Chris Sabin has spent more than two decades building one of the most respected tag team résumés in professional wrestling, and the Motor City Machine Guns standout believes AEW now offers the deepest collection of tandems the industry has ever seen.
Sabin and Alex Shelley, together known as the Motor City Machine Guns, joined AEW earlier this year after their release from WWE. Since arriving, the longtime partners have immediately been placed among a crowded field of accomplished teams. Their AEW run has included sharing the ring with major names at AEW All In, and they are currently one match into a best-of-five series with FTR.
Speaking with MuscleManMalcolm, Sabin discussed the experience of being involved in the All In moment alongside teams and wrestlers who carry enormous significance both to the broader wrestling world and to the history of the Machine Guns themselves. For Sabin, the setting was particularly meaningful because it brought together performers he watched as a fan, familiar rivals from across multiple promotions, and a high-profile team he and Shelley had never previously faced.
“It was a pretty surreal moment, especially, like, being out there with, like, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage. Like, these are two guys that I watched growing up. So then we have them. We have the Young Bucks out there who was, like, if anyone knows the history of the Motor City Machine Guns, were tied with the Young Bucks. You know, we’ve wrestled them so many times. TNA, Independents, PWG, everywhere. You know, we’ve never wrestled FTR before. Never had a match. So that was a cool moment to be out there with them. Yeah, man, I don’t know. I just think AEW has the greatest tag team division in the history of wrestling. I think that you can’t argue that, and we’re just excited to get in the mix with everyone, you know?”
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A career shaped by tag team wrestling
Sabin’s comments carry weight because the Motor City Machine Guns have been part of the modern tag team conversation for years. Sabin and Shelley have had lengthy histories in TNA, on the independent scene, and in PWG, among other environments. Their work together made them a defining tandem of their era, while their individual careers ensured that each man arrived in AEW with an established reputation beyond the team.
That background also explains why Sabin highlighted the Young Bucks. The Young Bucks and the Motor City Machine Guns have a shared past that stretches across several stages of their careers. Sabin specifically pointed to matches in TNA, on independent shows, and in PWG. Rather than being a newly created attraction, the prospect of the teams operating in the same promotion again is rooted in years of familiarity and prior competition.
In a division that includes numerous established duos, history matters. A strong tag team roster is not simply a list of talented wrestlers paired together. It is also built on existing rivalries, contrasting approaches, recognizable identities, and the sense that any combination of teams can produce a match with real context behind it. The Machine Guns’ history with the Young Bucks provides one such thread, while their new association with FTR presents a different kind of opportunity.
FTR presents a fresh matchup for the Machine Guns
One of the most notable portions of Sabin’s remarks was his emphasis on FTR. Despite the breadth of the Motor City Machine Guns’ career and the number of promotions in which they have wrestled, Sabin said that he and Shelley had never faced FTR in a match before. That makes the current best-of-five series especially notable.
The series has already begun, with the two teams one match into the scheduled five-match format. Sabin did not offer a prediction about how the series will end, nor did he disclose any broader plans beyond the competition itself. Still, his comments made clear that the chance to finally stand across the ring from FTR is a meaningful milestone for the Motor City Machine Guns.
A best-of-five series also puts a different spotlight on a rivalry than a single encounter would. The format gives two teams repeated chances to study each other, respond to prior outcomes, and establish how their styles compare over time. For a veteran team such as the Machine Guns, a program against FTR is a chance to test themselves against another accomplished pairing while also giving AEW’s tag division a rivalry centered on two established units rather than a temporary partnership.
Sabin’s description of the All In setting underscored the unusual collection of talent now around the Machine Guns. Adam Copeland and Christian Cage were wrestlers Sabin watched while growing up, adding a personal element to the moment. The Young Bucks represent familiar opponents tied closely to the Machine Guns’ own history. FTR, meanwhile, are a major new matchup. Those relationships reflect several different generations and paths within professional wrestling converging in the same division.
Why Sabin sees AEW as uniquely deep
Sabin did not qualify his assessment when discussing AEW’s tag team landscape. He called it the greatest tag team division in wrestling history and said he did not believe that claim could be argued. It is a bold statement, but it also reflects the scale of the opportunity the Motor City Machine Guns see after joining the company.
His point was not limited to one opponent or one event. Sabin named Copeland and Cage, the Young Bucks, and FTR while recalling All In, each carrying a different level of experience and name recognition. The Machine Guns are also not entering the division as unknown newcomers. Their arrival adds another decorated, long-running team to an environment already filled with teams capable of working in a variety of styles.
For Sabin and Shelley, the appeal appears to be the ability to become part of that larger mix. Sabin’s final thought was not focused on a single destination, championship pursuit, or one particular match. Instead, he expressed excitement about getting involved with everyone available in the division. That is an important distinction, because it frames the AEW signing as an opportunity for the Motor City Machine Guns to revisit old connections while creating entirely new ones.
The Machine Guns’ past with the Young Bucks ensures there is immediate historical material to draw from whenever those teams cross paths. Their lack of a previous match with FTR means that rivalry begins from a different position, driven by anticipation rather than familiarity. And the broader presence of performers such as Copeland and Cage shows why Sabin considered the All In moment so surreal.
The next stage for the Motor City Machine Guns
Earlier this year, Sabin had already addressed the Motor City Machine Guns signing with AEW. Now, his latest comments offer a clearer sense of what stands out to him about this phase of the team’s career: the quality and quantity of opponents available.
After so many years together, Sabin and Shelley do not need to establish who they are as a unit. Their legacy was formed through a long list of matches and rivalries before this AEW chapter began. The immediate challenge is instead finding their place within a division full of teams with their own followings, histories, and ambitions.
The ongoing series with FTR is a substantial first step. It provides the Machine Guns with the fresh matchup Sabin specifically identified, while a best-of-five structure gives the confrontation room to develop beyond a one-night clash. At the same time, the team’s established history with the Young Bucks remains an obvious point of interest, particularly given Sabin’s reminder that their paths have crossed repeatedly in TNA, PWG, and independent wrestling.
Sabin’s belief in the division is ultimately connected to his enthusiasm for those possibilities. He has seen many versions of tag team wrestling throughout his career, both as a participant and as a fan. At AEW All In, he found himself sharing space with wrestlers he admired growing up, former opponents with whom he has deep history, and future opponents he had never encountered before.
That combination is why Sabin views AEW’s current roster so highly. For the Motor City Machine Guns, the move has opened the door to a division where past rivalries can be renewed, first-time matches can finally happen, and one of wrestling’s most enduring partnerships can continue adding to its story.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.