The WWE Tag Team Champions are set for a talk show segment on next week’s SmackDown.
Motor City Machine Guns will appear on The Grayson Waller Effect talk show on the Friday, November 8 WWE SmackDown show, two weeks after MCMG won the WWE Tag Team Championship from The Bloodline.
A backstage confrontation between MCMG’s Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin and Waller & Austin Theory aired on Friday’s SmackDown, establishing former champs Waller & Theory as the likely next challengers to MCMG’s titles.
Next week’s SmackDown will also feature fallout from Saturday’s Crown Jewel PLE. Crown Jewel features Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens, a Women’s Tag Team title bout, plus LA Knight defending the United States title in a three-way against Andrade & Carmelo Hayes.
Next week’s announced SmackDown lineup:
The Grayson Waller Effect w/host Grayson Waller, Austin Theory, and guests WWE Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
The Motor City Machine Guns are the new WWE Tag Team Champions.
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin defeated The Bloodline’s Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa in the main event of Friday’s WWE SmackDown at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in their third match in the promotion.
MCMG defeated DIY in a number one contender’s match on Friday’s SmackDown, then were confronted by The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tonga, and Loa. SmackDown GM Nick Aldis then signed an impromptu Tag Team title match main event for the show.
Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso all intervened on MCMG’s behalf during the bout to negate the interference from The Bloodline. After a ref bump, it was Jey’s interference that led to MCMG hitting Skull & Bones for the victory.
In the post-match, The Usos reunited as Roman Reigns looked on from the aisle.
MCMG’s title win puts an exclamation point on one of the most storied tag team careers in the history of pro wrestling, as Shelley & Sabin have now won tag team gold in WWE, TNA, NJPW, and ROH.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Shelley thanked fans and family for their support throughout the years. He and Chris Sabin made their debut as the Motor City Machine Guns on last Fridayâs SmackDown.
âI want to express gratitude to everybody that supported me throughout not just my pro wrestling career but my life and thatâs friends, and thatâs co-workers, and thatâs family. You donât necessarily have to be a blood relative to be family, but we did it,” he said.
âNow Iâm a WWE superstar. To be able to verbalize that has a very, very deep and profound sense of power here,â he continued, pressing on his chest. âAnd again, I couldnât have done it without the support of so many people…so many different points of my life. I think whether you believe in the creator or fate or the universe…I have to be one of the most blessed people out there to have come this far and to be able to accomplish that goal and now the hard work begins. But again, thank you so, so much, I truly mean that. And I couldnât have done it without you. Thanks for pushing me along and picking me up when I was gonna fall and encouraging me and never letting me give up and, gosh. Here we go.â
The Motor City Machine Guns won their three-way match on Friday and will face DIY on this coming Fridayâs show to determine the next contenders for the WWE Tag Team titles currently held by The Bloodline (Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa).
The Motor City Machine Guns are officially in WWE.
In a segment posted online, Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley officially signed their SmackDown contracts, handing them to Nick Aldis. The SmackDown General Manager told them that while they were originally set to face Los Garza, Fridayâs match would now be a triple threat match also involving former champions A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller).
đ¨ đ¨ đ¨
Motor City Machine Guns have officially signed their #SmackDown contracts! TONIGHT, they'll face Los Garza and A-Town Down Under in a Triple Threat Match! đ pic.twitter.com/4EWBLBPxfY
Additionally, a second triple threat tag team match will take place on Friday between The Street Profits, Pretty Deadly, and DIY. The winners of both matches would face each other next week, and the winners of that match would earn a shot at the WWE Tag Team titles currently held by The Bloodline (Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa).
Vignettes had been airing for the last few weeks teasing a new team that also featured images of Detroit, Michigan, as well as fast cars. Last weekâs video showed the initials âMCMGâ and teased they would arrive next week. At the same time, Aldis gave Los Garzas a match against an unnamed tag team, saying if Los Garza won, they would get a WWE Tag Team title match.
On Fridayâs SmackDown, the newest vignette featuring cars, helicopters, and images of Detroit, Michigan was shown. The screen briefly flashed the letters âMCMGâ before announcing the debut would take place on next weekâs SmackDown in Columbia, South Carolina.
