Motor City Machine Guns Make Surprise AEW Debut on Thursday's Collision

The Motor City Machine Guns are officially All Elite!

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley made their surprise AEW debut during Thursday night's special edition of Collision, and the multi-time World Tag Team Champions received an incredible ovation from their hometown fans who had gathered inside Detroit's Masonic Temple Theatre.

Sabin and Shelley were among the more than two dozen wrestlers who were released from their WWE contracts back in April. Their 90-day non-compete window officially expired last week, and company President Tony Khan wasted very little time in deciding to sign one of the most accomplished tag teams in modern wrestling history.

Motor City Machine Guns are #ALLELITE!

Welcome home, @AlexShelley313 &@SuperChrisSabin!

Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on TNT & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/41WQolfqEZ
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 31, 2026

"This right here, is where the best wrestle," Sabin said during a show opening promo. "Detroit, in more ways than one, we are home. And it is our immense pleasure to finally say, the Motor City Machine Guns are All Elite," Shelley declared to great approval from the fans in attendance.

Given their extensive resumes and stellar in-ring reputations, the Motor City Machine Guns were considered by many to be a natural fit for AEW, and it was expected that they'd make their way to the company sooner or later. Now that Sabin and Shelley have put pen to paper, all eyes now look ahead to August when another popular team will become eligible to sign with All Elite Wrestling.

The New Day are expected to follow Motor City Machine Guns to AEW

A few days after MCMG and several others were let go from WWE, the shocking news broke that Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods would soon be departing the company. Roughly a year after the New Day had agreed to lucrative five-year contract extensions, Kofi and Woods were reportedly asked to restructure those deals for less money, and chose to bet on themselves instead.

That gamble is very likely to pay off. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported earlier this summer that the New Day, now known as Kofi and Austin Creed, are expected to become All Elite after their 90-day waiting period comes to an end.

pic.twitter.com/L4qG0PDhhN
— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) July 29, 2026

"Everyone that I talk to in All Elite Wrestling seems to think it's a forgone conclusion. They have a ton of people pushing for them. It seems like a no brainer. Everyone likes them, everyone in wrestling knows who they are. There are fresh matches, and natural history to build, and they're one of the greatest tag teams of all-time," Ross wrote during a Q&A with subscribers last month.

The belief is that Kofi and Creed will be free to make their next career move in early August. We'll continue to provide new information on New Day and MCMG as it becomes available.

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