Why WWE Star Turned Down Contract Earlier In Career
A veteran wrestler has revealed that he turned down a WWE contract earlier in his career.
The Motor City Machine Guns duo of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin made their WWE debuts in October 2024 and were immediately featured on the SmackDown brand.
In just their third WWE match, taking place in their second week in the company, the Machine Guns became the WWE Tag Team Champions.
Prior to their WWE careers, Shelley and Sabin were mainstays in TNA Wrestling for nearly 20 years. Both men were TNA World Champions in their careers, and they held numerous other titles while carving out their legacy as one of the best tag teams of their generation.
During an interview with Shakiel Mahjouri of Shak Wrestling, Shelley explained that he could have signed with WWE five years earlier, but he didn’t do it at the time since it was around when COVID-19 happened in the spring of 2020 and there was a lot of uncertainty in the world.
“I actually had tabled a WWE contract offer because of the pandemic, right before it. I was too scared to sign a wrestling contract because the entertainment industry was just so up and down, I didn’t know what was going on. Nobody in the world did.”
Eventually, things did go back to normal and Shelly found his way back to WWE with Sabin by his side.
Triple H Was A Big Reason Why Motor City Machine Guns Signed With WWE
In the same interview, Shelley also revealed that a big reason why the Motor City Machine Guns signed with WWE was because of Triple H as the company’s Chief Content Officer and main booker.
“We have no idea whose idea it was to bring us in. What I can say though, we talked directly to Paul, Triple H, and he treated us with the utmost respect.
A huge factor in our decision was that we wanted to be players on his team. We wanted to be a part of the WWE machine, specifically with him leading the charge. That to me was something that was always at the front of our minds.”
On SmackDown After WrestleMania, The Motor City Machine Guns competed in a legendary TLC match with The Street Profits and #DIY for the WWE Tag Team Titles. The Profits won to keep their titles, but it’s a match that will be remembered as perhaps the best TLC match ever and one of the best matches in SmackDown history.