The long-running rivalry between two of modern wrestling’s most decorated tag teams will reach its conclusion on the November 11 edition of AEW Dynamite/Collision. FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler are scheduled to face the Motor City Machine Guns’ Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin in the fifth and deciding contest of their Best-of-Five series.

The matchup arrives with the series level at two victories apiece. FTR evened the score in the fourth meeting last weekend, setting up one final bout against Shelley and Sabin on Wednesday’s expanded three-hour AEW broadcast. With no team holding an advantage after four encounters, the November 11 match will determine the overall winner of the series.

FTR and the Motor City Machine Guns are two of the most established duos in tag team wrestling, making the series finale a notable addition to a loaded Dynamite/Collision lineup. Harwood and Wheeler have built their reputation around physical, detail-oriented traditional tag team bouts, while Shelley and Sabin bring their own extensive history together and a style shaped by speed, timing, technical execution, and long-standing chemistry.

That shared experience has been central to the series. Neither team has been able to pull away through four matches, and the 2-2 deadlock has ensured that every prior result now leads directly to the deciding fifth contest. The final chapter gives both teams a chance to claim the defining win in a tightly contested rivalry.

For more background on this topic, read Neil Rosan Announces New Role With AEW’s Motion Graphics Team.

Series reaches its deciding match

A Best-of-Five format demands consistency rather than one standout performance. FTR and the Motor City Machine Guns have each already demonstrated that they can defeat the other, but the fifth match presents a different kind of pressure. There is no remaining opportunity to recover from a loss, and the team that gets its hand raised Wednesday will leave as the series winner.

For FTR, the immediate objective is to turn the momentum of their fourth-match victory into a second straight win. Harwood and Wheeler fought back from a deficit to make the series even, and they now enter the finale with the chance to complete that comeback. Their ability to isolate an opponent, control the pace, and capitalize on brief openings has long been a major part of their success as a unit.

Shelley and Sabin, meanwhile, will look to respond after FTR’s series-tying result. The Motor City Machine Guns’ connection is rooted in years of teaming together, and their offense often depends on quick transitions and coordinated attacks that can change the direction of a match in moments. In a deciding bout against a team as seasoned as FTR, that experience could be essential.

The matchup also represents a meeting of teams whose names carry weight well beyond a single night or one championship picture. Both duos have spent years being discussed among the premier tag teams of their era. A series-ending win will not settle every broader debate surrounding their respective legacies, but it will give the winners a significant result over another elite tandem.

Three-hour Dynamite/Collision card takes shape

FTR vs. the Motor City Machine Guns is one of several announced matches for the November 11 Dynamite/Collision event. The show will combine AEW’s Dynamite and Collision programming in a three-hour presentation, and the advertised card includes tag team action, a mixed tag team match, and an AEW National Championship defense.

Jay White and Mercedes Moné are set to team against the Death Riders pairing of Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir. The match brings together four prominent AEW competitors in an intergender tag team setting, with White and Moné opposing Moxley and Shafir.

Another tag match will see The New Level, Austin Creed and Kofi, take on Brodido, the team of Bandido and Brody King. The contest places Creed and Kofi opposite an unusual but powerful pairing in Bandido and King, whose size and styles present a different kind of challenge for their opponents.

The AEW National Championship will also be on the line. Champion Tommaso Ciampa is scheduled to defend against “Speedball” Mike Bailey. Ciampa enters as titleholder, while Bailey has the opportunity to leave the three-hour broadcast with the championship.

The announced lineup is:

  • Best-of-Five Series, Match Five: FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler vs. Motor City Machine Guns’ Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin
  • AEW National Championship: Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
  • Jay White and Mercedes Moné vs. Death Riders’ Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir
  • The New Level’s Austin Creed and Kofi vs. Brodido’s Bandido and Brody King

What is at stake for FTR and MCMG

While the match is framed around the Best-of-Five series rather than a championship, the result carries considerable importance for both teams. Series matches create a clear record between rivals: after four bouts, the record is even; after the fifth, one team will have won the deciding encounter and secured the overall series.

For viewers, the appeal is straightforward. FTR and the Motor City Machine Guns have been positioned as evenly matched opponents, with each team winning twice. The final match removes any ambiguity about the immediate rivalry and gives the November 11 broadcast a major tag team attraction with a definitive outcome.

The series format also puts added focus on team strategy. Four previous matches provide both sides with a body of experience against the other. Harwood and Wheeler have had multiple opportunities to study Shelley and Sabin’s patterns, while the Motor City Machine Guns know the tendencies FTR use to slow down opponents and build toward their biggest moments. Whether either team can introduce a new wrinkle, or simply execute its established approach more effectively, could prove decisive.

There is also the physical toll of a series to consider. The first four matches have required both teams to repeatedly meet opponents who know them well and can anticipate their strengths. By the fifth match, resilience and composure matter alongside athletic ability. A single missed tag, mistimed exchange, or opening at the wrong moment could decide the contest.

A centerpiece tag team bout for Wednesday

AEW’s November 11 Dynamite/Collision will present several matches with significant stakes, but FTR vs. the Motor City Machine Guns has the built-in finality of a series conclusion. It is not merely another chapter; it is the last scheduled meeting in this Best-of-Five format.

FTR’s comeback in match four ensured that the rivalry would not end last weekend. Instead, Harwood and Wheeler forced a winner-take-all fifth encounter with Shelley and Sabin, extending the contest between the teams to its natural conclusion.

On Wednesday, one of those celebrated pairings will emerge with a 3-2 series victory. FTR can complete their rally after drawing level, while the Motor City Machine Guns can regain control and close out the rivalry with a decisive win. The answer comes on the three-hour AEW Dynamite/Collision broadcast November 11.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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.