Chris Sabin has reflected on a pivotal chapter in the long history shared by The Motor City Machine Guns and The Young Bucks, revealing that he and Alex Shelley actively advocated for Matt and Nick Jackson to be brought into TNA after seeing them compete in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.
The four wrestlers are now connected by the AEW roster, but their rivalry stretches back years before that shared destination. During the Young Bucks’ time in TNA, they performed under the name Generation Me and repeatedly faced Sabin and Shelley. Those matches became a memorable part of both teams’ development as major acts in modern tag team wrestling.
Speaking with MuscleManMalcolm, Sabin said the Machine Guns’ initial meeting with the Bucks came through PWG. More importantly, he explained that the impression made by the Jackson brothers was immediate enough for the Machine Guns to take their recommendation directly to TNA talent relations.
“Yeah, so we first met the Young Bucks at PWG,” Sabin said. “Actually, we had a match booked against them, and as we wrestled them, and the following week, because we were still with Contractor TNA at the time, following week, we went right up to Terry Taylor, who was running Talent Relations at the time. We’re like, ‘you got to see these guys. You have to hire these guys.’”
For more background on this topic, read Independent Wrestlers Spotted at TNA’s Dothan, Alabama Tapings.
Sabin’s recollection places The Motor City Machine Guns in a significant role behind the scenes of the Young Bucks’ TNA arrival. It was not simply a case of two teams being booked together after the fact. The Machine Guns had seen enough of Matt and Nick in PWG to believe they would be valuable additions, and they made that belief clear to Terry Taylor.
A Recommendation That Led To A Tryout
The Young Bucks’ path into TNA followed the Machine Guns’ endorsement. Sabin said TNA ultimately listened, gave the brothers a tryout, and signed them after seeing what they could do. The result was a recurring rivalry that allowed both teams to work together extensively.
“So eventually, they took our word, brought them in for a tryout. They saw them. They hired them,” Sabin said.
That sequence is particularly notable given the later trajectories of both teams. The Motor City Machine Guns became one of the defining tag teams associated with TNA, while The Young Bucks went on to establish themselves as one of the most influential duos of their generation and now occupy a prominent place in AEW. Their current coexistence in the same promotion has also created the possibility of revisiting a rivalry rooted in a much earlier phase of their careers.
Sabin did not frame the connection as a one-time encounter or a brief scouting observation. He emphasized that, once Generation Me entered TNA, the teams wrestled one another repeatedly. That volume of work, he said, was a major reason their rivalry resonated.
“We wrestled them over and over and over and over again, and it was awesome,” Sabin said. “We just had the best chemistry.”
In tag team wrestling, familiarity can be a major advantage. Teams that face each other across multiple events and different match circumstances have more opportunity to understand timing, strengths, tendencies, and the details that make a matchup feel distinct. Sabin’s comments make clear that he views the Machine Guns and the Bucks as a pairing that found that rhythm quickly and maintained it through their TNA programs.
Generation Me And The Machine Guns Built A Lasting Rivalry
The Generation Me name remains an important detail in the story because it reflects the stage of the Young Bucks’ careers being discussed. Matt and Nick Jackson were not yet part of the AEW landscape when they worked against Sabin and Shelley in TNA. They were a talented young team being given an opportunity, one that Sabin says began after the Machine Guns urged TNA to take a closer look.
For Sabin and Shelley, the appeal was evidently immediate: they believed the Bucks were wrestlers worth hiring, and the eventual series of matches reinforced that conviction. Sabin’s description of their chemistry also explains why a reunion now carries appeal beyond nostalgia. The teams have a pre-existing competitive history, and Sabin believes that foundation can translate to the present.
There is a natural contrast between the environment in which the rivalry began and the one in which it could be renewed. Their earlier meetings happened in TNA, with the Young Bucks presented as Generation Me. Today, the teams share a roster in AEW, where each arrives with a far deeper body of work and an established legacy in tag team competition.
That does not erase the value of the earlier feud. If anything, Sabin’s comments underline why it matters. The Machine Guns were there before the Bucks entered TNA. They saw them in PWG, vouched for them to a key talent relations figure, and then spent considerable time in the ring with them after the promotion made the signing.
Sabin Wants The AEW Matchup Most
Sabin made no secret of the opponent he most wants to face in AEW. The Motor City Machine Guns want the chance to reignite their rivalry with The Young Bucks, not only because of the history but because they are confident that the connection that drove their previous matches remains intact.
“We just want to reignite that feud again,” Sabin said. “We want to make sure we still have that chemistry. We think we will, and that’s who we want to wrestle the most in the AEWs, The Young Bucks.”
The statement is a straightforward challenge, but it is also a reflection on how both teams view their shared past. Sabin is not merely identifying a recognizable dream match. He is pointing to a rivalry built through repeated matches and mutual familiarity, beginning with an encounter in PWG that led to an unexpected professional opportunity for the Jackson brothers.
For AEW, a Machine Guns versus Young Bucks match would bring together two teams whose reputations were built through different routes but whose histories overlap in meaningful ways. The Young Bucks’ rise included their TNA work as Generation Me, while the Machine Guns’ role in pushing for that opportunity adds another layer to any future confrontation.
Sabin’s account also offers a reminder that important wrestling careers can change through conversations that take place away from the spotlight. The match in PWG gave the Machine Guns a firsthand look at the Bucks. Their recommendation to Taylor followed shortly afterward. A tryout came next, and TNA signed the team. The rivalry then became a regular part of the teams’ time in the promotion.
None of that diminishes what the Young Bucks accomplished on their own. Sabin’s story instead highlights the respect they earned from peers who immediately recognized their potential. The Machine Guns were established competitors with access to TNA decision-makers, and they used that position to argue that Matt and Nick Jackson deserved a closer examination.
Four Careers, One Continuing Connection
Sabin also discussed the potential accomplishment of the Motor City Machine Guns holding the NJPW, TNA, WWE, and AEW Tag Team Titles, illustrating the broad scope of the team’s ambitions. But his comments on the Young Bucks carried a different kind of weight: they concerned not only championships or future goals, but a professional relationship that helped shape a prominent rivalry.
The possibility of revisiting that rivalry in AEW is now central to Sabin’s wish list. He has stated clearly that The Young Bucks are the team he and Shelley want to wrestle most. Whether the same chemistry will be present after all these years is a question that can only be answered in the ring, but Sabin is optimistic.
What is already certain is that the connection between these teams did not start in AEW. It began in PWG, continued with an endorsement to TNA, and grew through repeated matches when the Young Bucks competed as Generation Me. With all four men now under the AEW umbrella, that long-running story has an opportunity to enter another chapter.
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.