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A member of the SmackDown roster has reflected on turning down a contract offer from WWE in 2019. Alex Shelley said he was too scared to sign a wrestling contract, and the pandemic may have contributed to his fear.
The 41-year-old star is part of a tag team on the blue brand with Chris Sabin, known as Motor City Machine Guns. They made their debut on the October 18, 2024 episode of SmackDown. They went on to win the tag team titles just a week later by dethroning The Bloodline.
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin recently appeared on SHAK Wrestling. Shelley said he had received a contract offer from WWE in 2019, when Vince McMahon was still in control, but he rejected it because of the pandemic. He wasn't sure what was going to happen with the wrestling industry at the time.
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"Yeah, I sure was [working as a physical therapist a few years ago]. And I was wrestling on the side too. I actually had tabled a WWE contract offer because of the pandemic right before. 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," he said. [2:41-3:00]
Chris Sabin says WWE was his goal when he got into wrestling
Chris Sabin stated that when he got into the wrestling business, WCW and ECW were still around, and it was still called the WWF. He questioned what his options were after the two promotions went defunct, but his goal was still to join the wrestling juggernaut.
"When I first started, WWE was the goal. This is the year 2000. WWF was around, WCW and ECW were all still in business when I started training. I slowly watched throughout the next year as ECW disappeared, then WCW disappeared, and the hope kind of faded, as far as, 'What are my options in wrestling?' I was still an 18-year-old kid just getting in the business," said Sabin. [H/T CBS Sports]
The Motor City Machine Guns competed in a TLC match a few weeks ago on SmackDown for the tag titles, and the bout received critical acclaim.
If you use the quotes from the first half of this article, please credit SHAK Wrestling and add an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.
