Alex Shelley

3.1.1. Generation Next and The Embassy

On May 22, 2004, at the event named Generation Next, Shelley formed the influential stable "Generation Next" alongside Austin Aries, Jack Evans, and Roderick Strong. As the leader of this new generation faction, Shelley and his allies attacked other wrestlers, asserting themselves as the "best that Ring of Honor has to offer." They feuded with traditionalist wrestlers such, as Matt Stryker, Jimmy Rave, and R. J. Brewer, and later with Ricky Steamboat and CM Punk. On July 17, 2004, Shelley lost to Doug Williams in the finals of a tournament for the vacant ROH Pure Championship. The feud with Steamboat's allies culminated in a forty-five-minute eight-man elimination match on October 2, which Generation Next won with Shelley and Aries as the survivors.

However, Shelley's increasing commitments to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) led to friction within Generation Next. On December 26, 2004, at Final Battle 2004, after a loss to CM Punk and Steve Corino, Aries and Strong attacked Shelley, kicking him out of the group and turning him into a fan favorite.

Throughout early 2005, Shelley feuded with his former stablemates, unsuccessfully challenging Aries for the ROH World Championship on May 7. On July 23, Shelley announced that he had joined "The Embassy", a heel stable led by Prince Nana, selling out after months of apologizing. Teaming with Fast Eddie Vegas, The Embassy began a feud with Generation Next that lasted for the remainder of the year, culminating in an eight-man elimination steel cage match on December 3, which Generation Next won.

In 2006, Shelley, along with Jimmy Rave and Abyss of The Embassy, won the Trios Tournament. This victory granted each member a desired match. Shelley was scheduled to challenge Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship on February 11, but a severe snowstorm and TNA commitments forced him to return to Orlando, Florida. He eventually received his title shot on March 11 at Arena Warfare but was unsuccessful. Shelley then wrestled sporadically in ROH before quietly departing in June 2006.

3.1.2. Later ROH Appearances

Shelley made sporadic returns to ROH alongside Chris Sabin. On March 30, 2007, they challenged the Briscoe Brothers for the ROH World Tag Team Championship but were unsuccessful on April 28. They returned in April 2008, losing to The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black) but defeating the Briscoe Brothers. In August 2008, they wrestled Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson to a time-limit draw and lost to Kevin Steen and El Generico. TNA pulled them from scheduled ROH events in October 2008.

On February 13, 2010, the Motor City Machine Guns were announced to return to ROH on May 8 in New York City. They were defeated by the ROH World Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) via disqualification due to interference from the Briscoe Brothers.

Shelley returned to ROH on December 7, 2014, at Final Battle 2014, where he and Kushida (as the Time Splitters) unsuccessfully challenged reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. The Time Splitters returned again on August 22, 2015, losing to the Briscoes at Field of Honor.

On November 20, 2015, Shelley made a surprise return to ROH, revealing himself as the masked individual who had been interfering in matches involving The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian), a stable also associated with Shelley's former tag team partner Chris Sabin. At Final Battle on December 18, Shelley teamed with A. C. H. and Matt Sydal to defeat Sabin, Daniels, and Kazarian in a six-man tag team match. On February 26, 2016, at the 14th Anniversary Show, Sabin turned on Daniels and Kazarian, officially re-forming the Motor City Machine Guns with Shelley. They defeated Daniels and Kazarian the following day.

On May 16, Shelley confirmed he had signed a contract with ROH to work regularly. The Motor City Machine Guns unsuccessfully challenged The Addiction for the ROH World Tag Team Championship at Best in the World '16 on June 24 and later participated in a three-way ladder match for the titles at All Star Extravaganza VIII on September 30, which was won by The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson).

Shelley and Sabin then formed a stable named "Search and Destroy" with Jay White, Jonathan Gresham, and Lio Rush. On September 22, 2017, at Death Before Dishonor XV, the Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Young Bucks to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship for the first time. Their reign lasted until March 9, 2018, when they lost the titles back to the Briscoe Brothers at the ROH 16th Anniversary Show.

