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"Coming soon" has turned into "next week," as the Machine City Motor Guns are slated to make their first WWE appearance on the upcoming October 18 episode of "WWE SmackDown."
Nick Aldis was the first to break the news on WWE programming, informing Legado del Fantasma leader Santos Escobar that he was bringing in "a new tag team" next week, and that the team would be facing Escobar's stablemates, Los Garzas. Shortly following the segment, a vignette featuring the bright lights of Detroit and the purr of motor engines filled fans' screens. The letters "M-C-M-G" even briefly flashed at the end of the package, all but confirming the identities of Aldis' expected new tag team arrival — and likely confirming that they will at least be using the same collective name.
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Notably, Fightful Select reported earlier on Friday that Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin were not slated to appear on the blue brand until the October 25 episode of "SmackDown," though the report allowed that the debut date could be changed even as a result of the report itself. Fightful also claimed the Guns' upcoming debut had nothing whatsoever to do with the situation surrounding The Lucha Brothers, whose WWE arrival has been delayed by AEW CEO Tony Khan invoking his contractual right to extend Rey Fenix' deal due to injury.
Shelley and Sabin are no strangers to gold — the Motor City Machine Guns boast tag team title reigns across multiple promotions, including NJPW, Deadlock Pro Wrestling, IGWP, Ring of Honor, and most famously Impact/TNA. The Guns' contracts with TNA expired in April 2024; by September 2024, reports of Shelley and Sabin's deal with WWE hit the wrestling news cycle. The Guns were initially reported to be heading to "WWE NXT," but will instead call the blue brand home.
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