Nick Aldis in a segment shown later told the other tag teams on the roster that a new team would be making their debut on next weekâs show.Â
Friday’s vignette is the latest to indicate that the Motor City Machine Guns, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, are headed to the WWE. The two departed TNA earlier this year and have stopped taking independent dates.
Shortly after the vignette aired, Sabin sent out a post on X:
In a segment shown earlier in the night, Santos Escobar and the rest of Legado de Fantasma confronted Aldis, with Escobar saying that Los Garza and Elektra Lopez wanted opportunities. Aldis said he would put Los Garza in a match next week against a special team and if they win, would get a shot at WWE Tag Team Champions Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa.
Here is what has been announced for next weekâs SmackDown:
âMCMGâ to debut
Los Garzas in action – if they win the match, they earn a WWE Tag Team title match
The eventual landing spot for longtime TNA Wrestling stars Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin has been a question for most of the summer and in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, fans might finally have got their answer.
After first reporting in mid-July that there was belief they were WWE-bound, our Dave Meltzer reported Friday that the Motor City Machine Guns tag team are expected to debut in WWE NXT “imminently.”
No date accompanied the news, but WWE’s developmental brand will kick off their new TV era on The CW on Tuesday, October 1st.
The team hasn’t wrestled since losing an August 18th indie match against Evil Uno & Stu Grayson.
The veteran duo entered into free agency after their TNA contracts expired this past April and reportedly talked with both AEW and WWE. They are highly decorated after holding tag titles in TNA, Ring of Honor, NJPW and other indie promotions.
Individually, they have also had success with the 41-year-old Shelley holding the TNA World title and the 42-year-old Sabin holding the TNA X-Division title ten times.
Sabin has never appeared in WWE while Shelley lost a 2005 enhancement talent bout and returned for three NXT matches in January 2020 alongside KUSHIDA.
Former TNA World Champion Alex Shelley leaned into the rumors that he and longtime Motor City Machine Guns tag team partner Chris Sabin are bound for WWE.
After working a West Coast Pro Wrestling/Deadlock Pro/Prestige combo event in San Francisco, California Saturday in a loss to Alpha Zo, Shelley took to the microphone to share a quick thought about the future.
âSpoiler alert: I might not come back here. And if I donât, I know the future of pro wrestling is safe and sound inside a West Coast Pro ring. I have talked to long and the last thing I want to say is thank you so much for the last two and a half years,” he said.
Shelley and Sabin hit free agency after their TNA contracts expired in April and their next destination had been speculated to be either WWE or AEW.
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, our Dave Meltzer reported that the belief is the veteran duo is WWE-bound, mentioning on the subsequent Wrestling Observer Radio that he assumed they will go to NXT. Sabin has never appeared in WWE while Shelley lost a squash match back in 2005 and returned for three NXT bouts in January 2020 bouts alongside KUSHIDA.
Shelley and Sabin do have an August 18th indie date still on the books.
Alex Shelley addresses the Motor City Machine Gunâs rumors of them heading to WWE tonight at West Coast Pro!
WWE may be on the verge of adding a top free agent tag team to its ranks.
Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) entered into free agency when their TNA Wrestling contracts expired this April. The veteran tag team has had talks with both WWE and AEW, but it’s looking like WWE is the more likely destination. Dave Meltzer reports in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there’s a belief within wrestling that Shelley & Sabin are headed to WWE.
“Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley are expected to be coming here [WWE], or at least thatâs the talk within wrestling. Nobody has officially said anything. They worked a 7/12 independent show in a singles match against each other that Sabin won for Prestige Wrestling in Portland, OR, and then did their in-ring goodbyes to indie wrestling. However, theyâve been announced for an 8/18 show in London, ONT for Smash Wrestling against Evil Uno & Stu Grayson at the Music Hall,” Meltzer wrote. “Itâs been known for months that they had been talking with AEW and WWE ever since their TNA contracts expired. Of late, the indications were WWE made the better offer but they were expected to be with whichever side made the best offer. Within wrestling the belief is that they are WWE-bound and Tommaso Ciampa made a reference to them in social media. Theyâve also been completely silent about it and clearly have made their decision one way or the other.”