In June 2018, Shelley suffered an injury. On July 20, 2018, his contract with ROH expired, and he left the promotion to focus on his wrestling school and prepare for his post-in-ring career. Four days later, Shelley announced his kayfabe retirement, which was in reality a move to dedicate time to his physical therapy clinicals.

Shelley returned to ROH on June 30, 2019, hinting at a return from retirement. On July 21, he officially came out of retirement to team with Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham to defeat The Kingdom. On August 9, at Summer Supercard, Shelley was defeated by Matt Taven in a match for the ROH World Championship. On December 13, 2019, at Final Battle, Shelley defeated Colt Cabana. He was scheduled to reunite with his Generation Next stablemate Matt Sydal to face Villain Enterprises at ROH Past vs Present, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shelley's profile was later moved to the alumni section of ROH's website.

3.2.1. Early Career and X Division

Shelley signed a non-exclusive contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on July 8, 2004. He was initially paired with Goldy Locks and given the moniker "Baby Bear" Alex Shelley. Later that year, he requested his release after then-booker Dusty Rhodes stopped utilizing him.

Shelley signed a new contract with TNA in 2005 after Rhodes resigned as booker, returning on June 19, 2005, at Slammiversary, where he lost to Shocker. He then formed a tag team with Michael Shane, losing to America's Most Wanted at No Surrender 2005. Shelley entered the TNA 2005 Super X Cup Tournament but was defeated by Samoa Joe in the semifinals on August 7. He went on to win the Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament with Sean Waltman on the September 9 episode of TNA Impact!, earning a shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship. However, Waltman no-showed the event at Unbreakable on September 11, forcing Shelley to wrestle alone. He was double-teamed by Team Canada (Eric Young and A-1) before Johnny Candido, Chris Candido's brother, briefly joined him, but they were ultimately eliminated.

Throughout late 2005, Shelley wrestled as a villain in the X Division, frequently facing Austin Aries. In November 2005, he introduced the "Shelley-cam" gimmick, using a camcorder to film matches for strategic study, a nod to his real-life collection of over 200 professional wrestling videotapes. He also began teaming with former Generation Next teammates Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, feuding with X Division fan favorites and demanding more prominent roles within the company.

3.2.2. Paparazzi Productions

In early 2006, after Aries and Strong were suspended by TNA, Jeff Jarrett recruited Shelley to obtain candid video footage of Jackie Gayda for blackmail. This led to Shelley creating the fictional enterprise "Paparazzi Productions", which he used to gather intimidating footage of top stars like Sting and Christian Cage and their families.

From April to May 2006, Shelley participated in the 2006 World X Cup Tournament as a member of the victorious Team USA. During the tournament, he interviewed Kevin Nash, who declared his intention to destroy the X Division. Shelley's lack of defense for the division caused friction with his teammates, and he ultimately aligned with Nash after the tournament. Nash and Shelley produced popular comedy vignettes, often targeting Chris Sabin. At Slammiversary, Shelley helped Nash defeat Sabin.

At Hard Justice, Shelley replaced Nash in an X Division Championship number one contender's match. He then moved into the tag team division with Johnny Devine, though they lost a Triple Chance Tag Team Battle Royal at No Surrender. Shelley also appeared in Kevin Nash's Open Invitational X Division Battle Royal at Bound for Glory on October 22, 2006, losing to Austin Starr.

On the June 29, 2006, Impact!, Shelley recruited Johnny Devine as a production assistant for Paparazzi Productions, though Devine was later fired and replaced by Austin Starr at Kevin Nash's insistence. The three competed in the Paparazzi Championship Series, which Shelley won at Final Resolution.

