But for whatever reason—likely creative differences or some last-minute detours—the deal fell through, and WWE swooped in to pick up the pieces like the opportunistic juggernaut it is.
Sean Ross Sapp and Dave Meltzer both hinted at the Guns’ WWE move back in July, but now it’s official. WWE’s tag team division, particularly in NXT, is about to get a serious injection of star power, and let’s be real, Sabin & Shelley’s dynamic in-ring style fits perfectly in NXT’s fast-paced, hard-hitting environment.