Motor City Machine Guns have been tag team champions in TNA, ROH, NJPW, and several indie promotions. Their singles careers have included a TNA World Championship reign for Shelley and ten X-Division title reigns for Sabin.
In 2020, Shelley teamed with KUSHIDA in NXT’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament. Sabin has never wrestled for WWE before.
In what could be their final match in the promotion, The Motor City Machine Guns will challenge The System for the TNA Tag Team titles on tonight’s edition of Impact: the final one before Saturday’s Rebellion pay-per-view.
Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin will be looking for their fourth reign as champions while Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards are trying for their first defense. The Machine Guns became free agents after this set of TV tapings with their future still unknown.
The champions after tonight will defend against Speedball Mountain (Mike Bailey & Trent Seven) on Saturday.
Nic Nemeth will be on hand to give some thoughts ahead of his challenge of TNA World Champion Moose Saturday.
Ahead of his Last Man Standing trilogy match with Josh Alexander Saturday, Hammerstone will face Guido of The FBI.
In a preview of Saturday’s Knockouts Tag Team title match, Spitfire’s Jody Threat will face Decay’s Rosemary.
**********
The Hammerstone-Alexander brawl leading to Dreamer getting beaten down gets recapped alongside the Jordynne Grace-Steph De Lander contract signing and ensuing beatdown of Grace by SDL. Josh Alexander walked out to do commentary for Guido vs. Hammerstone.
Hammerstone defeated Little Guido
Guido is a perfect opponent for Hammerstone because he’s a naturally lanky guy and he makes Hammerstone look even more gigantic. Hammerstone started off with a shove into the corner before a corner-to-corner shoulder charge and a Biel throw out of the corner. Hammerstone landed a corner lariat, but ate a chop before landing a big backbreaker and a squatting fallaway slam.
Zack Clayton shoves Hammerstone out and the ref rightfully kicks Clayton out. Hammerstone came in, but ate hammerfists and a basement dropkick for 2. Hammerstone put the headgear onto Guide and the torture rack ended it. Ash By Elegance’s concierge told us all that she will at ringside at Rebellion to face the winner of the Knockouts Title match. Xia Brookside hopped into frame to let her know that they’ll have a match next week – presumably for the top contender spot.
SDL’s beating of Grace last week is shown in more detail before we see Jordynne Grace at the airport saying that Cardona won’t be at Rebellion because of his surgery and that should make it a fair fight – but she knows she’ll have something up her sleeve. LSG struts out looking like a star in this match with Joe Hendry where he doesn’t even get announced beforehand – which is smart. He gave off a smug aura, which is a lot better than nothing when you’re in an enhancement match. Hendry got a giant “we believe!” chant before cutting a promo on AJ Francis and Swann flying high with what he buys at the Top Dolla store.
Joe Hendry defeated LSG
LSG wanted an armbar, but Hendry rolled around the ring ala Austin Street to avoid it. Hendry turned a fallaway slam into a gorilla press slam before landing a gigantic Standing Ovation uranage. Both men looked great here. Shockingly, Hendry wasn’t beaten down after this match by the heels he’s feuding with. Time Machine’s issues dating back to the No Surrender match are recapped to set up the MCMG’s match tonight with The System for the tag titles. Ali is out and feels like the biggest act in the company presentation-wise. Deaner wants Rhino to be their partner and Rehwoldt said he didn’t know who this “Rhi-guy” is but he clearly hears no on this chant – okay that was fantastic.
Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) and Mustafa Ali defeated Jake Something, Cody Deaner & Rhino
Something slammed Gibson before Rhino tagged in to chop away before Deaner worked over the arm of Zack Gibson for a bit. Ali tagged in to mudhole stomp a weakened Deaner before Drake tagged into wear down Deaner before tagging in Ali once again. Rehwoldt demanded the formation of an appellate court so Ali can file a formal complaint about having to face Something at Rebellion. Drake prevented a tag to Rhino before Gibson came in to further take Deaner down a peg. But he got the tag anyway and Rhino ran wild!
Corner gore to Gibson before a gore met a kick to the jaw, but he fell into a tag from Something! Something charged through the GYV’s attempt at a double clothesline and then again with one of his own. Rocket launcher crossbody of Deaner got 2! Ali walked back into Something and almost ate a slam, but the GYV saved and dove into Something on the floor!
