Black Widow
08-06-2008, 06:56 PM
August 5, 2008 - If TNA really is the future of wrestling, the Motor City Machine Guns are the dudes whose poster you'll be claiming you had on your wall. Unquestionably the most exciting tag team on the planet, the team of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are cooler than you, better athletes than you, better looking than you, and most importantly, better gamers than you. They're nice enough to be humble about it, though.
We asked the Machine Guns about everything from wrestling RPGs to how Sting and Christy Hemme would form a tag team in our interview with them from Orlando.
IGN: We'll start with you, Chris Sabin. Is it true that you took your name from FF3? Are you big into Final Fantasy?
Chris Sabin: Yeah. Lately, I haven't been getting into the new ones because I'm not a big MMORPG fan, but I played them all the way up to FFX on the Game Boy, and I have FF6 in my DS right now.
IGN:Are you big into RPGs as opposed to other kinds of games?
Chris Sabin: Yeah. I really like being able to build up your characters and equipping your characters and adding items.
IGN: So, to combine that with another one of your passions, do you ever think about what would go into a wrestling RPG?
Alex Shelley: Actually, we've talked about a couple different kinds of wrestling games it'd be cool to make. A Mortal Kombat-style game with special moves would be cool, but yeah, a wrestling RPG would be awesome. You start your career small, you build up your character...
Chris Sabin: Get new gear...
Alex Shelley: Yeah, I really like those sort of games where you have to build your character up with equipment and it shows the equipment on the guy.
IGN: So you start off with the Highspots gear and then go from there.
Alex Shelley: Yeah, exactly! Or start off in track pants, still have to pay for hotels, shorts and a wifebeater, go from there.
IGN: Where did you start with videogames? What was your introduction?
Alex Shelley: Playing NES. Everyone in our age demographic started with an NES at some point. I remember playing Gyromite where the game came with a robot that controlled the pillars. It had two lights for eyes. I didn't imagine this, I swear. After that, it was Kid Icarus and real games. Simon's Quest.
IGN: Where did you stand on the Genesis/SNES debate?
Alex Shelley: That's an important question. I never had a Genesis. Always Nintendo until Nintendo 64, since I just thought they didn't put out too many great games. The wrestling games were off the hook, but I was a big RPG fan, too, and there were no RPGs on the N64. The only one they had planned for it was Earthbound 64 and they ix-nayed that, so I got a Playstation. Now I have a Wii and a 360. The new Mario Kart's off the hook if you're not using that useless wheel.
Chris Sabin: The wheel's terrible. You can get a Gamecube controller for that.
IGN: Alright. So a Wii wrestling game.
Chris Sabin: I mean...I think it'd be kind of hard, but you could add a cool element using the movement that comes with the Wii. Keep it motion controller based, but I think wrestling games should be controller-based.
Alex Shelley: Even if everyone had a special, like in Trauma Center, where you had to make a star -- if you had to make a special symbol to pull off your special, that would be cool. It'd be great for specialty matches, where you could climb a cage or swing on a ladder or something.
IGN: What if you could build a special peripheral for it? What about, like a wrestling boot?
Alex Shelley: Like a Nintendo kickpad? That would be kind of cool! I could see a Nintendo kickpad being cheap and cool.
IGN: Moving onto wrestling games -- what was your favorite one growing up?
Alex Shelley: WCW/NWO World Tour. The first one. I like that one the best since, at the time, I was trying to really get tapes from all over the world and I noticed a lot of Japanese wrestlers in that game. Obviously, they couldn't use their names.
IGN: Like AKI Man.
Alex Shelley: Yeah, that was [Mitshuharu] Misawa. I really liked that one a lot because that was the first game like that that I played. It was ahead of its time.
Chris Sabin: Same for the same reason. It had the Japanese games. All those games in that style, Revenge, WrestleMania 2000, No Mercy, that was all cool. Our game's based on that style, so I hope it's successful like those were.
Alex Shelley: I will say Revenge was cool because you could change people's costumes and rename them -- I remember we had the Evil Shoe Salesman Mario Shoe, the Evil Razor team of Biff Remington and Harvey Gillette, ridiculous characters that we created when we were bored.
