The Motor City Machine Guns Sign With AEW

The Motor City Machine Guns are officially All Elite, having made their full AEW debuts to open the July 30 episode of Collision from their hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley simply made their way to the ring to a huge ovation in Motor City and they cut a brief in-ring promo, during which Sabin said the tag team was "home in more ways than one." It was then confirmed by AEW CEO Tony Khan that the Motor City Machine Guns had signed with AEW.

That wasn't all Sabin and Shelley did in their full AEW debuts, though, as they made the save for the Bang Bang Gang during a beatdown from the Death Riders and The Dogs later in the show.

The Motor City Machine Guns had been expected to sign with All Elite Wrestling since they were released by WWE in the aftermath of WrestleMania 42 along with around 30 wrestlers. The two sides previously held talks in 2024 when MCMG departed TNA, with plans even being in place for Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs. The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Titles at All In 2024, but the Motor City Machine Guns ended up signing with WWE instead.

Shelley and Sabin were initially pushed in WWE, holding the WWE Tag Team Titles for 42 days, but they quickly became simply one of several tag teams on Friday Night SmackDown.

The Motor City Machine Guns have wrestled in AEW before, having teamed with Jay Lethal in a loss to Wardlow and FTR at All Out 2022 as part of the AEW-TNA working relationship that was still active at the time.