Deaner, a valiant babyface, wants a fight with all three men and they just dogpiled him in the corner. Gore to Drake and Deaner landed a knee to Gibson! Ali landed a corner high kick and a sunset bomb out of the corner before the 450 beats Deaner. As per TNA tradition, a post-match beating is teased but actually avoided as Ali just left. Steve Maclin talked about starting off the new era in TNA win its first win and no matter what the marquee says on a show, it’s always time for him to tag ’em and bag ’em.
Eric Young met with his World Class Maniac persona backstage to unleash his dark side. So now even Eric Young has a Demon version of himself and he’ll baptize Frankie Kazarian at Rebellion. Rosemary came down and Hannifan talked about the team of supernatural demons using their contractual rematch clause at Rebellion before Threat ran down.
Rosemary defeated Jody Threat
Rosemary got a reverse bearhug to start before eating a clothesline and a powerslam for 2. Rosemary got a single leg dropkick before biting Threat in the corner and locking on a hanging neck choke for a four count, breaking right before five. Rosemary got two off a German suplex and a Muta lock to Threat was ended by a rope break. Threat got a German and a clothesline for two before Rosemary landed a run-up forearm for two before a spear ended it.
Jonathan Gresham’s therapy session has him feel like he’s unheard and that’s why he wears a mask. Life is a costume party and he’s been vulnerable – but it will end soon enough. So Eric Young has the World Class Maniac persona and Gresham has The Octopus – everyone gets an alter-ego! The Guns came out before The System emerged with their titles and Edwards did bicep curls with his belt.
TNA Tag Team Champions The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) to retain
The Guns got a quick edge before an ad break. Edwards chopped away on Shelley before Sabin hit a dragon screw on the right leg and Shelley landed one on the left one back to back, giving Shelley an opening for a figure four leglock. Sabin locked one in on Myers before Edwards got to the rope. Alisha grabbed Shelley and he grabbed her before getting pie-faced by Eddie and then chopped hard.
Myers slowed things down with a chinlock before Shelley fired back briefly, but ate a back elbow. Edwards worked him over for a bit with a front chancery before Shelley escaped that – but Edwards knocked Sabin down before a tag could be made. Shelley got a hope spot off a corner flatliner before a combat roll into a tag and Sabin flew in with a dropkick!
Sabin hit a suicide dive through Shelley’s legs and tossed Edwards before setting Myers on top of Edwards for a double-team missile dropkick/flatliner for two. Sabin landed a helluva kick to Edwards before Myers blind tagged himself in. Backpack stunner from Edwards and the Myers elbow got 2.5! I like it – moves like that help them feel more like a cohesive team instead of a makeshift unit. Roster Cut is met with a crucifix and a Sabin cutter and vintage MCMG fast-break offense.
They were the first team on a national stage to really use the Dragon Gate style and in that time, they have become legends in TNA, with Shelley actually getting a World title run and Sabin being christened the great X Division champion of all time. Now, their story ended in TNA with a Roster Cut and a Boston Knee Party.
Nic Nemeth/Moose promo
Nic Nemeth came out and did the unwise move of running into the crowd resulting in him being impossible to see, but thankfully going back to the ring and being visible. He cut a nice promo about Vegas being special for him because it’s where he debuted in TNA before Moose interrupted. Moose insulted the fans and Nemeth said that the fans are behind him, management’s behind him and he’s here for TNA because that’s why he wore the TNA shirt in his debut.
Moose cut a boring promo about Nemeth being the problem not with a title win – but after. When he’s given the ball, he only runs a few yards and fumbles. There’s a lot missing from Moose’s presentation – on-paper, he’s got the suit, the belt, and the faction, but the passion doesn’t seem to be there. Moose wanting the title against Tessa and bringing in the fake TNA World Title to defend felt like a bigger deal than him being the actual TNA World Champion now. Nemeth tells Moose that he’s not facing Dolph Ziggler – he’s facing Nic Nemeth and the future of TNA. Nemeth should probably win the title at the PPV, but we’re only three months into Moose’s reign, so I can see them holding it off until Slammiversary.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including Rhea Ripley’s injury and how it may end up a blessing in disguise for her character, NXT and Dynamite line-ups, RAW notes, Motor City Machine Guns to AEW, Dynasty, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Motor City Machine Guns are reportedly expected to sign with AEW.
Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net reported on Tuesday that Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are in the process of finalizing deals with the company. The report notes that a contract is not expected to be completed imminently but “the decision has been made and a deal will be worked out.”
Shelley filed to trademark the terms “Motor City Machine Guns” and “MCMG” for wrestling purposes on March 19, 2024.
Sabin and Shelley finished up with TNA Wrestling at the company’s TV tapings in Philadelphia on March 22 & 23. Their final match was against The System’s Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards and will air on Thursday’s episode of Impact on AXS TV. Sabin was defeated by Steve Maclin in the main event of last week’s show, and Shelley was defeated by Nic Nemeth in the main event of the April 4 episode.
The Cung Le vs. TKO lawsuit and its settlement, words from someone close to the case from its inception, a lawyer following the case weighs in. stock analysts talk, how much TKO’s company value went up with the settlement and original goals of the suit.
Dwayne Johnson and getting more leeway on promos after last Friday.
WrestleMania update, who are the favorites in the matches, lineup, ticket sales and demand.
Ronda Rousey in her book and interviews talks about WWE, Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, Bruce Prichard, history with concussions and more
Coverage of the New Japan Cup, New Japan business, the final night and big shows coming up
PPV buys for WWE, AEW and TNA by state and what states which companies are the biggest in
The most detailed look at the ratings over the past week for all the wrestling shows, including segment-by-segment, competition, rankings for the week and comparisons to one year ago.
81st anniversary of wrestling in one of the legendary arenas
AAA announces first TripleMania, more on its notalgia, Vikingo being stripped of his title and more
Who is staying with Stardom and who is leaving
Stardom PPV notes
Mark Coleman news
TV viewing notes from the past month regarding network, cable and streaming
Lots of injury updates
Wrestling show up for a multiple of awards
A look at Buff Bagwell and Terry Gordy Dark Side of the Ring episodes
Mark Hitchcock Memorial show
RevPro announces major show
AEW Dynasty PPV update
Next Continental Classic notes
Updates on PPV numbers for Elimination Chamber, Hard to Kill, Revolution and Joshua vs. Ngannou.
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking about all the weekend wrestling news and probably have time for questions as well. I’ll be doing a Q&A show on Tuesday afternoon with Garrett Gonzales & Andrew Zarian.
As noted elsewhere on the site, Chigusa Nagayo said that last night’s West Coast Pro show in San Francisco would be her final U.S. match. Later yesterday she said it would be her final match period. Nagayo, whose heyday was in the 80s, was the most popular woman wrestler of all-time up until that point in time, the highest paid and biggest merch seller. West Coast Pro put the show up already so you can see her farewell ceremony at
Both Aaron Brooks and Carter Starocci of Penn State won NCAA Division I titles last night at 174 and 197 pounds respectively at the finals in Kansas City. They became only the sixth and seventh men in history to win four NCAA titles. It should be noted that in the 50s and 60s that freshmen weren’t eligible so wrestlers like Danny Hodge and Yujiro Uetake, two of the best of all-time, only won three. Starocci beat Rocco Welsh of Ohio State 2-0 in the finals. Brooks beat Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State 6-1. Brooks was put in the main event position on the show. Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State, who is under a WWE NIL deal, won the 285 pound class over Lucas Davison of Michigan by a 13-4 score in the finals. All the winners are automatically in the Olympic team trials. Brooks won Most Dominant Wrestler and is a favorite to win the Hodge Trophy. Penn State won the team championship with more than double the points of second place Cornell.
New Japan’s Alex Coughlin announced his retirement from wrestling at the age of 30. His last match in Japan was being the winning side of the Bullet Club War Dogs vs. United Empire cage match on 2/11 in Osaka at the New Beginning show which was Will Ospreay’s last match for New Japan. He gave no reason as to why.
There was a backstage sendoff for the Motor City Machine Guns at last night’s TNA tapings in Philadelphia which is their final show with the company. Their contracts expire a week from today. No word on what is next for them. Obviously they are one of the best tag teams of the past 20 years.
Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. won Friday night’s Parejas Incredibles tournament, as expected. So the finals of the tournament will be against Rocky Romero & Mascara Dorada on the biggest CMLL show so far this year this coming Friday. The main event is the Arena Mexico debuts of Bryan Danielson & Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta facing Mistico & Volador Jr. & Blue Panther & Ultimo Guerrero. The main event led to one of the fastest sellouts ever in Arena Mexico history.
WWE last night in Springfield, IL:
Becky Lynch & Bianca Belair & Naomi b Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane & Dakota Kai when Lynch pinned Kai
Sami Zayn b Shinsuke Nakamua with the helluva kick
Gunther b Jey Uso to keep the IC title
R-Truth & Miz b Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh via DQ when Finn Balor & Damian Priest interfered. New Day made the save. You can guess what happened next when Adam Perace came out.
R-Truth & Miz & New Day b Balor & Priest & McDonagh & Dominik Mysterio when R-Truth pinned Dominik.
Omos b Oddysey Jones
Rhea Ripley won a three-way to keep the women’s title over Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler when she pinned Baszler with the Rip Tide
Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins b Jimmy Uso & Solo Sikoa when Rollins pinned Uso after a curb stomp.
At today’s Stardom show in Kobe, Donna Del Mondo reunited for one last time with Giulia leaving. Giulia & Maika & Syuri & Natsupoi & Mai Sakurai & Mirai beat Saori Anou & Tam Nakeno & Sayaka Kurara & Ami Sohirei & SakiKashima & Rana Yagami. Giulia said this was the last time they’d be in a match together and thanked Himeka and Thekla, who weren’t there but were key parts of the group.
Igor Severino became the first fighter in a long time fired before the end of the show. Severino was disqualified in his fight with Andre Lima at yesterday’s show at the Apex. It was the first person to be DQ’d for biting in UFC history. Dana White then told Kevin Iole that he was being fired. White told Iole, “If you get frustrated and want out of the fight, there are plenty of ways to do it, but the worst thing you can do is bite your opponent. Now, you get cut and lose the biggest opportunity of your life. Not to mention, he’s going to have a real problem (with the commission).”
On A&E tonight, WWE Rivals is Hardys vs. Dudleys vs. Edge & Christian at 8 p.m. This is notable obviously for the ladder and TLC matches and that they are doing a feud where four of the six are currently with AEW. Biography at 10 p.m. is Davey Boy Smith.
Sorry to report on the death of John Burke, who wrestled as Big Jack, from complications of liver cancer. He passed away on Friday at the age of 58. He had worked for Chicago independents for years and was a five-time PWI champion and formed PCW. He was among the people who started AAW which is one of the most notable indie groups of the past ten years. He trained wrestlers like Pauly Thomaselli, Tony Scarpone, Tony Rican and Robert “Ego” Anthony. Burke started AAW 20 years ago with Scarpone and a few others and Danny Daniels bought them out. Burke was a part of the Chicago scene and a big reason PWI and PCW started. (thanks to Comic Connectors and Keith Lipinski)
We’re looking for reports on these shows from the weekend
As far as items that were heavily searched on Google this past week, nothing from pro wrestling or boxing made the list. Rose Namajunas from last night’s UFC show at the Apex had 50,000 searches for No. 11 on the list. Also nothing from the NCAA wrestling tournament. And obviously tons of stuff from the basketball tournament.
Michael Chandler said that he’s expecting his fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 303, which would be 6/29 in Las Vegas as part of International Fight Week.
AEW/ROH’s Christopher Daniels turns 54 today.
The blocks for the All Japan Champion Carnival tournament were announced today:
A block has Shotaro Ashino, Kento Miyahara, Yuma Aoyagi, Hokuto Omori, Ren Ayabe, Kuroshio Tokyo Japan (Ikemen Jiro), Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Cyrus
B block has Suwama, Jun Saito, Rei Saito, Ryuki Honda, Yuma Anzai, Hideki Suzuki, Hartley Jackson and Lord Crewe.
Smith was originally in the tournament, then he was out, and then he was back in. This means he’ll have singles bouts with Miyahara and Aoyagi.
QT Marshall & Teil Margaret Runnels’ new version of Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling debuted on 2/8 and this is the video from the first event. Among those on the show were Aaron Solo, Marshall, Scotty Riggs, Lexy Nair, Glacier Ray Lloyd and Adam Priest.