IGN: So did you guys create yourselves when Create-A-Player mode came in? Did you give yourself any special qualities or powers?
Chris Sabin: My character was definitely in way better shape than I was at the time, I was pretty ripped.
Alex Shelley: I could triple-powerbomb people. Unless I wrestle midgets, that won't be happening. You could really stack yourself with moves. I would make my weak grapple down a tombstone piledriver, so everyone else is doing snap mares and punches, but I'm doing Brainbusters...
IGN: Have you played as yourselves in the game yet?
Alex Shelley: Yeah, at Midway Gamer's Day. The first time we played, we played against each other in an Ultimate X match, and the game wasn't finished yet, so it went on for like 45 minutes before we called it a draw.
IGN: What are you gonna do first when you get the game?
Chris Sabin: Probably a tag match.
IGN: But who are you gonna go up against?
Alex Shelley: I don't know. We could probably put together a pretty good thrown-together tag team. Maybe Christy Hemme and Sting if they're in there.
IGN: So, how do you think Christy and Sting would perform as a team? How would they even get together and decide they wanted to team together?
Alex Shelley: Hmmmm....I don't think I can pick a way to connect those two. Maybe she's a big fan of the Crow.
IGN: And Sting just accepts her?
Alex Shelley: Nah. He's skeptical at first, but maybe she proves herself at the end. And then we beat them in two minutes.
Chris Sabin: Yeah, squash match.
IGN: So you pin Christie?
Chris Sabin: Hmm...heat on Christie.
Alex Shelley: Oh yeah. Definitely.
IGN: No comeback?
Chris Sabin: Nah. Two minute squash. Double enzuigiri.
Alex Shelley: That's a good way to show the game off to friends and family. "Hey, we're in the game! Now take that, ginger kid!"
IGN: Have you shown pictures of the game off to your friends?
Chris Sabin: Yeah. There's a really cool screenshot of us both in our gear, so I showed my friends and parents and thought it was really cool. It's unbelieveable.
Alex Shelley: It's pretty neat seeing yourself in that kind of media.
IGN: TNA Impact 2 doesn't come out for a few years. When it does, which one of you is on the box?
Chris Sabin: Hopefully both of us.
IGN: Anyone else? What are you two doing on the box?
Chris Sabin: Probably pinning Christy Hemme with a look of disdain.
Alex Shelley: Maybe flexing or posing. In corduroy speedos.
IGN: Not cutoffs or daisy dukes?
Alex Shelley: Depends on the season. I like the corduroy speedos, though. It'd move some units. We'll just take out the chafing.
IGN: So, are you saying there should be an apartment wrestling mode in TNA Impact 2?
Alex Shelley: Yeah, I think so.
Chris Sabin: And Sonjay Dutt should be the champion.
IGN: What's your favorite song to play in Rock Band?
Chris Sabin: Green Grass In the High Tides. Expert on guitar. That's my cup of tea.
Alex Shelley: I'm OK at singing. I can't play drums at all. Drums is real hard. They're not very big, the pedal really hurts my leg...when we usually get our band together, it's usually me on guitar, Chris singing, Petey Williams on drums or bass...
IGN: Are you worried that Petey Williams' increase in muscle mass might lead him to break the drums?
Alex Shelley: Actually, he's leaned up a little. He's still a D-Cup, don't worry about it.
IGN: Does he wear kickpads when he plays the drums?
Alex Shelley: No. He does, however, only wear his gear.
IGN: Who's the fourth member of your band?
Chris Sabin: That's kind of a floater position.
IGN: Ok - well - what if you could choose anyone on the roster?
Alex Shelley: Joe's pretty good at stuff. A couple people are good. Jay and Sonjay aren't that good...Jimmy Rave's a rocker through and through and he brings the Guitar Hero guitar to the ring.
IGN: Yeah, but there's heat between Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
Chris Sabin: That's true, he might be anti-Guitar Hero.