Shelley then filmed two storyline attacks by The Latin American Xchange (LAX) on Brother Ray's uncle and Johnny Rodz. When confronted by Brother Ray, Shelley, with a distraction from Kevin Nash, hit Ray with a low blow. At Destination X 2007, Shelley helped LAX win their match by hitting Brother Devon with a video camera and delivering a Frog Splash through a table. Shelley lost in a five-man Xscape match at Lockdown 2007, being pinned by Jay Lethal.

3.2.3. Motor City Machine Guns

During the summer of 2007, Shelley began regularly teaming with Chris Sabin in TNA. They had previously teamed in independent promotions under names like Murder City Machine Guns and The Motor City Machine Guns, a nod to their Detroit origins and Shelley's former team, "The Sexy Time Machine Guns."

In October 2007, the Motor City Machine Guns began a feud with Team 3D, who declared war on the X Division. After months of intense rivalry, Shelley and Sabin, along with Jay Lethal, defeated Team 3D and Johnny Devine in a Street Fight at Against All Odds, saving the X Division and forcing Team 3D to meet weight requirements.

Shelley then represented Team TNA in the 2008 World X Cup alongside captain Kaz, Chris Sabin, and Curry Man. On June 19, Shelley and Sabin secured Team TNA's first point by defeating Daivari and Tyson Dux of Team International. In the tournament finals at Victory Road, Shelley pinned Masato Yoshino of Team Japan in a twelve-man elimination tag team match, giving Team TNA the lead. Despite their efforts, Team TNA lost the World X Cup to Team Mexico in the final Ultimate X match.

A month later, on July 25, 2008, Shelley participated in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre's International Grand Prix in Mexico. He avenged Team TNA's World X Cup loss by winning the Gran Prix, pinning Último Guerrero in the final torneo cibernetico match. This led to a match on September 19 at CMLL's 75th Anniversary Show, where Shelley, Sabin, and Sonjay Dutt unsuccessfully challenged Guerrero, Atlantis, and Negro Casas for the CMLL World Trios Championship. After these tournaments, Shelley and Sabin transitioned into tweeners, showing disrespect to some but maintaining fan support.

On the October 30, 2008, Impact!, Shelley and Sabin joined The Frontline faction, battling The Main Event Mafia (Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T, and Scott Steiner). Despite this alliance, Shelley and Sabin continued to show disrespect to both their stablemates and TNA executive shareholder Mick Foley. On November 27, 2008, Shelley participated in the second annual Turkey Bowl, defeating Cute Kip and Consequences Creed in the semifinals. In the finals, he faced Sheik Abdul Bashir and Rhino, with Rhino winning and forcing Shelley to wear a turkey suit. Shelley eventually complied after Foley threatened to fire him, but then gave Foley a middle finger and was laid out with a double arm DDT. At Final Resolution in December 2008, Shelley and Sabin competed in the Feast or Fired match but did not win a title contract.

3.2.4. TNA/Impact World and Tag Team Championship Reigns

During December 2008 and January 2009, Shelley qualified for the finals of the X Division title tournament by defeating Jay Lethal and Eric Young. At Genesis, he defeated his tag team partner Chris Sabin to win his first TNA X Division Championship. His reign ended at Destination X in March 2009, where he lost the title to Suicide in an Ultimate X match also involving Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, and Chris Sabin. At Slammiversary, Shelley was unsuccessful in regaining the title in the first-ever X Division Title King of the Mountain match.

After a period of inactivity, Shelley and Sabin returned on the July 30 Impact!, holding "Conspiracy Victims" signs. On August 6, they aligned with Christopher Daniels and other fan favorites against the alliance of World Elite and Main Event Mafia. In late 2009, Shelley and Sabin unsuccessfully challenged British Invasion (Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus) for the TNA World Tag Team Championship at Turning Point and Final Resolution. At Destination X, they defeated Generation Me (Jeremy Buck and Max Buck) in an Ultimate X match to earn another title shot, but were defeated by Matt Morgan and Amazing Red on the April 12 Impact!.

