Kevin Nash ‘would not have gotten rid of Motor City Machine Guns, that’s for damn sure’
Kevin Nash wasn’t a fan of WWE’s decision to release the Motor City Machine Guns.
During the Q&A portion of his latest Kliq This podcast, Nash reacted to the round of roster cuts that WWE made on April 24. The WWE Hall of Famer said he was surprised to see Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin let go and would not have made the same decision if it were up to him.
“I would not have gotten rid of the Motor City Machine Guns, that’s for damn sure,” Nash said.
Nash worked with Motor City Machine Guns in TNA and had strong on-screen chemistry with Shelley when they were in Paparazzi Productions together. Nash was also a mentor to Shelley behind the scenes during this time, with Nash, Shelley, and Sabin all being from the state of Michigan.
Shelley & Sabin had a nearly two-year run with WWE that included one Tag Team title reign on SmackDown. There is an expectation that they’ll be heading to AEW once free to sign elsewhere.
When asked if he was surprised by the releases in general, Nash said he wasn’t after he saw how high the compensation is for TKO’s executives. Nash joked about Nick Khan’s salary but said he believes Khan has earned it given how much money Khan generates for WWE.
“Not after like two weeks prior when I see what the CEOs [are making]. What Nick’s getting paid. I mean, Nick took f***ing half of the WrestleMania net [laughs],” Nash said. “But I’m busting his balls because we sat here and went over the numbers and the year before was 1.4 billion. The next year, you’re 1.7 billion. So that’s 300 million.”
Khan — WWE’s President — received $24.3 million in compensation for the year 2025. His base salary was $2 million, and Khan received $11 million in stock awards and more than $10 million in bonuses.
Nash appeared for WWE last month when he helped induct NBA legend Dennis Rodman into the Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 42 weekend. Though he understands that business takes precedence, Nash described the whole weekend as feeling “kind of soulless” with how TKO handles things.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.