Alex Shelley: To be honest, the Guitar Hero guitar is way better, though. Maybe he just plays Rock Band with the Guitar Hero guitar. It's too bad he's not here, since he's filming "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead II", the sequel.
IGN: Direct-to-video, you think?
Alex Shelley: Oh, definitely.
We asked the Machine Guns about everything from wrestling RPGs to how Sting and Christy Hemme would form a tag team in our interview with them from Orlando.
IGN: We'll start with you, Chris Sabin. Is it true that you took your name from FF3? Are you big into Final Fantasy?
Chris Sabin: Yeah. Lately, I haven't been getting into the new ones because I'm not a big MMORPG fan, but I played them all the way up to FFX on the Game Boy, and I have FF6 in my DS right now.
IGN:Are you big into RPGs as opposed to other kinds of games?
Chris Sabin: Yeah. I really like being able to build up your characters and equipping your characters and adding items.
IGN: So, to combine that with another one of your passions, do you ever think about what would go into a wrestling RPG?
Alex Shelley: Actually, we've talked about a couple different kinds of wrestling games it'd be cool to make. A Mortal Kombat-style game with special moves would be cool, but yeah, a wrestling RPG would be awesome. You start your career small, you build up your character...
Chris Sabin: Get new gear...
Alex Shelley: Yeah, I really like those sort of games where you have to build your character up with equipment and it shows the equipment on the guy.
IGN: So you start off with the Highspots gear and then go from there.
Alex Shelley: Yeah, exactly! Or start off in track pants, still have to pay for hotels, shorts and a wifebeater, go from there.
IGN: Where did you start with videogames? What was your introduction?
Alex Shelley: Playing NES. Everyone in our age demographic started with an NES at some point. I remember playing Gyromite where the game came with a robot that controlled the pillars. It had two lights for eyes. I didn't imagine this, I swear. After that, it was Kid Icarus and real games. Simon's Quest.
IGN: Where did you stand on the Genesis/SNES debate?
Alex Shelley: That's an important question. I never had a Genesis. Always Nintendo until Nintendo 64, since I just thought they didn't put out too many great games. The wrestling games were off the hook, but I was a big RPG fan, too, and there were no RPGs on the N64. The only one they had planned for it was Earthbound 64 and they ix-nayed that, so I got a Playstation. Now I have a Wii and a 360. The new Mario Kart's off the hook if you're not using that useless wheel.
Chris Sabin: The wheel's terrible. You can get a Gamecube controller for that.
IGN: Alright. So a Wii wrestling game.
Chris Sabin: I mean...I think it'd be kind of hard, but you could add a cool element using the movement that comes with the Wii. Keep it motion controller based, but I think wrestling games should be controller-based.
Alex Shelley: Even if everyone had a special, like in Trauma Center, where you had to make a star -- if you had to make a special symbol to pull off your special, that would be cool. It'd be great for specialty matches, where you could climb a cage or swing on a ladder or something.
IGN: What if you could build a special peripheral for it? What about, like a wrestling boot?
Alex Shelley: Like a Nintendo kickpad? That would be kind of cool! I could see a Nintendo kickpad being cheap and cool.
IGN: Moving onto wrestling games -- what was your favorite one growing up?
Alex Shelley: WCW/NWO World Tour. The first one. I like that one the best since, at the time, I was trying to really get tapes from all over the world and I noticed a lot of Japanese wrestlers in that game. Obviously, they couldn't use their names.
IGN: Like AKI Man.
Alex Shelley: Yeah, that was [Mitshuharu] Misawa. I really liked that one a lot because that was the first game like that that I played. It was ahead of its time.
Chris Sabin: Same for the same reason. It had the Japanese games. All those games in that style, Revenge, WrestleMania 2000, No Mercy, that was all cool. Our game's based on that style, so I hope it's successful like those were.
Alex Shelley: I will say Revenge was cool because you could change people's costumes and rename them -- I remember we had the Evil Shoe Salesman Mario Shoe, the Evil Razor team of Biff Remington and Harvey Gillette, ridiculous characters that we created when we were bored.
IGN: So did you guys create yourselves when Create-A-Player mode came in? Did you give yourself any special qualities or powers?