At Sacrifice the following month, the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) and Team 3D in a three-way match to earn another shot at the Tag Team Championship. On July 11 at Victory Road, the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Beer Money, Inc. to win the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship for the first time. They then entered a Best of Five Series with Beer Money, Inc. for the titles. After falling behind 0-2, Shelley and Sabin rallied to win the next two matches (a steel cage match and an Ultimate X match), evening the score. On the August 12 Impact!, they defeated Beer Money, Inc. in a Two Out of Three Falls match to win the series and retain their titles.

At No Surrender, the Motor City Machine Guns retained their titles against Generation Me, who then attacked them, injuring Shelley in storyline. Shelley returned two weeks later, and at Bound for Glory, the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Generation Me to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championship. They also accepted Team 3D's challenge for a retirement match, which they won at Turning Point on November 7. They defeated Generation Me again in a Full Metal Mayhem match at Final Resolution on December 5.

At Genesis, Shelley and Sabin lost the World Tag Team Championship to Beer Money, Inc. due to a miscommunication. Shelley then broke his collarbone during a match on January 16, sidelining him for months. He returned on April 20, saving Sabin from Mexican America, but Sabin suffered a knee injury the same day.

On the June 2 Impact Wrestling, Shelley formed an alliance with Beer Money, Inc., replacing the injured Bobby Roode to defend their World Tag Team Championship against the British Invasion at Slammiversary IX, which they successfully did. At Destination X, Shelley won an Ultimate X match to become the number one contender to the TNA X Division Championship. He challenged Brian Kendrick for the title on July 21 but was defeated due to outside interference from Austin Aries. Shelley was unsuccessful in further X Division title challenges against Aries and Kendrick at Impact Wrestling and Hardcore Justice.

After a four-month absence, Shelley returned on January 19, 2012, challenging X Division Champion Austin Aries. He defeated Zema Ion to become the number one contender but was unsuccessful in his title challenge against Aries at Against All Odds on February 12.

TNA began promoting the return of Chris Sabin and the Motor City Machine Guns in March 2012. Sabin returned on April 5, and he and Shelley defeated Mexican America, announcing their intention to challenge for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. At Lockdown on April 15, The Motor City Machine Guns unsuccessfully challenged Magnus and Samoa Joe for the TNA World Tag Team Championship in a steel cage match. Shelley chose not to renew his contract with TNA, ending his eight-year run with the promotion, with his departure confirmed on May 29, 2012.

3.2.5. Returns and Departures

Shelley made a surprise return to Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA) at Slammiversary on July 18, 2020, reuniting with Chris Sabin as the Motor City Machine Guns to defeat The Rascalz after answering their open challenge. On the following episode of Impact!, they defeated The North to capture the Impact World Tag Team Championship for a second time, ending The North's 383-day reign. They retained their titles against The Rascalz, and Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. At Bound for Glory, the Motor City Machine Guns lost their titles back to The North in a four-way tag team match, also involving Good Brothers and Austin and Fulton. Shelley was attacked by The North before the match, leaving Sabin to defend the titles alone.

Shelley was out of action for several months after Bound for Glory. He returned on the December 1 episode of Impact!, defeating XXXL (Acey Romero and Larry D). Shelley was scheduled to team with Sabin and Rich Swann to face Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers at Hard To Kill, but he legitimately had to withdraw due to "unavoidable circumstances." He later revealed that his career outside of wrestling, specifically his work as a clinician, required him to step away from wrestling until he could receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In September 2021, Shelley announced he had left Impact.

Shelley made his second return to Impact Wrestling at Sacrifice on March 5, 2022, losing to his student Jay White. He was also defeated by Mike Bailey at Multiverse of Matches on April 1. On the July 21 episode of Impact!, Shelley defeated Sabin in an Impact World Championship number one contender match. On August 12 at Emergence, Shelley unsuccessfully challenged Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship.

