It Is Time For a Motor City Machine Guns TNA Crossover

The Motor City Machine Guns can step back to the IMPACT Zone with the WWE Crossover. Why now is the time to do so.

Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin have been tagging together as the Motor City Machine Guns since 2006. Although the team did not officially form in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), it was the IMPACT Zone of TNA that introduced the tag team to many fans. They are both well-known for their time in TNA as singles competitors and as the MCMG. After years of working in promotions such as TNA, Ring of Honor (ROH), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and others, the duo made their way to the WWE in 2024.

With the working partnership between TNA and WWE setting up weekly crossovers between rosters for both companies, could we see the Machine Guns return to the IMPACT Zone? Let’s dig into why this would be a fun return for the fans and the tag team.

Do the Motor City Machine Guns Need to Return to the IMPACT Zone?

They Were Established in TNA

Shelley and Sabin first began tagging together in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max in 2006 before tagging together in promotions such as ROH and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG).

Both Sabin and Shelley were mainly competing in TNA at the time, and the promotion requested that their wrestlers not compete for certain other independent promotions. This brought the duo together in the IMPACT Zone as their main home for wrestling. The team competed in TNA from April of 2007 until 2012 and then returned to the promotion from 2020 to 2024.

Although IMPACT was not the first promotion the two teamed up in, it is the main promotion that the MCMG name is associated with. Their feuds with Team 3D (The Dudley Boys), Generation Me (The Young Bucks), The Main Event Mafia, Beer Money Inc., and others have gone down as some of the most memorable tag matches in TNA history. Having them return to the IMPACT Zone would feel like a homecoming for the duo.

Unfinished Business with The System

The Machine Guns last wrestled in a TNA ring as part of the March 2024 television tapings for TNA IMPACT when they lost to Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers of The System. They lost the match, ending their run in TNA on a sour note.

The System has continued to climb the ranks of TNA. The full stable consists of Edwards, Myers, Moose, and JDC (Fandango) with Alisha Edwards as the manager. There are a couple of different ways this could go down if the Machine Guns did return to the IMPACT Zone.

The System has not made any friends in the TNA locker room. The Motor City Machine Guns could return and be billed as a legendary TNA tag team that has come back to assemble a team and run The System out of TNA.

On the other hand, The System has been working a bit more as a fan favorite. This was evident by their defeat of the invading team from NXT of DarkState (Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin, Saquon Shugars, and Cutler James) at Slammiversary 2025.

The Machine Guns could return to the IMPACT Zone and turn heel as a Trojan Horse for WWE to further dismantle TNA from the inside. Although it may not be a popular decision from the fan base, it would be a fun shakeup to the TNA and WWE crossover programming.

The Current TNA Tag Division

The System is one of the current cornerstones of TNA (more on them later) that could see a rivalry form with the Machine Guns. Other tag teams for the Machine Guns to mix it up with include The Hardy Boys, the Northern Armory, The Great Hands, The Rascalz, The Nemeths, First Class, and others. This opens up a couple of interesting options if the Machine Guns were to come back to TNA.

The Hardy Boys will go down as one of the best tag teams to ever step into a wrestling ring. Their legacy in both WWE and TNA includes multiple title runs as well as replay-worthy moments of high spots involving ladders (among other weapons). A matchup between the two to prove who the best tag team in TNA history is would be a treat for the fans.

Another interesting clash for the Machine Guns would be against the Rascalz. For years, Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz have been a cornerstone of the TNA Tag Team Division. Wentz departed for a few years to work in NXT with fellow former Rascal Dezmond Xavier/Wes Lee under the tag name MSK. Since Wentz made his return to TNA in 2023, he and Trey picked up right where they left off with putting on memorable matches for the TNA fans. A matchup between these two teams would feel like a past vs present of signature TNA tag teams. Although their styles aren’t the same, the emotions in play of the Machine Guns passing the TNA tag team torch to the Rascalz would make fans emotionally invested in a feud between the two.

There is no shortage of other tag teams for the Machine Guns to face off against while a larger story is being built out between them and the Hardys or Rascalz. With plenty of options for them to square off against, there is more than enough for a long term story or two for the tag team.

Lost in the WWE Tag Team Shuffle

Since dropping the WWE Tag Team Championships and feuding with The Street Profits and DIY in April of this year, the Machine Guns have been lost in the shuffle of the WWE Tag Team Division. Although they were just inserted into a match at Summer Slam next week, they have only had two televised matches since the start of May and were on the losing end of both of them. They have worked on a couple of house shows as well, but have largely been out of the WWE tag team picture.

A return home to TNA would give them a way to work with WWE, even if they are not in a WWE ring. If they do turn heel in TNA by acting as a Trojan Horse to take down TNA from the inside, it would give them a way to re-enter a meaningful WWE storyline and get back into the swing of the tag team division in WWE.

Alternatively, they could return as part of Team TNA and turn against WWE in the process. This would again give them a creative angle in WWE programming without having the full program play out on WWE television.

Is It Time for the Motor City Machine Guns to Make an IMPACT?

Regardless if they ever step into a TNA ring again or not, the Machine Guns will go down as one of the best teams to step into the IMPACT Zone. They are not doing a lot on WWE television currently, and with the current working agreement, a return to TNA for the storied tag team would be a treat for the fans and could inject some life into a fresh storyline for WWE and the Machine Guns.

Do you think the Motor City Machine Guns need to return to TNA? Sound off in the comments below.

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