Before officially landing in WWE, the Motor City Machine Guns were at one point on AEW’s radar in a major way.
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley signed with WWE in 2024 and quickly captured the WWE Tag Team Championships, but that wasn’t always the direction things were headed. We can confirm that the decorated tag team had discussions with AEW last year, although details regarding those talks were initially unclear.
A fan recently expressed disappointment on social media that the Motor City Machine Guns didn’t end up in AEW, prompting us to revisit the situation. In doing so, we’ve learned new details on the original internal plans for the duo had they joined Tony Khan’s promotion.
According to sources, AEW had mapped out a potential tag team title program between the Motor City Machine Guns and The Young Bucks, which would have led to a featured match at the AEW All In pay-per-view. However, communication between the two sides reportedly went dark during the summer, and by that point, AEW officials assumed the Guns were WWE-bound.
With the tag team legends off the table, AEW pivoted plans for All In, ultimately building toward a multi-team match that would see The Young Bucks defend the AEW World Tag Team Titles against FTR and The Acclaimed instead.
The Motor City Machine Guns would officially debut for WWE shortly thereafter, capturing the WWE Tag Team Championships within a week of their signing.
this 100% is bias but i wish MCMG went to AEW ngl
— 𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙣 ★ (@haytersblade) June 22, 2025
(H/T: Fightful Select)
