WWE 'dream match' fans are clamouring for was cancelled 14 years ago

Metro

14-05-2025

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WWE fans are desperate to see Motor City Machine Guns lock horns with The Hardy Boyz, and it almost happened.
SmackDown stars Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin – who are now available as playable characters in WWE 2K25's New Wave DLC pack which launched today – have long been hailed as one of the best tag teams of the last 20 years, but a bout with icons Matt and Jeff Hardy has always eluded them.
Speaking exclusively to Metro after the Hardys admitted they'd be up for it, Sabin quipped: 'Sounds like a dream match.'
'It was scheduled once,' his tag partner recalled, noting that it was on the cards around 14 years ago.
He added: 'Maybe 2011, there was a UK tour TNA had booked that match on in particular. And I can't remember where it was gonna be. It was gonna be somewhere in England.
'And something happened, I can't remember exactly what, but it never came to fruition. So we've somehow managed to evade the Hardy Boys our entire career, and it's probably time that we get that match.'
They're two of the greatest teams to never face each other, while there have constantly been comparisons due to their high energy wrestling style.
There was echos just last week, when MCMG battled Street Profits and #DIY in an utterly wild Tables, Ladders and Chairs match reminiscent of the Hardys' TLC battles with the Dudley Boyz and Edge & Christian.
'As far as the people involved in that match, if you were to go back and analyse wrestling history, we by far have the most experience in these types of situations, and it's not even close,' Shelley pointed out.
'I dare say that we were brought up in part with said experience from Team 3D [the Dudleyz] who are the experts in these types of situations, no less.'
High risk dives, bodies crashing through tables, and even a fan's prosthetic leg being used as a weapon – the match had it all.
As much as everyone involved 'tried to calculate everything' they were doing, they're still feeling the effects.
'It is a match that you don't walk away from without any sort of scrapes or aches or bruises,' Shelley pointed out. 'You do give a bit of yourself when you go through those types of matches.
'But at the same time, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Even if we lost, I wouldn't trade it for the world. We'll just win the next one. There's got to be [another] one, right? There's got to be.'
In the meantime, fans can put the Motor City Machine Guns in whatever matches they want with the new WWE 2K25 DLC pack, which also features Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer and a to-be-announced celebrity guest.
'It's almost indescribable. It's really one of those bucket list type things,' Sabin said of being in a WWE video game. 'When you get into wrestling, you make it to WWE, you want to be on a trading card, you want to have an action figure, and you want to be in a video game.'
The New Wave pack – which is available as part of the Season Pass or individual purchase – includes MyFACTION cards for each star, including MCMG, and a total of more than 40 moves and taunts.
It's actually not the former TNA Wrestling champion's first foray with the franchise, as he previously 'did a lot of mocap' work around seven years ago, creating moves for other wrestlers.
'It was fun. I actually got to do my own entrance for the game,' he beamed. 'It wasn't named after me or anything like that, but my entrance was in the game before this, which is pretty cool.'
This time, the process for the game was much simpler as they spent an hour before an episode of SmackDown getting their faces scanned and photos taken.
'I'm curious to know, actually, who mo-capped our moves,' Sabin admitted.
Appearing in the game just months after their high profile debut is another pinch-me moment for the duo, but there was no greater surprise or honour than capturing the tag team titles in just their second week.
'It was pretty surprising. We didn't really have expectations that high coming in and winning the championship in our third match, second week here,' Sabin said. More Trending
'But that just shows the trust that they have in us, and the confidence that they have in us as performers. A lot of people put in good words for us, to just get us here and to be able to bypass NXT and go right to the main roster like that.
'That says something for what we've done, and the hard work we put in throughout the years. Hopefully we've made all the people who put in a word for us proud.'
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The New Wave DLC pack for WWE 2K25 is available now , new MyFACTION content, including Demastered cards, plus the useable Urn for players with the Deadman Edition Bonus Pack, Deadman Edition or The Bloodline Edition.
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