GCW from last night in Detroit: Alec Price & Cole Radrick b Malcolm Monroe III & Tommy Vendetta, Gringo Loco won over b Joshua Bishop, Karam, Isaiah Broner, Marcus Mathers and Oni El Bendito, Blake Christian b Sawyer Wreck, Microman b Dan the Dad, Parrow & Richard Holliday b Allie Katch & Dark Sheik, Jacob & Zilla Fatu b Davey Bang & August Matthews, Joey Janela b Shane Mercer, Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku b John Wayne Murdoch & ?, Danhausen b Matt Cardona, Jimmy Lloyd b Tacka Racks. Missy Hyatt managed Janela. (thanks to Leonard Brand)
GCW is sold out tonight in Rochester, NY. Nick Wayne is on the show and Mance Warner faces Microman. It’s streaming as part of the Triller package.
Kirk White’s Big Time Wrestling from Friday night in Newark, CA before a sellout crowd: Teixeira b Dom Cirrus, Jiah Jewell b Eddie Cuervo, Jheri Figalow b Ishmael Vaughn, Too Fresh b Sonico & Lazarus, Viva Van b Sandra Moone, Aaron Solo vs. Starboy Charlie turned into Charlie pinning Calvin Tankman, Will Hobbs vs. Marcus Lewis turned into Hobbs & Lewis beating Los Suwavercitos (thanks to Jim Davis)
The contracts for former TNA World Champions and company originals Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are up in early-April.
PWInsider first reported the news Friday, adding that some within TNA expect the duo known as the Motor City Machine Guns to exit the company while others are hoping they can keep both men.
The two are currently part of the Time Machine faction with KUSHIDA, and have been teasing a potential heel turn for Shelley due to a recent losing skid within the group.
TNA is holding two nights of TV tapings this weekend in Philadelphia with Shelley facing Nic Nemeth, and both Shelley and Sabin challenging TNA Tag Team Champions The System (Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards).
Following this weekend, the next TNA event is April 20th’s Rebellion pay-per-view. The two don’t have matches announced for that show yet which would likely take shape this weekend if they are planned to appear.
Both men are among the most decorated champions in TNA/Impact Wrestling history.
The 40-year-old Shelley held the TNA World title from June 2023 through this past January when he lost it to Moose. He’s a three-time TNA Tag Team Champion with Sabin and has also held the X-Division title once. He made his TNA debut in 2004.
The 42-year-old Sabin debuted for the company in 2003 during the NWA-TNA days and has held the X-Division title ten times, the TNA Tag Team titles three times, and the TNA World title once for a short run in 2013.
Shelley has filed for trademarks on both the Motor City Machine Guns name and MCMG.
Sabin has never appeared in WWE while Shelley had a match on a 2005 episode of Sunday Night Heat and teamed with KUSHIDA on three NXT shows in January 2020. The two have competed once in AEW, teaming with Jay Lethal against FTR & Wardlow at 2022’s All Out.
Both are very active on the indies, both as a team and singles wrestlers.
It’s the long-awaited review of Sacrifice, the latest PPV/PLE/app special from Total Nonstop Action.
The show had some good stuffâNic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin, Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards challenging the ABC for the tag titles, Mustafa Ali & the Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Time Machine, and Jordynne Grace defending the Knockouts title against Xia Brookside and Tasha Steelz.
But it also had some stuff that felt like it belonged on another show in another eraâKon vs. PCO, Josh Alexander vs. Hammerstone, and Moose defending the TNA title against Eric Young in the main event. And finally, it had the Knockouts tag division, which pretty much always sucks.
For more details, listen right away to the latest edition of The Big Vinny V Show!
I am back reviewing another episode of TNA Impact on this week’s Big Vinny V Show.
Our main event sees “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada return to TNA for the first time in a decade to team with the Motor City Machine Guns. Also, after 20 years in the business, Nic Nemeth wrestled his first match outside the WWE umbrella.
Plus, Jordynne Grace defended the Knockouts title against Trinity in what turned out to be a Royal Rumble preview, and we got one of the wackiest tag teams of ex-WWE guys you could ever imagine.
