NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions & GCW World Tag Team Champions The Motor City Machine Guns have re-signed with Impact Wrestling.
According to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin, who recently had their third run with the Impact World Tag Team Titles, have both signed new full-time contracts with Impact. The terms of the agreements were not disclosed, but the contract allows them to continue accepting third-party bookings.
“We still love pro wrestling,” Shelley said. “We’re still excited about it, and we love wrestling for Impact—and that chance to work with the Impact locker room.”
Sabin added, “Impact is like family to us. [Impact President] Scott D’Amore was my trainer. It’s home.”
Sabin and Shelley will be able to continue accepting outside bookings from companies such as NJPW, GCW, The Wrestling Revolver, Prestige Wrestling, and others under the new contract.
“I love the grassroots of pro wrestling,” Shelley said. “If it’s not the heart of it, it’s at least a big part of the anatomy.”
Shelley returned to professional wrestling in 2021 after taking a break to pursue a career in the medical field. He mentioned that this is his first full-time pro wrestling contract in five years.
“This is the first full-time pro wrestling contract I’ve signed in almost five years,” Shelley said. “I pursued physical medicine, and earning that degree was something I needed to prove to myself. Once I had that security and that confidence, I wanted to be back in Impact. It has the most familial bond. There are people here that have seen me grow up from a teenager to a grown-ass man. That’s special to me. And some of the best in the world are right here. There aren’t better wrestlers on the planet than ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey, Jonathan Gresham, Kushida and Chris Sabin. I could go on and on—Frankie Kazarian, Trey Miguel, Black Taurus. These guys are phenomenal.”
Sabin discussed their current roles in the Impact locker room, saying it’s special that they can continue to bring their unique skill set to the team.
“We’ve been around the world, honing our skills, for 20 years,” Sabin said. “We bring a very unique set of skills to wrestling, and it’s pretty special that we can keep doing it here in Impact. And it’s pretty cool that people ask us for advice the way we used to ask our heroes. That’s an honor.”
Shelley added, “Impact fosters an atmosphere where we’re constantly learning and challenging ourselves. We’re here for the physicality and the athleticism. And we’re here for the love of the game.”
KiLynn King, Eddie Edwards, Kenny King, Dirty Dango, Big Kon, Frankie Kazarian, Brian Myers, Rich Swann, Mike Bailey, Alan Angels, Tasha Steelz, John Skyler, Jai Vidal, Johnny Swinger, PCO, and Jonathan Gresham have all recently signed contracts with Impact. Deonna Purrazzo’s contract was also extended for another year.
On Friday night, the Guns will team up with Kushida to face Rich Swann, Frankie Kazarian, and Impact World Champion Josh Alexander at Impact Sacrifice.