On December 9, 2022, The Motor City Machine Guns defeated Heath and Rhino to capture the Impact World Tag Team Championship for a third time. They lost the titles to Bullet Club members Ace Austin and Chris Bey on the March 2, 2023, episode of Impact!, ending their reign at 78 days.

On May 26, 2023, at Under Siege, Shelley defeated Eddie Edwards, Frankie Kazarian, Jonathan Gresham, Moose, and Yuya Uemura to become the number one contender for the Impact World Championship at Against All Odds. At the event on June 9, Shelley won the Impact World Championship after defeating Steve Maclin, marking his first reign as World Champion. He successfully defended his title against Brian Myers on the June 23 episode of Impact! and against Maclin during the Impact Down Under Tour. On July 15 at Slammiversary, Shelley successfully defended his title against Nick Aldis. After the match, he was confronted by former Impact World Champion Josh Alexander. He defended his title against Brian Myers on the August 8 episode of Impact! and against Hiroshi Tanahashi on August 20 at Multiverse United 2.

In the following weeks, Shelley took exception to Alexander calling the Impact World Championship "his" title, as Alexander had never been beaten for it. The two remained reluctant allies, though Shelley occasionally abandoned Alexander when he was in trouble, such as at Emergence. On Week 2 of Impact 1000, it was announced that Shelley would defend the Impact World Championship against Alexander at Bound for Glory, which Shelley won. He successfully defended his title against Jonathan Gresham on the November 9 episode of Impact!. On December 9 at Final Resolution, Shelley and Sabin were defeated by Alexander and Zack Sabre Jr. in a tag team match. On January 13, 2024, at Hard To Kill, Shelley lost the championship against Moose, ending his reign at 218 days. On February 23 at No Surrender, Shelley was unsuccessful in winning the TNA World Championship against Moose in a No Surrender Rules match. On March 23, 2024, Shelley and Sabin wrestled their final matches for TNA against The System (Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers), as their contracts expired on April 1, 2024.

3.3.1. Early Appearances and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

On January 4, 2009, Shelley and Chris Sabin, as the Motor City Machine Guns, defeated No Limit (Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro) at Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They were only the second non-Japanese team to win these titles. After three successful title defenses (two of which occurred in TNA), Shelley and Sabin lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title to Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi) on July 5, 2009.

On November 8, 2010, NJPW announced the Motor City Machine Guns would return for events on December 11 and 12. On December 11, they were defeated by No Limit. The following day, they defeated Apollo 55 in their fourth encounter.

3.3.2. Time Splitters

Following his departure from TNA, New Japan announced Shelley's return on August 13, 2012. Before his official return to Japan, he and A.J. Kirsch unsuccessfully challenged Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship at a Sacramento Wrestling Federation event on August 26. After the match, Kushida saved Shelley from a beatdown by Koslov and Romero, marking the beginning of their alliance.

Shelley wrestled his NJPW return match on September 7. He soon began regularly teaming with Kushida, forming the tag team "Time Splitters". They scored several victories over Koslov and Romero, debuting their new double-team finishing maneuver, the I-94. On October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Time Splitters unsuccessfully challenged Forever Hooligans for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

On October 21, the Time Splitters entered the 2012 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, defeating Jado & Gedo in the first round. On November 2, they defeated Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Taka Michinoku) to advance to the finals, where they defeated Apollo 55 to win the tournament and become the number one contenders for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On November 11 at Power Struggle, the Time Splitters defeated Forever Hooligans in a rematch to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

Time Splitters successfully defended their titles on February 10, 2013, at The New Beginning, defeating Forever Hooligans. Their second successful defense was on March 3 against Jyushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask. On April 5, Shelley received his first shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship but was defeated by defending champion Prince Devitt. Two days later at Invasion Attack, Time Splitters defeated Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi for their third successful defense of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, Time Splitters lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship back to the Forever Hooligans.