Chris Sabin: My character was definitely in way better shape than I was at the time, I was pretty ripped.
Alex Shelley: I could triple-powerbomb people. Unless I wrestle midgets, that won't be happening. You could really stack yourself with moves. I would make my weak grapple down a tombstone piledriver, so everyone else is doing snap mares and punches, but I'm doing Brainbusters...
IGN: Have you played as yourselves in the game yet?
Alex Shelley: Yeah, at Midway Gamer's Day. The first time we played, we played against each other in an Ultimate X match, and the game wasn't finished yet, so it went on for like 45 minutes before we called it a draw.
IGN: What are you gonna do first when you get the game?
Chris Sabin: Probably a tag match.
IGN: But who are you gonna go up against?
Alex Shelley: I don't know. We could probably put together a pretty good thrown-together tag team. Maybe Christy Hemme and Sting if they're in there.
IGN: So, how do you think Christy and Sting would perform as a team? How would they even get together and decide they wanted to team together?
Alex Shelley: Hmmmm....I don't think I can pick a way to connect those two. Maybe she's a big fan of the Crow.
IGN: And Sting just accepts her?
Alex Shelley: Nah. He's skeptical at first, but maybe she proves herself at the end. And then we beat them in two minutes.
Chris Sabin: Yeah, squash match.
IGN: So you pin Christie?
Chris Sabin: Hmm...heat on Christie.
Alex Shelley: Oh yeah. Definitely.
IGN: No comeback?
Chris Sabin: Nah. Two minute squash. Double enzuigiri.
Alex Shelley: That's a good way to show the game off to friends and family. "Hey, we're in the game! Now take that, ginger kid!"
IGN: Have you shown pictures of the game off to your friends?
Chris Sabin: Yeah. There's a really cool screenshot of us both in our gear, so I showed my friends and parents and thought it was really cool. It's unbelieveable.
Alex Shelley: It's pretty neat seeing yourself in that kind of media.
IGN: TNA Impact 2 doesn't come out for a few years. When it does, which one of you is on the box?
Chris Sabin: Hopefully both of us.
IGN: Anyone else? What are you two doing on the box?
Chris Sabin: Probably pinning Christy Hemme with a look of disdain.
Alex Shelley: Maybe flexing or posing. In corduroy speedos.
IGN: Not cutoffs or daisy dukes?
Alex Shelley: Depends on the season. I like the corduroy speedos, though. It'd move some units. We'll just take out the chafing.
IGN: So, are you saying there should be an apartment wrestling mode in TNA Impact 2?
Alex Shelley: Yeah, I think so.
Chris Sabin: And Sonjay Dutt should be the champion.
IGN: What's your favorite song to play in Rock Band?
Chris Sabin: Green Grass In the High Tides. Expert on guitar. That's my cup of tea.
Alex Shelley: I'm OK at singing. I can't play drums at all. Drums is real hard. They're not very big, the pedal really hurts my leg...when we usually get our band together, it's usually me on guitar, Chris singing, Petey Williams on drums or bass...
IGN: Are you worried that Petey Williams' increase in muscle mass might lead him to break the drums?
Alex Shelley: Actually, he's leaned up a little. He's still a D-Cup, don't worry about it.
IGN: Does he wear kickpads when he plays the drums?
Alex Shelley: No. He does, however, only wear his gear.
IGN: Who's the fourth member of your band?
Chris Sabin: That's kind of a floater position.
IGN: Ok - well - what if you could choose anyone on the roster?
Alex Shelley: Joe's pretty good at stuff. A couple people are good. Jay and Sonjay aren't that good...Jimmy Rave's a rocker through and through and he brings the Guitar Hero guitar to the ring.
IGN: Yeah, but there's heat between Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
Chris Sabin: That's true, he might be anti-Guitar Hero.
Alex Shelley: To be honest, the Guitar Hero guitar is way better, though. Maybe he just plays Rock Band with the Guitar Hero guitar. It's too bad he's not here, since he's filming "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead II", the sequel.
IGN: Direct-to-video, you think?
Alex Shelley: Oh, definitely.