The 10 Best Matches Of The Motor City Machine Guns
John Castro Impact Wrestling received a lot of positive attention for reuniting Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley as The Motor City Machine Guns. Both wrestlers have always been great talents individually, but they took it to another level when forming their tag team. TNA was the home of MCMG even though the management team wasn’t always supportive of their ideas and vision.
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Ring of Honor, New Japan, PWG and a few other promotions started to book Sabin and Shelley together with outstanding matches every time. The best work of MCMG was as strong as any other act in wrestling during their peak in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Without further ado, let's check out The Motor City Machine Gun's very best matches!
10 Motor City Machine Guns Vs Kevin Steen & El Generico (ROH Death Before Dishonor VI)
Ring of Honor ended up having stronger Motor City Machine Guns matches than TNA when bringing them in for big shows. Kevin Steen and El Generico defended the ROH Tag Team Championship against Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley at ROH’s second ever Hammerstein Ballroom event.
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All four guys were among the most talented rising stars and did even better in their respective tag teams. Generico and Steen pulled off the win in a rare match where MCMG heeled it up to get heat from the crowd.
9 Motor City Machine Guns Vs The Young Bucks Vs The Addiction (ROH All Star Extravaganza VIII - Ladder Match)
The MCMG return to Ring of Honor later in their careers saw Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley still having fun matches together. All Star Extravaganza VIII featured The Young Bucks defeating Motor City Machine Guns and The Addiction in a ladder match.
Shelley and Sabin both were coming off various injuries and left the bigger risks to the other teams. The contributions of MCMG still added to a great match and one of the better ROH spectacles in recent memory.
8 Motor City Machine Guns Vs Team 3D (TNA Turning Point 2010)
One of the biggest wins of The Motor City Machine Guns saw them accomplishing a rare feat against Team 3D aka the Dudley Boyz. Chris Sabin became the second wrestler after Masato Tanaka in ECW to kick out of the 3D finisher.
The moment was huge and followed by MCMG scoring the pin fall victory over Team 3D as the new top duo in TNA. It was done to end the Team 3D tag team as Bubba turned heel shortly after, but MCMG were the ones who truly benefited from the moment as a team.
7 Motor City Machine Guns Vs The Briscoes (ROH Good Times, Great Memories)
The rivalry between The Motor City Machine Guns and the Briscoe Brothers gave Ring of Honor a couple of their all-time greatest matches. Jay and Mark Briscoe won the first classic at ROH Good Times, Great Memories.
The show held extra appeal as Colt Cabana’s farewell to ROH before leaving for WWE and MCMG used it to showcase their skills. This event came before TNA pushed them as a duo and it made fans realize they were a special team.
6 Motor City Machine Guns Vs Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries (ROH Fueling the Fire 2008)
The star power involved in this match gave Ring of Honor a huge attraction for Fueling the Fire 2008. Bryan Danielson aka Daniel Bryan and Austin Aries were two of the top stars for ROH and former world champions.
The Motor City Machine Guns had another classic against the makeshift tag team that ended in a time limit draw. 2008 was the year that Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley cemented themselves as a top tag team with matches like this proving it.
5 Motor City Machine Guns Vs The Young Bucks (TNA Destination X 2010 - Ultimate X match)
The Young Bucks signed with TNA under the new name of Generation Me after having a great tryout match against The Motor City Machine Guns. It was also Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley who pitched for The Young Bucks to join TNA, so they had a great team to work with.
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Their best match together came in the Ultimate X match at Destination X 2010. Both teams went all out to have a show-stealing classic with the fan favorite stipulation. MCMG pulled off the victory to gain a tag title shot as the prize.
4 Motor City Machine Guns Vs Kings of Wrestling (ROH Supercard of Honor V)
Chris Hero and Claudio (Cesaro) Castagnoli became the top Ring of Honor tag team in 2010 with a dominant tag title reign. Their past success as main event singles stars added more importance to their last run as a duo.
The Motor City Machine Guns coming to Supercard of Honor V provided a dream match against The Kings of Wrestling. All four wrestlers were on point this night with a great match. The only issue was the ending coming via DQ since TNA refused to let Chris Sabin or Alex Shelley get pinned, and ROH didn’t want to have their champs to lose to TNA wrestlers.
3 Motor City Machine Guns Vs Apollo 55 (NJPW Circuit 2009 New Japan Soul)
The series of matches between The Motor City Machine Guns and Apollo 55 created some of the best tag bouts in New Japan history. Apollo 55 featured the duo of Prince Devitt aka Finn Balor and Ryusuke Taguchi as the top junior heavyweight tag team.
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley defeated them in a prior match, but in the rematch the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship were on the line. Apollo 55 pulled out the victory in an instant classic that gave MCMG more momentum in their careers as a team.
2 Motor City Machine Guns Vs The Briscoes (ROH Return Engagement)
The rematch between The Motor City Machine Guns and the Briscoes came a few years after the first classic. This was even better with both teams more in sync after more years of perfecting their craft and chemistry.
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley won this match to even the series. ROH wanted to bring in MCMG more often with TNA loosening their restrictions and the win let fans know they’d be back. These two teams hit a home run every time they faced off.
1 Motor City Machine Guns Vs Beer Money (Impact: August 12, 2010 - Two Out Of Three Falls)
The best of five series between The Motor City Machine Guns and Beer Money was arguably the best thing to happen to TNA in 2010. Each match had a different stipulation from a ladder match to a cage match to a street fight to an Ultimate X Match.
The final fifth match to break the tie featured the two out of three falls stipulation. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley rallied after losing the first fall to win the next two and the entire series. This was the moment that MCMG was viewed as the top tag team in TNA and in the wrestling world.