From late May to early June, Shelley participated in the 2013 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Despite losing his first match to the newly heel Prince Devitt, he won five of his eight matches, including a victory over Ricochet in the final round-robin match, to advance to the semifinals. On June 9, he defeated Taka Michinoku in the semifinal but was defeated by Prince Devitt in the finals, marking his third consecutive loss to Devitt. On June 22 at Dominion 6.22, Time Splitters failed to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship from the Forever Hooligans.

On September 29 at Destruction, Shelley and Kushida defeated Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Taka Michinoku) to earn another shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. However, on October 7, NJPW announced that Shelley had suffered a back injury from a sitout powerbomb by Taichi, forcing Time Splitters to withdraw from the title match. This was his fourth injury since his September 2012 return.

Shelley returned to the ring on January 4, 2014, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, where he and Kushida unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in a four-way match. They won a non-title rematch the following day, asserting themselves as next challengers. They received another title shot on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka but were again defeated by The Young Bucks. Time Splitters received another title shot on May 10 at Global Wars, a co-produced event with ROH in Toronto, but were defeated by The Young Bucks in a three-way match.

On May 30, Shelley entered the 2014 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, winning his block with four wins and three losses, advancing to the semifinals. However, he injured his left shoulder in his final round-robin match on June 6, forcing him to withdraw from the semifinals.

Shelley returned on June 21 at Dominion 6.21, where he and Kushida defeated The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the second time as a team. They made their first successful defense on August 10 against reDRagon and their second on September 23 against Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Taichi). On October 13 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Time Splitters made their third successful title defense in a three-way match against Forever Hooligans and The Young Bucks. On November 8 at Power Struggle, Time Splitters lost the title to the 2014 Super Jr. Tag Tournament winners reDRagon.

Time Splitters received a rematch for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on January 4, 2015, at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, but were again defeated by reDRagon in a four-way match. On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, Time Splitters received another title shot in a three-way match but were defeated by The Young Bucks, who became the new champions. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2015, Shelley unsuccessfully challenged Kenny Omega for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Later that month, Shelley suffered ligament damage and an avulsion fracture in his left foot, forcing him to withdraw from the 2015 Best of the Super Juniors. Shelley returned to NJPW in September, and on September 27 at Destruction in Kobe, he and Kushida unsuccessfully challenged reDRagon for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Following the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament in November, Shelley left Japan.

3.3.3. NJPW Strong Appearances

After defeating the Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions, Aussie Open, on the September 15, 2022, episode of Impact!, Sabin and Shelley returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling at Rumble on 44th Street on October 28. At the event, the Motor City Machine Guns defeated Aussie Open to win the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships in a three-way match, also involving The DKC and Kevin Knight. They retained the titles in February 2023 at Battle in the Valley, defeating the West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson). On April 15 at Capital Collision, the duo lost the titles back to Aussie Open in a three-way tag-team match also involving the team of Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

3.3.4. Other NJPW Activities

On July 31, 2016, NJPW announced Shelley's return to the promotion on August 21, again as part of the Motor City Machine Guns tag team with Chris Sabin. In their return match, The Motor City Machine Guns unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

3.4.1. NXT Debut

On January 1, 2020, it was announced that Shelley would be Kushida's mystery partner in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic on NXT, reforming their Time Splitters tag team for the first time since their NJPW days in 2015. This marked Shelley's first performance in WWE, following a one-off appearance on WWE Heat in 2005 during his early career. On the January 15 episode of NXT, Shelley and Kushida lost to Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) in the first round of the tournament.

3.4.2. SmackDown Debut and WWE Tag Team Championship

In September 2024, it was reported that Shelley and Sabin had signed with WWE, marking Shelley's return to the company after four years. They made their debut on the SmackDown brand on October 18, 2024. The following week, on October 25, 2024, the Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Bloodline (Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga) to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.