Andrew: What’s Old #ANDNEW in Murder City

The Motor City Machine Guns are back atop tag team wrestling once more, and Andrew Balaz discusses what he sees in Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin. Is this a nostalgia run, or the read deal?

Wrestling fans all over the world love their nostalgia, ESPECIALLY if it’s tangible nostalgia. Not every trip down memory lane is Great Kabuki’s final match at 69 or watching Mil Mascaras barely be able to move and be helped to do a dive since he’s in his 70s. The last few years we have seen a decent surge back to prominence for wrestlers within recent memory.

Puroresu fans will be able to highlight Naruki Doi, who won his second Open the Dream game title at the tail end of 2019. Reminiscent of his first title win in 2009. Staying with Dragon Gate, Ultimo Dragon officially returned to the promotion his founded after 15 years of bad blood. While American fans can cite recent situations like PCO winning the ROH title after his reinvention, Goldberg (good or bad) getting a few title runs and Chris Jericho being the inaugural AEW champion. It’s hard to argue against it–nostalgia sells, and is even better when the images in your memory aren’t too far removed from the current iteration.

All of the earlier examples were of course just used to frame the beauty of the Motor City Machine Guns returning to Impact Wrestling, and making their presence felt. The Guns were hot at the time when TNA was viewed favorably by many fans. It’s one of those weird situations where we got a ton of great matches with No Limit, Team 3D, Generation Me (Young Bucks), Bad Influence, Beer Money and an assortment of other teams that many enjoy. BUT – it was only a five year run, a proverbial flash in the pan. But why have they been the most talked about act since Slammiversary.

Well…after The Good Brothers of course.

Murder City Machine Guns/Motor City Machine Guns, whatever you want to call them, are effectively responsible for introducing the Japanese Junior tag team style to an American audience. There’s a reason when they formed in Zero1-Max, they dethroned the at the time longest reigning International Lightweight Tag champs, and then surpassed that day mark (MCMG held the Zero1 titles for 590 days). They had the style mastered of applying high flying antics and quick tandem moves, with selling and logical match progression. That made them an impressive talent on the independent scene, and TNA was always good at scooping up talent from ROH or before ROH could lock them down.

Even with only a short 5 year run, with singles matches intermittently, and a few injuries. When Shelley was released and went off to form the Time Splitters (another team that American fans got to see this year, even if only for a fleeting moment), the fans never forgot. We’ve seen occasional return attempts in New Japan and Ring of Honor for the Motor City Machine Guns, but they are either short lived because of a failed title challenge, or an injury popped up. Which I believe adds to more of the general good favor.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley are fantastic singles wrestlers, but they’re special together. Whenever they’ve been relevant they’ve been good. We never got a chance to get sick of them, or to see skills degrade and get bored with their matches. IF – they can stay healthy and management utilizes them well, fans get a great feel good story. The beloved TNA originals, return to prove that both they and TNA aren’t really gone. Plus imagine the matches they can have with The Good Brothers, since both are well versed in similar styles and very talented teams.

I’m just very happy they’re back, they got their second Impact Tag title reign, a decade removed from their first, and we’ve just got lots of great wrestling to look forward to. Hopefully optimistic is where I stand, and it’s also where I think most fans are. The Motor City Machine Guns don’t get the credit they deserve, and if they can be part of the first real wave of TNA hype, along with maybe a bit of a brand resurgence; that would be a pretty great distinction.

Even with Sabin taking it at about three quarters speed as to not blow out his knee again, they still proved they understand tag team wrestling better than most. Hop in the DeLorean with me, and let’s enjoy some Time Machine Guns. Now Sabin, suplex that goddamn train.